March 21, 2013









Poon Kee's store front on a cold day.

The shop owner hidden behind a shroud of steam.

Simple and incredibly cheap.

Al fresco, al freezing. Clockwise: fish balls, rice rolls, beef chow fun and stewed tripe.

Soft, chewy rice rolls.

Honeycomb tripe - my favorite of the cow's 4 stomachs (I know, I'm so gross).





As expected, the fish balls and chow fun were tasty but unremarkable. The premade chow-fun lacked its characteristic wok-hei smokiness (when food is stirfried over an extremely hot fire) and much of the added flavor had been negated by the absorbent rice noodles. Similarly, the fish balls were steamed store-bought fare – nothing special.





Spices and skewers. Nothing like a little street meat to complete the meal.

Come on, how amazing does that look?

NYC Chinatown is iconic. There’s a duck hanging in every window, cheap trinkets spilling out from souvenir shops onto the sidewalk and produce carts manned by wizened ladies gabbing loudly in Cantonese. But the sights that we’re familiar with only tell half the story. Literally.In my experience, the Chinatown people think they know runs from Broadway in the west to Bowery in the east, with Canal serving as the main artery. But further east in the areas below the Manhattan bridge, there is a starkly different world. Gone are the tourists looking for a good deal, and in their place, dozens of simple shops and eateries trying to eke out an honest living. Frankly, it’s not the cleanest or the most gentrified neighborhood, but it sure does have some great food.One shop A. and I have been excited to try is Poon Kee, a Hong Kong style, standing-room-only eatery featuring less than a dozen small snacks on its menu.We were met with a large gust of tepid vapor as we walked into the small shop, presumably caused by steaming food. In the fog, intimidating ladies were lading menu items into styrofoam clam shells and taking orders with a terse “what do you want?”I've had my fair share of being yelled at for being slow, so I knew I had to be precise and unfussy with my selections. My must-have order was Cantonese stewed tripe with daikon radish. Cooked in this manner, tripe is a popular dim sum staple and I was curious to compare this homey version to the many others I've had in the past.Surprisingly, A. who is usually not a fan of noodles, was most excited about the plain rice rolls. Another well-known Cantonese snack, the rolls are simply steamed sheets of rice flour batter rolled into long tubes. Typically rice rolls have a filling like shrimp, beef or liver. However, Poon Kee’s starchy-white offering was only topped with a brown sauce, hot sauce and sesame seeds.In addition to these two dishes, we also tried the Hong Kong style fish balls and beef chow fun. Our order came out to an unbelievable total of $8 – proving that eating in Chinatown East has its perks.Too hungry to eat our spoils at home, A. and I braved the cold and ate on a park bench near Poon Kee. A.’s out-of-character order made me rather curious to try the rice rolls first. Making sure to have a good roll-to-sauce ratio, I popped a piece into my mouth, expecting mediocrity. Instead, the toothsome rolls were very flavorful. For one, the brown sauce was actually a sesame paste, soy sauce and sugar concoction, glazing each roll with a nutty, salty sheen. What set these rice rolls apart, however, was the freshness of their base batter. The chewy rolls had a distinct sweetness and sticky texture that comes with using decent rice.Next, I went for a bite of tripe. Cut into big slices, the honeycomb tripe was difficult to eat because the meat was quite chewy. Additionally, the tripe still retained some mineral notes that undeniably marked it as offal. Even though the tripe was generally enjoyable, both of these signs showed that the meat needed to be cooked down a tad longer.Leftovers in hand, we stopped by Division Street for a bonus XinJiang lamb skewer before heading home. This classic street snack of the Uigur minority is wildly popular in most parts of China, especially the Northern areas. Dressed with salt, chili powder and cumin, the skewers of fatty lamb are grilled over a charcoal fire. The end product is smoky, lusciously rich and incredibly delicious.Chinatown East remains one of the rare Manhattan neighborhoods still waiting to be discovered. Disguised by a gritty exterior and overshadowed by the hustle and bustle to the west, this area is filled with cheap restaurants, unique shops and friendly locals. After my experience at Poon Kee, I can’t wait to try more hidden gems.39 Monroe StreetNew York, NY 10002