Hunan Cottage--Fairfield

[scarlet knight]

Thanks for the recommendations!

We had steamed vegetable dumplings and scallion pancakes for appetizers. For entrees, we had large shrimp with pea shoots(the menu called them pea leaves) and chow fun with chicken. Our friends had a whole fried flounder and a pork and squid dish. I liked the shrimp best because it had a broth-like sauce instead of the more goopy sauce of the chow fun.

Overall, this is a very good Chinese restaurant. One of our friends who went with us is of Chinese origin and she seemed pleased with the restaurant, also. Her linguistic skills helped, too. I think that this restaurant is very close to China 46 in its culinary abilities and authentic qualities. A good choice for the Essex and Morris county residents.

[babystruck]

Hello

I am a recent CA transplant to NJ and am desperately searching for Dim Sum in Northern New Jersey. I am used to the sort of big chinatown experience that you find in LA and SF, but at this point I'd settle for decent dim sum. I have read past threads and it seems like the top two contenders are Noodle Chu or Silver Pond. I'm hoping someone can tell me which has the better food.

Thanks

Babystruck

[Jason Perlow]

Hello

I am a recent CA transplant to NJ and am desperately searching for Dim Sum in Northern New Jersey. I am used to the sort of big chinatown experience that you find in LA and SF, but at this point I'd settle for decent dim sum. I have read past threads and it seems like the top two contenders are Noodle Chu or Silver Pond. I'm hoping someone can tell me which has the better food.

Thanks

Babystruck

They're both very good. Try both. It sounds like Noodle Chu may be closer to you, though.

[babystruck]

Tried Noodle Chu this morning and loved it. There were only two of us so we didn't get to sample much but I was impressed with what I did eat (mostly the basics, shu mai, har gow, bao, stick rice in leaves) and saw a lot of great stuff come by after we had already filled up, including some fabulous looking clams. I will also say that we were the only party in there not accompanied by at least 1 chinese person and we were still offered all of the "delicacies" including tripe. I have been to many dim sum places where that is not the case and non-chinese folks are offered only the same three to four dishes.

I will definitely be bringing back some of my NJ friends who have never experienced dim sum. Thanks for the help finding them

[larryc]

Hi,

I'm a long-time reader of EGullet, but this is my first post. I am always looking for great Asian food. I'm a big fan of Noodle Chu, and used to eat regularly at Little Saigon until it burned down.

I went to Hunan Cottage last night with my family. Like others noted, I was not given the special Chinese menu, but I knew to look for it so I grabbed one from the hostess station.

The special menu had English one side, and Chinese on the other. However, they did not correspond 1-to-1. The English special menu had 39 items on it, but the Chinese one had 53. Also, the dishes noted as spicy did not match up (e.g, dish 9 was spicy on the English menu, but 8,9, and 10 were spicy on the Chinese side).

The special menu also was a great deal cost-wise. Monday through Friday (we went on a Friday), you get 3 soups and 3 dishes for $19.99. We ordered pork with yellow leeks, chicken with spicy peppers, and chicken and green beans. The pork with yellow leeks was excellent, the chicken with spicy peppers was mediocre (it was your standard schezuan chicken w/ celery, peanuts, and hot peppers), and the chicken & green beans was basic but fine (this dish was for the kids). We also had started with noodles in a spicy pepper sauce, which was very tasty (noodles mixed w/ hot chili peppers & cool cucumbers).

However, although my dinner was fine, I will likely not go back, as I was turned off by the subtle Asian/not Asian discrimination going on, as earlier posters to this thread noted. My wife & I observed that every Asian table got the specials menu, while none of Caucasian tables did.

It's bad enough that the proprietors assume that Caucasians wouldn't want the authentic Chinese food, but in this case, they are also missing the chance for the $19.99 three dish special.

I really found this offensive, and wonder if it is even legal to offer different patrons different menus w/ different prices.

Looking forward to further comments,

Larry

[Rosie]

Larryc--Welcome to eGullet and thank you so much for your informative post. I have been to Hunan Cottage numerous times and have always asked for the Chinese menu. I never knew that an additional "special" pink menu existed. I will ask for it next time.

