"YongChuan is a two-month-old restaurant that opened on the Lower East Side at 90 Clinton Street, just north of Delancey, the lone restaurant in Manhattan focusing on the delicate dishes of Ningbo, a port city in the Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai. The chef Xing Zhong Qiu has created a menu that also dabbles in Sichuan fare, along with dishes from Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Hunan. The staff is helpful and you can dine well for $75 or so by ordering one more dish than the number at your table. Order from a mostly French and Italian wine list with reasonably-priced selections. I recommend a white varietal from Piedmont’s Cortese grape ($17), light and slightly flowery, and tasting of wet stone. Here are a few recommendations from a recent visit. Blazing red dumplings stuffed with crawfish taste of Louisiana and should be dunked in the black vinegar provided for a delightful contrast of dark, sour, and spicy flavors. $15 For this dish, squash is paired with dried scallops and Jinghua ham. The former imparts a salty and fishy flavor, the latter — China’s most prized ham, made in an inland city to the southwest of Ningbo — adds a note not unlike bacon. Best eaten hot, the dish arrives with a chafing dish flame underneath, and when the vegetable is gone, spoon the broth like soup. $26 Sea bass in subtle greenish broth pairs with slippery oyster mushrooms in this house special. Even with a forest of rattan peppercorns on top, it's not terribly spicy, and doesn’t tingle like Sichuan peppercorns unless you crack them with your teeth. This is the rare dish where you can regulate the heat as you eat it, according to how many rattan peppercorns you pull off. $49 Chunks of firm and bony skin-on fish are smoked and coated with a soy mixture. The sweet, smoky, and fishy flavor is divine. $18 Stinky winter melon isn’t as fragrant as stinky tofu, but it does have a mild fermented flavor and a slight sourness. Served cold with tiny red chiles, it’s the most crisp and refreshing appetizer imaginable — a clean contrast to stir fries and rich stews. $12 This soup makes the tuber the star of the show, creamy and lumpy in a delightful sort of way, flavored with tidbits of crunchy pork skin that shine like gold nuggets. This could become your favorite Chinese soup, shutting out wonton, West Lake beef, and sweet-and-sour soups. $25" - Robert Sietsema
