5/26/2023 0 Comments Chop suey tabs![]() ![]() It’s similar to what many people refer to as beef-a-roni or Chili Mac. One of my favorites back when school lunches were actually good. I actually remember eating this in elementary school. ![]() Topped with a variety of seasoning to give it that rich, savory flavor. It’s also great for potlucks.Īmerican goulash is made with a tomato baste, ground beef, and elbow macaroni. to 9:30 p.m.This is a meal that I can prep on Sunday and feed the family for multiple meals. The Williamsburg Big Wong is located at 135B North Fifth Street, between Bedford Avenue and Berry Street, and is currently open from 11:30 a.m. Still, it's exciting to see restaurants like Big Wong open up new locations throughout the city-the classics are classics for a reason. The service is certainly warm and welcoming, but they may want to pump up the vibes a bit so that pop-in guests stick around. There's nothing on the walls, no music playing, and the lighting is waiting-room harsh. Inside, however, the energy quickly dies. The exterior signage maintains the look of its original Chinatown storefront, and continues to have the head-on ducks hanging in the front window. Sui Mai Emperor, $8.95 (Scott Lynch / Hell Gate) Heck, even that old warhorse chop suey makes an appearance. Seems like they have this dim sum stuff down. ![]() We went for the plump, shrimpy "Sui Mai Emperor" dumplings, and they really hit the spot. There are at least 25 different dim sum options, from crab meat soup dumplings to vegetarian spring rolls to a pan-fried Philly cheese steak mini bun. (Chili oil is also available, if you want to perk things up further.) Congee with chopped beef, $8 (Scott Lynch / Hell Gate) That noodle soup provides an excellent base for Big Wong's fatty, funky roast duck, and, after shaking on lots of salt and pepper, the congee worked nicely with chopped beef. Roast pork with rice, $12, plus pak choy, $2.50 (Scott Lynch / Hell Gate) My usual order, Big Wong's sweet and satisfying roast pork, definitely made me happy, and can be had over white rice (add on crisp bok choy for $2.50 extra), or in fried rice, or with lo mein, or crunchy fried noodles, or in an omelet with gravy, or stirred into some thick congee, or dumped into a bowl of noodle soup. "You know, many of today's customers came as kids, and we hope that this happiness can pass from generation to generation." "We're dedicated to preserving some traditions of Chinese food, especially Cantonese style," Big Wong's owner Bill Li told Hell Gate. Plus, in a Big Wong first, they've added dim sum to the mix at their Brooklyn outpost. And the prices, while higher than what you're used to on Mott Street, still sit firmly in $20 Dinner territory. But also, it doesn't matter, because the food here is great. The short answer is, no, it doesn't feel the same. But would a second Big Wong feel the same, especially if it's located in, say, prime Williamsburg, on North 5th just off Bedford? An area, as Curbed put it recently, that has already moved beyond its "Soho-ish wave of gentrification" and into its "Fifth Avenue era"? Which is why I was excited to see that the owners of Big Wong were expanding outside of Chinatown. The place has never been bestowed with quite the same iconic accolades as its fellow Mott Street eateries Hop Kee and Wo Hop or the nearby Great NY Noodletown, but it's always been a favorite of mine in the neighborhood for a quick and satisfying, somewhat nostalgia-laden bite. My first Big Wong feast was likely in 1982 or so, almost certainly after too much (or just enough!) drinking, and there have been many more meals there ever since. In other words, it's a Chinatown Cantonese classic. Big Wong has been holding it down on Mott Street since before you were born (probably), slinging juicy roast meats laid over rice or atop gloriously greasy noodles to legions of locals, tourists, and drunk cheap-eats seekers from all over the city.
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