The third venture from New York restaurateurs John McDonald and Joshua Pickard (Lever House Restaurant, Lure Fishbar), Chinatown Brasserie is a Disneyland of Asian cuisine. And while the food will take you on a journey of different tastes and textures, it’s the decor that elevates this New York restaurant to amusement-park status. Silk tapestries, cork sculptures, banquettes modeled after imperial beds and vintage photographs evoke the experience of first-generation Chinese émigrés. With a signature cocktail in hand and Peking duck in front of you, you’ll feel as though you’ve stepped back in time to the days of old Chinatown New York.
The Menu: Executive Chef Joe Ng tailors flavors to the American palate, highlighting the contrast of salty-sweet and the bliss of fried foods, while employing unusual ingredients such as pickled plums, flowering chives and fuzzy melon.
The Must-Have: This restaurant consistently pops up in the press due to its creative, sumptuous and relatively inexpensive dim sum. Choose among several varieties of hand-formed dumplings, including crabmeat and pork soup; roast duck and shrimp; and watercress with shrimp.