Based on this enthusiastic review, we ate at Hwa Yuan Szechuan last night and were greatly disappointed. The dishes were very overpriced and the fish in several dishes was spoiled, including the crab in the crabcakes and the grilled squid. The whole fish was frozen and the jellyfish appetizer was way underseasoned. We will not return.
I find it rather amusing, to have this this restaurant famed for Sichuan cuisines, yet the pictures of Peking duck are featured so prominently. Afterall, it's called "Peking" duck, for the good reason that it's decidedly _not_ a Sichuan dish. From the sound of it, it's more a pan-Chinese restaurant. Afterall, whatever works, works. Hence, the touch of Japanese coffee, and more.
If the food is good, it's good. Interestingly, I've noted the $$$ sign that NYC Critic has given it. I'm not so hung up on just a name. I might give it a try next time I visit the area. But if it's not as good as it's billed for, or if it's overpriced, that would be it for me.
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had heard about the pending re-opening of Hwa Yuan for a while, and finally gathered a few friends to try it at the re-incarnation. in 70's and 80's, we always went to NYC Chinatown for Hwa Yuan when my father-in-law visited from Hong Kong. he lived in Sichuan for many years and my mother-in-law a Sichuanese. he loved to dine at Hwa Yuan, and said they were authentic. however, we felt like deflated balloons after dining there again after the reopening: food was not what we expected, and the high price ! many dishes were more like American-fusion Chinese.
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Went there on Saturday and had a sublimely good lunch. Indeed, my 10yo daughter declared it to be the best lunch she ever had.
Sesame noodles, of course. Various dim sum, all great. Crispy beef, boing. The potatoes (what's the sticky sauce - I think that will be hard to replicate at home..) fabulous, as described.
What was amazing, after such a great review, was that we had no wait, there was no line, and the place was only half full.
Run, don't walk. This place is almost too good to be true.
My brother and I ate at the original every month back in the early 80s. One night we ordered Shredded Beef Home Style. The waiter told us it was hot. We knew that and told him we like hot food and reminded him that everything we ordered had a red star next to it. He finally said it was too hot for Caucasians, so of course we said we wanted it. Turned out he was right - it was the only time we didn't fight to see who would take home the leftovers! I am so sad I don't live near this reincarnation!
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I was excited to check out Hwa Yuan since as so many others wrote, that was our go to restaurant in the old days and remembered it fondly especially the sesame noodles. Of course that was over 30 years ago and memories are a bit vague... so I would say food is good not great and as others said, over priced. That includes the sesame noodles. The chicken with wine sauce is good but not worth $24. The best dish was the Xiao Long Bao - tender skin and right amount of broth. Service was good too.
2
SIGH...Van Morrison!
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I was a frequent customer of this Sichuan noodle restaurant near NYC Chinatown during late 1960s. It was one of the most popular Chinese restaurants in NYC, it was affordable and delicious. I also enjoyed a Cantonese restaurant located in NYC Chinatown Mott street. The Guangzhou Lou (Canton Restaurant) was famous gathering place for Chinese students studying in New York City during 1940s and 1950s. This restaurant was famous for its bean curd fish dish. I love Chinatown when I was a young student in those years. The owner of the Canton Restaurant had five beautiful daughters and one of them later was the winner of Miss Chinatown NYC. I am old but I still remember those good old days in New York but I have not visit NYC Chinatown area for almost over 20 years. The Chinatown today is probably much different than 50 years ago.
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If cold sesame noodles is the only noteworthy dish, calling it a Noodle Dynasty is more than a stretch. The Chinese food in NYC has been trending towards the homogenized, tourist-attraction cuisine that is frankly disappointing. Tim Ho Wan and DaDong are other examples of this pedestrian approach to what should have been regional specialties. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as some people enjoy it. But are the reviews trending towards mediocrity as well?
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Bummer on the Pekin duck. It's become a lost art in NYC I guess with so few places now doing it properly or at all. A true PKD is such a beautiful thing to share with your table. Maybe Pete can do a piece on where to find great PKD in the city now?
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Lik many here, we went to the original countless times, sometimes twice a week. THE only time our car was towed was when we parked illegally to go there! Was back a few weeks ago. Agree portions were small and I could do without the Francine’s, China, linends, etc. I hope they adjust the menu to bring back some of the bes5 of the old dishes including the carp and chicken with walnuts, which’s I did not see on the menu. Also, they need to lower the prices....
