Ashley Z.
Yelp
One of the most memorable meals I've had in a while! What a hidden gem!
We put ourselves on the Yelp waitlist on a weekday evening, and it said there were 14 parties in front of us, but when we called the restaurant, they said there was an open table and to come right in! We were seated quickly, and the restaurant was indeed crowded for a weekday night. The focus on presentation here is a little gimmicky, but lends itself to an elevated experience, starting with a bubbling hand sanitizer that we had some fun with.
We started with the mashed garlic cucumbers, which were solid. Very garlicky.
Next came the BBQ lamb skewers, which came with 5 skewers on a mini grill. The skewers were cooked very well, and I liked that they provided a shaker of additional chili pepper to season as needed. This is certainly more expensive than buying individual lamb skewers from the cart in Chinatown, but I felt the meat was more high quality. My bf did note that it didn't have the same smoky char flavor as skewers cooked on a well-loved grill, though.
We got the peking duck 1/2 portion, and I love that they have the option to order a smaller portion for smaller parties. This was presented beautifully. I liked that they provided very thin, chewy, crepe-like wrappers like those used in China, rather than fluffy bao buns. The duck was nice and crispy, and the toppings of cucumber and green onion were fresh. We had extra duck, and they even refilled our wrappers + toppings.
Last, we got the beef ribs with crispy crust, which is akin to a beef wellington. The beef was extremely tender, and the crust was slightly sweet, although I was expecting something a little more light/flakey like a scallion pancake. I enjoyed this dish, but it felt the least "Chinese" and I don't think it's necessary to try. Next time, I would swap this out for the braised beef brisket.
Overall, I had an amazing, authentic meal at Chef Huang! I can't wait to come back.