Cheap Eats: Dumplings and 5th Avenue

Two suggestions from various sources for weekend chow:

1. TimeOutNY has a list of the "Best Cheap Dumplings in NYC" and Sunset's Wong Wong Noodle Shop is first on the list. Here's what they had to say about it:

Wong Wong Noodle Shop
While the whap-whap of hand-pulled wheat noodles dominates this soup shack, the place also fashions fat little purses of pork and scallions that dribble meaty juices with each bite ($3 for 12). 5410 Eighth Ave at 54th St, Sunset Park, Brooklyn (718-633-5633).

Love the use of onomatopoeia, and I wish they made dumplings with just scallions and cabbage. But there are plenty of places on 8th where you can buy dumplings (veggie or otherwise) for 4 for a dollar or so. Several places that look like they don't sell anything (just a white booth with a see-through window) actually sell delicious stuff to take home a cook. It's inexpensive and usually quite good. Enjoy.

2. How did I miss this? Brokelyn also points out that this Sunday will be a 5th Avenue walking delight:

Sunday from 11 to 6, the Sunset Park BID is turning Fifth Avenue from 44th to 52nd Street into a pedestrian zone, which is great by us because that is a great drag for cheap stuff. Your starting point: a $5.45 Dominican breakfast at the International Restaurant, across the street from Sunset Park at 4408 5th Ave. between 44th & 45th Streets. Or grab a mango pastry from La Gran Via, a few blocks south at 4516 Fifth Ave. Either way, you’ll have to walk to Bay Ridge to work off the calories. http://www.brokelyn.com/brokelyn-approved-weekend-events-2/

Jump-Start Your Relationship in Sunset Park

According to Time Out New York, the place to put a little pizazz into your long-term relationship is Sunset Park. If you start out here and work your way south, you'll dispel all worry about the solidity of your love. Start out with Ba Xuyen (the article points out that the veggie only option is yummy. Didn't I tell you?), throw in some bludgeoned bass, buy squid on a stick, and you're set. Isn't that true for any romantic relationship?

Check out their suggestions. I'd make a few adjustments, but it's a good walking tour with bountiful pit stops and views. Good effort, TONY.

TONY Suggests Sunset Park Restaurants for the Year of the OX

In just a few days, Chinese New Year - this year will be the Year of the Ox - celebrations will begin. Even though Brooklyn's Chinatown has some small celebrations, the best way to celebrate on 8th Avenue will be to eat.

Time Out NY highlights a few places around Sunset's Chinatown. Lucky Eight, on 8th and 52nd, is touted for its live fish tank...pick out your dinner! Don't bother clicking the TONY link in the article. It takes you to some Manhattan restaurant. Sheesh.

Speaking of Manhattan, its Nyonya is mentioned, but we have a Nyonya too. It's had ups and downs, but it's pretty good overall.

Of course Pacificana's dim sum is mentioned. I love this place. If you're planning on going, choose off hours and leave time for a wait. Especially for the next week or so!

Hong Kong Supermarket on 8th and 60th isn't mentioned, but I'm sure you can pick up just about anything you want for the Year of the Ox there.

With that in mind, check out the article from TONY: Time Out NY Article.

Shara Worden is Doing the Rounds

When new movies come out, the actors show up on talk shows and entertainment shows. When a tour comes to town, or a new album is released, the musicians are interviewed by TimeOut and, apparently, Gothamist. Shara Worden is doing her duty as My Brightest Diamond's leader.

Check out how TONY highlights Shara Worden's apartment, and read the Gothamist Q&A here.

The image is the cover of A Thousand Shark's Teeth, the new album from My Brightest Diamond.

Sunset Park's Chinatown Gets Some Press

Brooklyn's Chinatown had a busy week in two popular publications.

The Village Voice's Robert Sietsema gushes about our Chinatown as being less crowded, less touristy (for now), more sunny and just better than other boroughs. Here is a particularly gushy-gush: "The scene that flanks you as you float northward on Eighth is a salutary one, with vendors selling soft bean curd, miniature Hong Kong cakes, and banana-leaf-wrapped rice meals studded with sausages and dates." I can't say I've ever floated along 8th Avenue, but it's lovely to see some attention given to places other than Pacificana and Ocean Palace. Mr. Sietsema focuses on noodle shops with a passing nod to a Vietnamese sandwich shop in the 50's. Sadly, he didn't make it past 46th Street, so he didn't stop in to Ba Xuyen, but it gets props in the next publication. Check out his mentions of the Hong Kong Supermarket, Lan Zhou, Quickly, Than Da, China Tea, and Yun Nan flavor snack here.

Ears at Ba Xuyen's #1 sandwich get noticed in TimeOutNY's Restaurants & Bars section. It's the second section of "Think Pig" in Issue 659. It comes with a lovely graphic that shows a poor little piggie's edible parts...pretty much the entire pig.