Where else do you like to dine?

[larryc]

Where else do you like to dine?

Hi Rosie.

In addition to Noodle Chu, we go to a number of different Asian restaurants. We like Binh Duong for pho, and Taste of Asia in Chatham for south-east Asian / Indonesian. I like Penang in East Hanover, but my wife does not. :-/ We also like Khun Thai for fancy Thai, and Thai House in Scotch Plains if we want more basic Thai (e.g, it's kid friendly)

We went to Mesob, which is Ethiopian, last night. That's worth a write-up in its own thread. We also like Cuban at La Isla in Hoboken and Martinos in Somerville.

Larry

[menton1]

We were in the area yesterday, so we decided to try Hunan Cottage. Easy to find, right on Rt 46. As mentioned, if you don't know better, they bring you a strikingly ordinary menu right out of a boiler-plate Chinese suburban restaurant.

However, when you ask for the CHINESE menu, aha! Now we're talking creative and authentic! There were only 2 of us, so the opportunity to try many new dishes was not there.

We started with an appetizer of Dried Bean Curd Skins with mushrooms. We have actually had this dish many times in Chinatown. Down there they call it "Veggie Duck". We then followed with Pork with Yellow Leeks. The pork was shredded, and the leeks were nice and crunchy, and the brown sauce was different from the usual. The really different dish was the Dried Lily Flower w/ squash, very very unusual and pleasant. A spongy but chewy and delicate white substance which I assume was the lily flowers, and it was combined with a very unusual green squash in a clear sauce. Very delicate and VERY interesting. It is also interesting that as a different waiter came over to check on us each time, they simle and seemed so surprised at what we had ordered!

We will have to go back with at least 1 other couple so that we can share and try more of these dishes. Ideally, it would be great to go here with a Chinese person so that they could do the ordering!! Here are some photos: (taken with a cell phone)

[Rosie]

It is the night before Thanksgivng and since I have been cooking non-stop the past few days we decided to have dinner at Hunan Cottage. I LOVE THIS PLACE. Tonight we had three dishes we never had before.

Started off with Shanghai style wonton soup which had ethereal dumplings, seaweed and a green which may have been water spinach. Then we had fabulous pork tender with fried bean curd. This dish was addictive and we couldn’t stop popping the small chunks of pork into our mouths. Also had a very interesting, and would definitely order again, dish of snow cabbage, bean curd sheet and green bean. The bean curd sheet resembled noodles and the green bean was edamame. Fabulous.

Dinner was $34 with tax and tip.

[jo-mel]

It is the night before Thanksgivng and since I have been cooking non-stop the past few days we decided to have dinner at Hunan Cottage. I LOVE THIS PLACE. Tonight we had three dishes we never had before.

Started off with Shanghai style wonton soup which had ethereal dumplings, seaweed and a green which may have been water spinach. Then we had fabulous pork tender with fried bean curd. This dish was addictive and we couldn’t stop popping the small chunks of pork into our mouths. Also had a very interesting, and would definitely order again, dish of snow cabbage, bean curd sheet and green bean. The bean curd sheet resembled noodles and the green bean was edamame. Fabulous.

Dinner was $34 with tax and tip.

←

Rosie -- I had been thinking about going out there next week -------but then I heard about "Jaspers" -- an 'upscale' Chinese restaurant out on 46 in ?Parsinippi?.

Someone had seen a write up about it in a Jewish paper.

Do you have any information on it? I couldn't find it in these pages.

[Rosie]

Jasper got 3 1/2 stars from Cody Kendall in the Star Ledger soon after it opened. If you go be sure to give us a report.

[Rosie]

We hope to eventually try everything at Hunan Cottage. Last night each dish was a winner. Started off with marinated bean curd skin with Chinese mushrooms. It was similar to a mock duck. The sautéed baby shrimp were mild and although listed as an entrée made a good appetizer. Next we had the fresh noodles with shrimp and chicken. The snow cabbage, bean curd sheet and green beans (edamame) is one of my favorite dishes and so healthy. I can also recommend the yellow leek and chicken. We asked for this in a spicy sauce which we preferred over the sauce it usually comes with. The waiter was fantastic and brought the dishes out one at a time.

