Fantasy Fruit Farm Blueberry cider: Purchased on a whim from Fantasy Fruit Farm at the Union Square farmers market in NYC, this bottle of fresh pressed blueberry cider was insanely sweet, making it difficult to consume. Perhaps this speaks to the freshness of the fruit, but a milder drink would be more palatable. It tastes a bit different than normal cider, but if I hadn't seen the label, it would have been hard to guess it was blueberry flavored. 2.5/5.0
drinks unionsquaremarket farmersmarket nyc fantasyfruitfarm blueberry cider 2.5
Fong On Can't Go Wrong Tofu Pudding with Red Beans, Grass Jelly, and Taro Balls: Fong On is a small family-run tofu shop on Division Street in Chinatown, right next to the Manhattan Bridge. I found out about it from a profile in the New York Times a few months ago, describing how the long-standing neighborhood tofu shop, which had been open for 80 years, had recently relocated and reopened after the son took over the family business. They sell freshly made soy milk, rice cakes, and doufu hua, all traditional Chinese favorites. Doufu hua is kind of like getting frozen ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended chinatown nyc tofu doufuhua doufu fongon can't go wrong pudding red beans grass jelly taro balls 3.5
Fong On Sweetened soy milk: I really love Asian soy milk, so I was looking forward to this housemade bottle from Fong On in Chinatown. The 16oz bottle cost a little over $2. I purchased the sweetened version, which tasted just like the soy milk you buy from street vendors in Taiwan; beany but loose in viscocity, very sweet but also thirst quenching. Overall, I liked it, but it was definitely on the sweet side - not something I could drink in a single serving. 3.0/5.0
chinatown nyc soy milk chinese fongon sweetened soy milk 3.0
Fuku Strawberry Lemonade Slush: Lemonade can be the perfect complement to fast food, cleansing your palate in between bites of rich fried foods. Fuku's strawberry lemonade slush takes classic lemonade to a whole new level. A seemingly endless supply churns in their screw-driven slushie machine, its mechanics drawing your attention as much as its vivid pink color. The texture is consistent in a way that probably only a machine can achieve, with ice crystals that are just large enough to hold its texture. The drink itsel... (read more) 4.5/5.0
recommended drinks slushie nyc fuku strawberry lemonade slush 4.5
Golden Steamer Pumpkin Bun: Golden Steamer epitomizes what I love about NYC. It’s a hole-in-the-wall, cash-only bao shop right off of Canal St on Mott in Chinatown, with sweet and savory offerings all around $1 each. The sizable buns can easily be a meal on its own, offering an incredible value. This lightly sweetened pumpkin bun has a eggy flavor and starchy, creamy layers of pumpkin paste towards the center. The bread is more dense than their white buns used in their savory baos (reviews forthcoming) but the bread st... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended cheap nyc bakery chinese steamed bao goldensteamer pumpkin bun 4.0
Golden Steamer Big Bun with chicken, vegetables, and egg: Served in a scaldingly hot waxed bakery takeaway bag, the big bun from NYC Chinatown’s Golden Steamer takes several minutes to cool down before before consumption. Inside a fluffy and supple steamed white bun is a mixture of savory chicken, pickled mustard greens, and sliced hard-boiled egg. The lightly sweetened bun mixed with the meaty hearty filling, which steam has congealed into an almost meatball-like texture, is hard to beat at $1.25. 4.5/5.0
exceptional chinatown nyc bao bread asian goldensteamer big bun chicken vegetables egg 4.5