Why Come Here? Authentic Cantonese cooking with interesting specialties and an emphasis on seafood
Chinese food in New York tends to fall into two categories: the Americanized sweet & salty stuff we all have a love-hate relationship with, dumpling-heavy dim sum and the spicier Szechuan style. Personally I love all three. But China is a vast country and I want to eat all of it. Which is why I was so excited when I was invited to check out the year-old Bite of Hong Kong.
Bite of Hong Kong may resemble many other Chinatown restaurants with its bright lighting and large family style tables. But the similarities end there. The seafood specialist has a commitment to putting the freshest amphibians on your plate as evidenced by the large tanks filled with the likes of fish, eel and dungress crab. The cooking is authentic Cantonese accented with specialty dishes by Chef Fei, a vet of some of Hong Kong’s top restaurants.ย The result is a unique menu with dishes including fish maws in XO, chicken & beef in mango sauce, and salt baked silver fish. They also manage to avoid the typical American-Chinese pitfalls of too much salt, sugar and oil. The result is crisper flavors that leave you feeling like you had an at least somewhat healthy meal. Your only challenge here is navigating the expansive menu, but fortunately the waitstaff is happy to be your guide. Here’s what we tried:
Crispy Seafood Roll Served with a little bit of sweet mayo, think of this as the best fishstick you’ve ever eaten.
Crispy Fried Diced Pork Rib These meaty little bites of fried rib are a fun way to start your meal. It doesn’t hurt that they sweet and sour sauce they come with is the bomb.
Fried Gold Pomfret Hong Kong Style This dish wins initial points for presentation as you receive the whole fish covered in fried chunks of the meat. The pieces are crispy without being greasy and have a pleasing whitefish flavor. Be sure to dig underneath to find the hidden scallions and chilis.
Shredded Steak & Chicken with Mango Sort of a sweet & sour stir fry of beef, chicken, peppers and scallions. It picks up a pleasing tropical note from the mango and manages to not be over sweetened like at so many Chinese restaurants.
House Special Fried Rice with Dried Scallops Fried rice is a dish I have trouble getting excited about, but I loved the play of the salty dried scallop against the sweet golden raisins. Note that it’s sized for about four people.
Note: I was invited as a guest of the establishment and received a complimentary meal. This was not in exchange for a positive review and opinions expressed are my own.
Bite of Hong Kong
81 Chrystie Street
New York, NY