[hitmanoo]

Went for dinner last night, and it was delicious

hot and sour soup--A decent rendition. Not nearly as good as the version I had at R&G Lounge in San Francisco, but a decent soup.

pork with yellow leek-Sweet and succulent. Pefectly cooked shreds of pork with a sweet and savory brown sauce. Highlight dish of the evening.

shrimp and squid with basil-Not too spicy, with a refreshing basil taste in a brown sauce. Just a touch of sweetness. The squid was not overly chewy and was easy to eat. I was really in the mood for a basil dish, and this one did not disappoint.

soft shell crab with ginger and scallion-While the crab was lightly fried and meaty, I felt that the sauce had no real flavor. We were offered a choice of garlic, ginger/scallion and salt/pepper. I felt that there was no ginger flavor at all and just a hint of scallion. In my opinion, this dish may have come out the same now matter how we orderred it. Tasty, but poorly described.

diced spicy chicken-The chicken was cooked well, and the hot peppers packed a puch. A good dish, but probably not one I'd orde again. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't disappointing, just nothing spectacular.

rice cakes--To be honest, this dish was nothing special at all, and it was barely touched. It was the only dish remaining on the table and it got taken home for leftovers. I can't remember if we had it with shrimp, pork or chicken. With the variety of dishes on the table, I had no regrets with having a small taste of this one. Definitely not recommended. Again, it wasn't bad, but it was forgettable.

In all, I'd go back to Hunan Cottage. The Chinese menu is far more interesting than the American menu. That being said, they should probably combine everything into one menu and just have a "Chinese Specialties" section for the Chinese menu. If the Americans don't even get a chance to sample the occasional Chinese dish because they haven't received the menu, how will they learn to appreciate the cuisine? I just find it silly.

[tommy]

on one of my visits to Hunan Cottage, the waiter out-and-out refused to serve me what i ordered. telling me that i wouldn't like it and basically putting up a fight about it. well i got my way and whatever it was was very good.

that kinda put me off to this place. i'll go to China 46, where you get treated with respect by people who seem geniunely pleased that you enjoy what their restaurant has to offer.

[Jason Perlow]

There's definitely more of a sense of xenophobia from the staff at Hunan Cottage. However I think if you start off by saying "Ni Hao" (hello/greetings) and saying "Shr Shr" in stead of thank yous, they at least will have a good idea that they are not dealing with a complete chinese food neophyte. I've never had any kind of problem there, except for the very first time I visited, when I found out there was a two menu system.

[tommy]

There's definitely more of a sense of xenophobia from the staff at Hunan Cottage. However I think if you start off by saying "Ni Hao" (hello/greetings) and saying "Shr Shr" in stead of thank yous, they at least will have a good idea that they are not dealing with a complete chinese food neophyte. I've never had any kind of problem there, except for the very first time I visited, when I found out there was a two menu system.

←

well i'm not about to start off with anything other than "can we see the chinese menu" and otherwise acting as my normal polite and enthusiastic self. if they are unwilling or unable to step up to the plate then they'll lose my business and my postive references.

if you're defending a waiter's stubborn, unacceptable, and ultimately offensive behavior by suggesting that it's ok to act that way, or even understandable to act that way, if he assumes the customer is a "complete chinese food neophyte", well then i just don't know what to say other than China 46 will continue to get my business and references. not to mention that i don't know many complete neophytes who would ask for the chinese menu and then go on to order as i did. beside the point, of course.

blame it on culture, blame it on a bad day, but ultimately you're just making excuses for the place.

Edited August 27, 2005 by tommy (log)

[M.X.Hassett]

I had same experience at hunan, "no you wont like that its not for you". China 46 has always been nothing than a very pleasent experience, they a very helpful guiding people through the menu and specials board. Man, i am on cape cod now(no good chinese) and this talk is making yearn for china 46 how i miss seaweed salad, and ruby pork, and anything with brown sauce.

Edited August 27, 2005 by M.X.Hassett (log)

[Adam P.]

