Joe's Shanghai in Flushing, NY

I had dinner at Joe's Shanghai in the huge Chinatown neighborhood located in Flushing, NY based on a recommendation from Tasty Chomps. After reading all of the newspaper clippings hanging on the walls, the restaurant is apparently famous for their soup dumplings. I knew what I'd be getting...

We all shared an order of the pork and crab meat soup dumplings. Served on a bed of cabbage over bamboo steamer, these dumplings were unlike anything I've had. While most dumplings are just filled with meat, these soup dumplings were filled with a delicious broth in addition to the meats. It took a few dumplings to figure out how not to spill the broth all over, but that's all part of the fun. I did notice that the majority of the restaurant patrons were eating only soup dumplings for their entire meal.

I also ordered scallion pancakes, being one of my favorite Chinese food appetizers.

For an entree, everyone also shared an order of chicken and broccoli. It wasn't very exotic, but it was affordable and provided some vegetables. It was pretty average, equivalent to what most Chinese restaurants serve.

For dessert, Joe's Shanghai served a plate of orange slices. Can't go wrong with fresh fruit...

Ah Law Kitchen in Elmont, NY

Just as the first snowflakes began to fall starting a big snowstorm, I picked up Chinese take out from Ah Law Kitchen in Elmont, NY. I was considering eating my food here, but their heater was broken. I was cold as I sat waiting for my food, watching the owner attempt to fix the heat, so I took the food back to a warmer location.

I started with a scallion pancake appetizer. I love these things...

I also had the shrimp with broccoli lunch special. It came with huge shrimp, plenty of broccoli, and carrots in a brown sauce. This came with a side of brown rice. The lunch was supposed to come with a wonton soup too, but they forgot to put it in the bag. By the time I noticed, I didn't feel like going back.

I liked the food from Ah Law Kitchen, although I wasn't happy about not getting my soup!

Chinese Food at Princeton Junction's First Wok

I ate at the First Wok Chinese Restaurant in Princeton Junction, NJ. I started off with an order of Scallion Pancakes, mostly because Chinese Restaurants in Florida do not serve them for some reason. They tasted fine, but were a bit too flaky and didn't hold together as well as other scallion pancakes that I have eaten in the past.

I ordered Chicken with Black Bean Sauce as the main dish. It was very good, with the tender chicken mixed with peppers and onions, all topped with black bean sauce. I ate the dish with brown rice. I had no complaints about the chicken...

I also liked how they automatically give everyone a tea cup and leave the tea pot on the table. This seems to be a northern thing because I can't think of any Chinese restaurants in Florida that do this. In Florida, if you want tea, you have to ask and get charged extra for it...

Wah-Luck Kitchen

I ate Chinese food from Wah-Luck Kitchen in Franklin Square, New York. I picked up the take out, which consisted of scallion pancakes, wonton soup, and Szechuan chicken. The pancakes were a tasty treat since there are no Chinese restaurants in Florida that serve this menu item.

The soup tasted like normal wonton soup...

The chicken was a disappointment. Compared to other Szechuan chicken dishes that I have ordered elsewhere, the sauce was very thick and tomato-paste like. The sticky sauce got stuck on the food and was way too overpowering. I should have gone with lo-mein. You can't go wrong with lo-mein...