Cha Chan Tang

If you remember the last time I was in NY, I was totally thrilled to have found this place. Cha Chan Tang NY was a nice little hole in the wall that puts a new spin on old Hong Kong favorites. The ironic thing is that these aren't any fancy dishes, it's really like variation of fried rice and Chinese dishes that are Westernized.

An example of a spin on the old favorite is the milk tea. They put the milk tea in a milk jug and put it in a pail with ice. The spin is that, the traditional way, which they do serve, but as you know with any iced drinks, if you nurse your drink the ice will water down your drink. This way you can enjoy all of your milk tea as it's intended. The treat was that they actually use the net (aka hose) to brew the tea, which is really the proper way of making it.
Here we have fried rice with salty dried fish with cubed chicken. Personally, I like it with more salty fish. I know, the faint thought of dried fish disgust alot of people, but truly, you don't even see it, and it's full of flavor.
Here's another Hong Kong favorite. It's actually more of a street fare that brought back childhood memories. These are fish balls (laugh here) with curry sauce. I will say that the taste wasn't as full as I remembered. I'm not sure if it's because the street vendor has these soaked in the curry sauce for a long time versus these are cooked then have the curry sauce poured on top. Maybe the marinating did the trick, but the taste is not close enough. Trust me, I'm not complaining, just the sheer fact that I got to have some is such a treat that I can forget about the details... yum!

Now, don't get discouraged if you get there and there's a wait. There's a wait anytime they are open, breakfast/lunch/or dinner. Sometimes with a smaller party is a quick incentive for a table, but usually expect at least a 15-20 minutes wait. But trust me, it's worth it.

Cha Chan Tang
45 Mott Street

New York, NY 10013

212-577-2888