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Thank you Pete! This is the absolute best Valentines gift ever! My family ate there EVERY sunday, driving from east flatbush from 1977 until the restaurant burnt down in the fire. ahh... mu shu .... chicken n walnuts... szechuan pork.. whole fish with ginger! on my way!
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The original Hwa Yuan at 40 East Broadway burned down in 1983 so I doubt Pete Wells ever patronized the restaurant. One of their signature dishes, besides cold noodles sesame, was dry beef Szechuan, which I have never seen on the menu at any other Chinese restaurant. This past December, I asked the host if that dish was still available and he answered affirmatively, but what arrived was coated in sugar, not spicy and definitely not dry. Unfortunately, the resurrected Hwa Yuan has little resemblance to one of the most unique restaurants in Chinatown.
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Ywa Yuan was a family favorite of ours in the late 70's and 80's until it was closed by fire. The trip to East Broadway for cold noodles and fiery Szechuan dishes enjoyed amongst the happy cacophony of satisfied diners remains an indelible NY memory. So much so that we immediately made reservations for Christmas dinner for 3 generations of family..hoping to start a new tradition! At the original Hwa Yuan..the food arrived quickly and very hot, there was an abundance of menu items and the portions were plentiful. It was easy to keep the lazy susan filled with plates and a large party happy. Our Christmas dinner may have been the jitters of a recently opened restaurant. The wait staff was very inexperienced...orders were taken and food arrived after a very long wait or not at all and cold from probably sitting waiting to be delivered to the table. Portions were small..at the end of the meal no one felt satisfied or full. The menu seemingly had no connection to the original menu from the 70's...we asked the Host if they could prepare a shredded beef szechuan style, an old favorite, dry and fiery, but this was not possible. I feel bad writing a comment that isn't glowing as we truly loved the old Ywa Yuan. Hopefully we just experienced a new restaurant with growing pains that will be resolved, as we do wish them well. For New Yorkers of a certain age Ywa Yuan holds a special place in memory..hopefully they will find their footing.
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I had a carp in a spicy black bean sauce with my brother-in-law at what I remember as 40 East Broadway in the early 70's: one of the best fish ever! Glad to see this place is back, even if I got the address wrong and they no longer serve the carp.
BTW, the best fish I've had since then was a grilled pargo a la veracruzana last month at La Palapa del Tio Fito, in Campeche. Lots of good meals in between but nothing quite as good as either of those memorable fish.
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"...like hearing Van Morrison for the first time when you've grown up on Ed Sheeran".
One of your best and truest observations. Thanks Pete!!
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I ate there a while ago after reading a clip in The Post about the Seinfeld noodle joint reopening. But shockingly, the Cold Sesame Noodles were about the only thing affordable on the menu at $12. Many other dishes were in the top class Steakhouse price range. I did observe the tableside carving of a duck by a phalanx of smartly dressed waiters. And probably the only Chinese restaurant I’ve been to with a separate steeply priced wine list. I was a little abashed therefore to order tap water with my noodles. But the waitperson graciously topped it up as needed without a hint of reluctance. Definitely not your college days sort of place to chow down on a budget.
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We went to this restaurant many times years ago. The staff knew us. We returned a few weeks ago early afternoon on a weekend. The restaurant was almost empty I was with the only Chinese customers. I understood why it was empty after our meal.The food was average, the prices very high especially $10 for a pot of Smith tea bag Jasmine tea. So now you know average food, outrageous tea price and an empty restaurant. Not much of a puzzle. Last but not least when we ordered a dish without Garlic it arrived full of Garlic.
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I miss those noodles - On the take out menu, your choice of a can of Coke or a cold sesame noodle free with your purchase, filled the belly of a starving artist. Now I live in the south and cannot find them anywhere.
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Me too. I use to live in NY and Hwa Yuan was my childhood family's go to restaurant for a Sunday dinner. Now I live in Raleigh, North Carolina and although we have a vibrant restaurant scene, good Chinese is close to impossible to find. I can't wait to get back to NY for some cold sesame noodles.
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I hope the food tastes better than it looks.
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Was that a pan? Sounds like only a few dishes were liked by the author... and the article made me want to avoid the place rather than run to it...
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Now if someone would reopen the old China Town great Lin's Garden my life would be complete.
