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Waltuck takes us to Lunch Box Buffet

Photograph: Dan Eckstein

Chinatown with David Waltuck Chef, Chanterelle

You wouldn’t know it from his Gallic fine-dining résumé, but David Waltuck knows his way around a wok. The chef behind Tribeca’s beloved Chanterelle is in talks to work on downtown’s forthcoming Portuguese-Chinese restaurant Macao Trading Co. He became a self-taught expert on Asian cuisine while first preparing for his now-legendary Chinese New Year party—a family-and-friends-only tradition at Chanterelle since 1998. Appearing on the party menu: plates of sweet-savory pork buns from Chatham Restaurant (9 Chatham Sq at East Broadway, 212-267-0220), the first stop on our tour of his favorite inexpensive Asian eats. “These are the best in Chinatown,” he says, as a plate loaded with glistening rounds clatters to a stop in front of him. ”They go through thousands a day, so they are always fresh.” And cheap: Three of them clock in at just $4.

We hang a left and head to Lunch Box Buffet Inc. (15 Division St between Catherine and Market Sts, 212-941-1273), where $4 buys your choice of four dishes from the eclectic steam table. A Cantonese spread of both the familiar (yes, you can find General Tso’s) and the outré (was that a pig’s ear?) stretches the length of the restaurant. “You want to get in earlier, when [the food] is still fresh,” says Waltuck. “I go for braised stuff; it doesn’t matter as much if it’s been sitting out for a while.” We peel off a few singles, and the cashier scoops a mound of rice into a Styrofoam container; we fill it with a “Lion’s head” (a pork meatball), snow peas tossed in sesame oil, spicy chicken and tripe.

Afterward, we cross back over Chatham Square and stroll along Doyers and Pell Streets, pausing to take in some of the local color: Waltuck points out a barbershop called Mei Dick (pronounced the way you’d think). “Take a picture!” he laughs.

At Fried Dumpling (106 Mosco St between Mott and Mulberry Sts, 212-693-1060), a one-spot buys us five pork-and-chive-stuffed pockets. “There are better dumplings in New York, but not for 20¢ apiece,” says Waltuck, balancing on one of the joint’s five stools.

Circling back toward the Bowery, we duck into Chinatown Arcade, a covered alleyway that houses New Malaysia Restaurant (Chinatown Arcade #28, enter at 46–48 Bowery between Bayard and Canal Sts, 212-964-0284). “I have a fondness for this arcade,” Waltuck says. “There used to be a place here called Phoenix Garden. It was my favorite Cantonese; they have a place now in the 40s.”

We claim a table and the chef calls in an order of roti canai. “This is an elaborate thing to sell for $2.95,” he says of the chicken curry served with a flaky, griddle-cooked pancake. We also indulge in a heaping plate of char kway teow ($5.95), a classic Malay dish of stir-fried noodles with bean sprouts, egg, shrimp, sausage and potent chilies.

As we wind down the feast, Waltuck lists some places we missed: For Chinese barbecue, the counter at New Kam Man (200 Canal St at Mulberry St, 212-571-0330); for pho, or Vietnamese noodles, Nha Trang (87 Baxter St between Bayard and Canal Sts, 212-233-5948). Eyeing the line forming inside Bahn Mi Sau Voi Café (101–105 Lafayette St at Walker St, 212-226-8184), he laments, “There’s a whole side to Chinatown we didn’t even explore.” Guess we’ll just have to do this again sometime.—Jordana Rothman

NEXT: Line cooks share their favorite dishes

Pichet Ong of P*ong and Batch | Julie Reiner of Clover Club | Sohui Kim of the Good Fork |

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« BACK TO INDEX

Time Out New York / Issue 667 : Jul 10–16, 2008

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Comments

1. Posted by erin on Sun, Jul 26, at 02:49am

   Eater blows.

   Flag as inappropriate
2. Posted by J.A. on Tue, Mar 24, at 11:34am

   Hey guys, there is more to life than just Manhattan. Why don't you try coming to the "outer boroughs"!

   Flag as inappropriate
3. Posted by Donald on Sat, Jul 12, 08, at 9:31am

   The article was written by someone who didn't understand what Pichet Ong was saying. The writer talks about pad thai as though it means any and all Thai fried noodle dishes. But I think Pichet Ong was talking about a couple different kinds of noodle dishes, and it doesn't sound like either of them was pad thai! The article still makes the food sound good, but pad thai is never served with red sauce, even in the US, and is never stir fried for hours.

   Flag as inappropriate
4. Posted by Donald on Sat, Jul 12, 08, at 9:29am

   The article was written by someone who didn't understand what Pichet Ong was saying. The writer talks about pad thai as though it means any and all Thai fried noodle dishes. But I think Pichet Ong was talking about a couple different kinds of noodle dishes, and it doesn't sound like either of them was pad thai!

   Flag as inappropriate
5. Posted by Gary on Fri, Jul 11, 08, at 9:55am

   You guys should stop focusing solely on Downtown and Brooklyn. There are other parts of the city too.

   Flag as inappropriate

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