I've never had a problem ordering anything off the Chinese menu. I do find it strange that they don't have a menu that includes both styles. There are two other Chinese restaurants in the area, Hunan Noodle House and Noodle Chu, that have mixed menus. They seem as busy - and usually busier - than Hunan Cottage. Plus, the Noodle House has some far more umm... interesting items on their menu that would put off most American customers, such as "Duck Blood with Leeks" and "Pig Intestine with Sour Vegetables".

[M.X.Hassett]

Where exactly is hunan noodle, never said no to duck blood.

[Adam P.]

Where exactly is hunan noodle, never said no to duck blood.

←

It's on Route 46 East in Parsippany across from Chilis and Taco Bell. I've eaten there many times for lunch and would highly recommend their "Spicy Beef Noodle Soup" (your choice with or without beef tendon). I've never had the duck blood - although I've tried their chou dofu which was probably the strangest thing I have ever eaten in my entire life. It's not listed on their menu at all. Most likely because of the putrescent smell that will make neighboring patrons gag.

[M.X.Hassett]

Thanks adam, I will check them out when I return from the Cape. I love trying new things but am horrible remembring ingredients and prep always lose my notes, what exactly is chou dofu.

edit: gotta love google, chou dofu = stinky tofu. You say it was strange, in a good or bad way? From what I gather people either love this or hate, the same way people love or hate natto, durien, fermented fish paste, etc...

Edited August 27, 2005 by M.X.Hassett (log)

[Adam P.]

Thanks adam, I will check them out when I return from the Cape. I love trying new things but am horrible remembring ingredients and prep always lose my notes, what exactly is chou dofu.

edit: gotta love google, chou dofu = stinky tofu. You say it was strange, in a good or bad way? From what I gather people either love this or hate, the same way people love or hate natto, durien, fermented fish paste, etc...

←

It smelled and tasted like....dookie. It makes durian smell heavenly in comparison.

[M.X.Hassett]

Thanks adam, I will check them out when I return from the Cape. I love trying new things but am horrible remembring ingredients and prep always lose my notes, what exactly is chou dofu.

edit: gotta love google, chou dofu = stinky tofu. You say it was strange, in a good or bad way? From what I gather people either love this or hate, the same way people love or hate natto, durien, fermented fish paste, etc...

←

It smelled and tasted like....dookie. It makes durian smell heavenly in comparison.

←

ROFLMFAO so I take it that you are not suggesting this dish

[hitmanoo]

on one of my visits to Hunan Cottage, the waiter out-and-out refused to serve me what i ordered.  telling me that i wouldn't like it and basically putting up a fight about it.  well i got my way and whatever it was was very good. 

that kinda put me off to this place.  i'll go to China 46, where you get treated with respect by people who seem geniunely pleased that you enjoy what their restaurant has to offer.

←

This reminds me of Phoenix Garden in NYC, only at PG the staff is helpful in guiding you into what to order. They'll answer your questions and tell you frankly if particular dishes aren't to the American palate--however, the don't do so in a why so as to stop you from ordering any particular item. They are disappointed if you choose to try a dish that they do not recommend for you and you wind up not enjoying it and/or not eating much of it, as has happened to a group I was with on one occasion. However, they are equally as psyched when you make the very same decision and wind up really enjoying the dish. It's great when a staff will help you in your decision making process, but not to the point where they stand in the way of your ordering any particular dish.

All of this being said, last night the staff at Hunan Cottage was very courteous last night, and very helpful in the decision process. Admittedly this was only my 2nd trip to Hunan Cottage. I see we had a much more positive experience than many of you have had.

If China 46 were closer to me, it'd be my regular Chinese restaurant. I've been there twice as well, and have been blown away each time.

[Rosie]

We love Hunan Cottage and it is such a fabulous place to go with a large group. Alas it was just the two of us tonight. We always order at least one thing from the menu that we have never had before. Tonight it was bean curd skin with meat casserole. This dish was scrumptious and was basically a very large bowl of soup with minced pork wrapped in tofu skins, vegetables wrapped in tofu skins, very fine vermicelli noodles and bok choy. We must have had 6 bowls each and brought some home for tomorrow. We also had an order of Taiwan noodles which were very good but we think the chow fun here is a better choice if you are going to order a noodle dish. Dinner was $22 with tax.