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Hunan food in New York City -- does not exist


Fat Guy

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Although a directory search reveals plenty of Chinese restaurants with the word "Hunan" in their names, as far as I can ascertain there does not appear to be a single actual Hunan restaurant in New York City. Am I wrong about that?

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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I truly don't think it does.

I actually brought this up in your State of Sichuan food thread. It's a great cuisine, and I got to eat in one of the great Hunanese restaurants in San Francisco many times during my years out west.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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There are at least two notable ones in Flushing:

Hunan Kitchen of Grand Sichuan

42-47 Main Street

Hunan House

137-40 Northern Boulevard (not to be confused with the one on Union St)

"I'll put anything in my mouth twice." -- Ulterior Epicure
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I really need to go back to Hunan House.

Pics from my one meal there.

Love the tongue and tripe dish-- especially how the offal is expertly sliced to resemble the cilantro.

Ooh, I forgot about those wood ear mushrooms. Great texture. They do them justice. I gotta get back too. Try the tea smoked duck on the back page specials next time (or anything on that list). You won’t be disappointed.

Nice blog btw. Enjoyed the Convivio and Yakitori Tori Shin reports very much.

That wasn't chicken

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Try the tea smoked duck on the back page specials next time (or anything on that list).

Wow - that's the dish that I most yearn for from San Francisco's Brandy Ho's.

I am so there.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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I stand corrected. I need to make a trip out to Flushing.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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Below, the specials a poster translated a yr and half ago (I bet not much has changed).

Separately the ground cumin lamb, scorched rice w/seafood, preserved beef w/white chilies and fish head should not be missed (as well 10 other dishes). Bring and army and go crazy. (Perhaps their most popular dish is the Steamed Pork w Rice Powder but it was boring and texturally weird from the rice powder being steamed. It must be a locals thing. I wouldn’t order it again).

1. Here are the current twenty specials at Hunan House:

最新推出 (Zui Xin Tui Chu)

Latest Specials

1.) 湘山老媽夫子肉 (Xiang Shan Lao Ma Fu Zi Rou) $14.95

“Hunan House Old Master Fuzi Meat Dish”

Steamed Pork with Rice Powder

2.) 油淋醬板鴨 (You Lin Jiang Ban Ya) $21.95

Lean Dry Duck with Soya Bean Paste

3.) 蘿蔔干白椒臘鴨 (Luo Bo Gan Bai Jiao La Ya) $17.95

White Pepper Smoked Duck with Dried Turnips

4.) 蘿蔔干白椒臘雞 (Luo Bo Gan Bai Jiao La Ji) $16.95

White Pepper Roasted Chicken with Turnips

5.) 空心根炒河蝦 (小魚干) (Kong Xin Gen Chao He Xia) $10.95

Water Spinach Roots with Baby Shrimp and Fermented Black Beans

6.) 湘水雞 (Xiang Shui Ji) $12.95

Hunan House Hunan Style Roast Chicken

7.) 香味滷豬耳 (Xiang Wei Lu Zhu Er) $12.95

Fragrant Pig Ears in Aromatic Sauce

8.) 小炒螺片 (Xiao Chai Luo Pian) $14.95

Lightly Stir Fried Pieces of Conch with Vegetables

9.) 爆炒游水魚肚 (Bao Chao You Shui Yu Du ) $14.95

Flash Fried Fish Stomach

10.) 干炸土泥鰽 (Gan Zha Tu Ni Qiu) $12.95

Dry Fried Loach

11.) 家常小炒鴨舌 (Jia Chang Xiao Chao Ya Shi) $18.95

Lightly Stir Fried Homestyle Duck Tongue

12.) 冬筍牛肉絲 (Dong Sun Niu Rou Si) $14.95

Shredded Winter Bamboo Shoots with Beef

(Seasonal – only available in the spring)

13.) 小炒豬香皮 (Xiao Chao Zhu Xiang Pi) $9.95

Lightly Stir Fried Pig Skin

14.) 香辣蹄花 (Xiang La Ti Hua) $9.95

Spicy Fragrant Pig Trotters

15.) 洞庭火爆田雞 (Dong Ting Huo Bao Tian Ji) $19.95

Flash Fried Lake Dongting Frog

These additional five House Specials are listed on the wall:

A) 清淡大盤菜花 (Qing Dan Da Pan Hua Cai) $8.95

Large Plate of Lightly Stir Fried Cauliflower

B.) 瀏陽黑豆豉牛角椒 (Liuyang Heidouchi Niujiaojiao) $8.95

Liu Yang City Green Chili Peppers in Black Bean Sauce

C.) 衡州府滑豆腐 (Heng Zhou Fu Hua Dou Fu) $8.95

Hengzhou City Silken Tofu – Men Style Stewing*

D.) 美極筍殼魚燜白豆腐 $28.95

(Mei Ji Sun Ke Yu Men Bai Dou Fu)

Beautiful Sand Goby Fish with Tofu – Men style stewing.

E.) 蒜苔炒臘肉 (Suan Tai Chao La Rou) $13.95

Stir Fried Smoked Pork with Garlic Sprouts

* Hengzhou is the ancient name for Hengyang. Men or 燜 style cooking is food that is quickly blanched in a small amount of oil. Stock is then added and the dish simmers until done.

That wasn't chicken

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Try the tea smoked duck on the back page specials next time (or anything on that list).

Wow - that's the dish that I most yearn for from San Francisco's Brandy Ho's.

I am so there.

Until I read this thread and did a little research I didn't even know about Brandy Ho's. Here's what I just learned:

When Brandy Ho opened his restaurant in about 1980, I was already living in the East Bay. Brandy was an original cook at The Hunan Restaurant, located on Kearny, between Washington and Jackson. The Hunan, owned by Henry Chung, existed in that incarnation from about 1974 to 1989; Brandy must have been cooking there when I lived in Chinatown, in the mid to late 70's. After '89 Henry started a mini-empire called Henry's Hunan and now has, I believe, three locations, none in the original space. We used to walk down to The Hunan and eat there a couple times a week. It was an addiction. The place was a steaming smokey hole in the wall; you could feel the chillies in your throat the moment you walked through the door, which, I remember, was usually kept open, due to the combustible nature of the food. I don't even remember tables, but I remember sitting at the counter and watching them cook. I'd never tasted food like that before, and haven't since. When I went back to the first new location I was utterly depressed. It was not the same. Perhaps it never recovered from the loss of Brandy. The first time I had twice-cooked pork at The Hunan and one of those scallion pancakes I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Maybe I should make a trip over to SF to try Brandy Ho's. It's definitely still a going concern.

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