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Sounds good to me, I live in Eugene Oregon where our best food places are less than mediocre. Chinese places are low in seasoning high in oil, our Thai places have dispensed with Thai spices. Seriously, who wants sautéed ingredients unseasoned? It is not unusual for the rice to be hard as it was prepared so long ago. Our non asian places simply drown everything in butter and salt. Trying to name a good restaurant here is close to impossible if you have ever experienced good food. I and my friends like to go out but we have given up . Considering what it cost to eat out we can afford whatever we want at the market and get together to prepare it and it is much more fun than forking over $250. for indifferently prepared food. What's the problem with delicious?
I'm planning a trip to NY this spring and look forward to food prepared by people who care.
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Don't hold your breath.
Sounds like you need to cook more at home.
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“ If you know only the sugary peanut-butter imitation, tasting Hwa Yuan’s original must be like hearing Van Morrison for the first time when you’ve grown up on Ed Sheeran.” This may be your best written line ever.
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Please forgive me one remembrance: I came to NYC from Baltimore in 1980 for a teaching fellowship with the great pulmonologist, Dr. William Harris, on the Bellevue Chest Service. Dr. Harris was the perennial president of the Taiwan-American Friendship Society, and a great supporter of all things Taiwan. As part of one's training, we accompanied him to Chinatown every Friday, to hold a Chest Clinic, at Gouverneur Hospital. One of the perks was to have lunch with Dr. Harris at one of his favorite restaurants, usually Hwa Yuan. Maybe the food wasn't supposed to be agonizingly spicy, but Dr. Harris augmented our dishes with spoonful after spoonful of red pepper chile paste. Each bite made your head feel like it was exploding, and your eyes and nose run like a faucet. I can still remember walking down East Broadway after the meal, trying to clear up my eyes before getting to the Clinic.
Well, Dr. Harris has been gone for quite a few years, and he is terribly missed by all the alumni of the Bellevue Chest Service. I am sure that my colleagues welcome the return of Hwa Yuan, both for its great food, and for calling to mind all those great Friday afternoon meals in Chinatown with Dr. H.
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My husband also trained on the chest service with Dr Harris. We have as a souvenir of his time there Pei Mei's cookbook. I remember my husband brining home exotic vegetables from Chinatown like Buddha's fist. But Hwa Yuan for me was associated with my family and childhood and my teenage years.
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I hate to seem so hopelessly out of step and provincial to Mr. Wells...but I can enjoy the original cold noodles and still have an equal enjoyment of what he called "sugary-peanut buttery' version. And here's another confession - I love Ed Sheeran. Why the hating on Ed, Pete, why?
4
Dined there twice last week and had the Peking duck which was nothing like the one you described. Our masterful carver wielded her knife with surgical precision. Crispy skin, tender and juicy “white” and “dark” meat, was melt-in your mouth delicious. As noted, the sesame noodles were outstanding, as the scallion pancake.
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If for no other reason, I must check out this restaurant after reading this classic Wellsian coment: "If you know only the sugary peanut-butter imitation, tasting Hwa Yuan’s original must be like hearing Van Morrison for the first time when you’ve grown up on Ed Sheeran.
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I used to go to the restaurant many times in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s on business trips to New York. The food was terrific, especially the cold sesame noodles. Then one day, a colleague and I took a cab to East Broadway and Hwa Yuan was gone! I asked around and it was as if it never existed. Glad to hear it’s back.
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I ate at that original Hwa Yuan dozens and dozens of times, when I lived in Brooklyn and Queens. Often, we would drive from The Rockaways just for a bowl of cold sesame noodles. Sometimes, we would make the drive and pick up dinner for ten. Either way, it was bliss. Decades later, my friends from those days are scattered all over the country and world, but we are making plans to gather at Hwa Yuan this summer........
7
As good as the cold noodles were/are, it was the hacked chicken that I remember as a revelation at the original Hwa Yuan. We used to drive from school in south jersey just for the cold noodles, hacked chicken, dry-sauteed string beans and Sichuan beef. Thanks for the memories Pete.
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It is always great when gastronomic traditions do not die, as evidenced by the revival of Hwa Yuan Szechuan.
The whole fish in hot bean sauce reminds of a similar dish in Thai restaurants: a whole fish grilled and served upright in a metallic stand, sauces on the side.
Cold noodles do not excite me, but chicken with tiny cooked potatoes is very appetizing.
2
Funny that for all the mentions of Shorty Tang and his cold sesame noodles there is no mention of the original Shorty Tang Noodles on 8th avenue in Chelsea. Fantastic little go-to spot that had closed for a while but is now open again. It has a slightly smaller menu but one that includes many of the wonderful items written about here.
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