Cha Chan Tang - NY

Every time I got to NY, I have to stop by Cha Chan Tang.  It really is a little home for me and it's great to have a small taste.

Here's their ice bucketed milk tea.   It's really a good idea, this way, the ice won't all melt into your milk tea, which then turn into a layer of water before you get to your tea.  Plus, you get more tea for your value.  I wish they do a Yin Yang version of it.  By the way, the 'formula' of Yin Yang, is not 50/50 as most people think that it is... it's 3/4 of one and 1/4 of another... just didn't remember which is which... :-/

Then, I ordered my favorite, Salty Fish and Chicken Fried Rice.  Honestly, I've never had that until I moved to Texas.  My dad ordered it from somewhere when I was having cabin fever and that cheered me up somehow, and I've stuck with it since.

Another night, David had a craving for Cha Chan Tang again, and it's like twist my arm about that.  This time I had the Red Bean Ice, which is really cooked red bean (which is already a bit sweeten) with condensed milk and shaved ice.  You mix it all up, and you get this yummy drink!  Ok, it's more like dessert, but I drank it.

This round I ordered the curry pork rice.  Yet another dish from my childhood that brings back memory.  And, actually, I'm a big fan of curry and don't get it nearly enough.  The pork is very tender and not at all chewy, definitely good.

I had to order some 'fish balls'.  LOL.  They are really street hawker food, like $1 a skewer with 6 of them on one.  They would be dipped in different sauces.  Of course, I secretly thinks that the air, the dust, the street is really what adds to the taste.  They don't taste the same eating them at a sit down place.

When you come here, we found that it's easier if we don't come during 'peak' hours.  You know, come after breakfast or after lunch, or have a late dinner.  Although, for dinner we found that weekdays are definitely easier to get seated than during the weekend.  Otherwise, bring patience, because the wait list can get long.   It's not that you can't find similar places in Chinatown, just that this is hip, up-to-date, and yet still keep the food tradition, the mixture of all of those components are what makes this place special for me.

Cha Chan Tang

45 Mott Street  

New York, NY 10013
(212) 577-2888