Mission Chinese Brooklyn

"Mission Chinese used to be one of the best parties around. Its creative food, hip hop soundtrack, and neon lights drew birthdays and rowdy client dinners and friends celebrating long-overdue breakups. It felt less like someplace to eat before a night out, and more like the night out itself. While the party’s still going on at Mission Chinese, now it feels like most people left hours ago. The two-floor space has colorful lights, a fish tank in the middle of the dining room, and a hallway that looks like a house of mirrors. All of those things, plus some big leather booths and loud music, make this place feel more like a club than a restaurant. In the past, that was part of the draw - and it was once extremely hard to get in here. But now that it’s emptier, the clubby space just feels a bit awkward. The food also isn’t as good as it used to be. Crowds of people (us included) used to line up for intensely spicy, super flavorful chicken wings and rice cakes with bacon. But now those rice cakes don’t have any kick, and the bacon is just a concentrated blast of salt and smoke. There’s a sashimi appetizer served with so much sweet ponzu sauce that you can barely tell the difference between the slices of bonito, scallop, and salmon. Rather than spending $16 on salt cod fried rice, just ask for a side of white rice, which tastes nearly the same. You do still get some spice in dishes like the chicken wings and hot and sour glass noodles, and if you want a large-format experience (which Mission Chinese is also known for), the head-on fish is a good order. All those dishes somehow come out faster than seems possible given factors like cooking and walking, so you should stagger your order, and definitely mix in some of the still-great cocktails. Focus on the drinks and bring a fun group, and you can have a good time here. But if you’re curious about the Mission Chinese experience, we’d recommend going to the new location in Bushwick instead. For right now at least, it feels like a party that’s still in full swing. Food Rundown Salt Cod Fried Rice There are a few small bites of Chinese sausage in addition to the cod, but still, this is bland. Save the $16 and just ask for another side of white rice. Lobster Eggroll The shell is thin but crunchy, and even though you get way more flavor from the glass noodles than the lobster, it’s still pretty enjoyable. Peanut Butter Noodles These peanut butter noodles come with shredded daikon and chili oil. The daikon doesn’t offer any textural difference from the noodles, and the chili oil gets totally lost under the heavy dose of peanut butter. Chongqing Chicken Wings This is one of the only dishes here that still has quite a bit of spice. The numbing feeling, which gets more and more intense with each bite, doesn’t mask the juicy meat. These should be on your table. Sashimi Trinity We wish we could taste more of the sashimi here, but there’s too much of the sweet ponzu sauce. Mapo Tofu The mapo tofu here is pretty mild, but that allows you to taste more of the rich pork and beef fat. Get this if you’re here. Hot & Sour Glass Noodles This is a must-order. There’s a slow burn from the Sichuan peppercorns, and the big slices of tender and slightly crunchy lotus root give the light noodles some substance. Steak Tartare This is a big portion of steak tartare - six lettuce cups each filled with a large scoop of raw meat - with a large amount of salmon roe on top. We always like a spoonful of fish eggs, but the roe is cured and mixed with onion dressing, so the whole thing becomes very salty. Kung Pao Pastrami The pastrami is salty and fatty and pretty good for a few bites, but most of the dish is just made up of celery and mushy home fries. Drunken Fish This head-on, bone-in fish is very good. There’s a lot of meat, which is tender and rich, and it’s served over a pool of sauce that you’ll want to pour over any extra rice you have on the table. Thrice Cooked Bacon & Rice Cakes These rice cakes used to be much spicier, and now the bacon in this dish is so salty and smoky that it’s hard to taste anything else. We never thought we’d want to ask anyone to hold the bacon, but that’s how we feel when ordering this. House Special Fried Chicken There’s not much going on in terms of spice or salt or any flavor besides the chicken itself. And at $24 for a half-chicken, we wouldn’t order it again." - Matt Tervooren

"There are certain things you really only need to do once. Like cage dive with great whites, argue about politics with your father-in-law, or drunkenly get a tattoo. Even though you claim you don’t regret those Semisonic lyrics on your forearm, you’re probably not going to go back for the second verse. For us, dinner at Mission Chinese Food in Bushwick falls into the same category. Experiencing it once is enough. This is the second location of Mission Chinese in New York City, and if you’ve been to the original on the LES, know that this place is like its younger, louder, rowdier sibling. Overhead lights continuously change the space between neon shades of red, yellow, green, and purple, so you feel a little like you’re eating in an Area 51 cafeteria during a fire drill. The open, concrete dining room has TV screens above the bar playing videos of people eating huge spreads of food. Head downstairs to the bathroom at any point, and on the mirrors, you’ll find video displays of Chinese characters streaming downwards like on a monitor in The Matrix. Like at the original Mission Chinese, food arrives all at once and quickly, with a few things that work well, and others you should definitely avoid. The kung pao pastrami and stir-fried celery are both so salty that you’ll want to ask for a handful of cough drops rather than a glass of water. Even just one spoonful of the vinegar peanuts tastes like a shot of sweetened vinegar. And the salt cod fried rice is bland to the point that it’s essentially just a $16 bowl of warm white rice. On the other hand, the intensely spicy Chongqing chicken wings, with juicy meat and crispy skin, should definitely be on your table. There are also very good drunken noodles, with rich stir-fried ramen, chicken sausage, and sweet pink peppercorns. And the best thing here is the sourdough naan, which has a chewy and slightly charred texture, and a coating of honey butter and tangy sheep’s milk cheese. Avoiding the misses on the menu takes some strategizing, but getting your drink order right is easy - focus on the excellent cocktails, like the Phil Khallins with gin and coconut milk or the General Tso’s whiskey sour. While a lot of the atmosphere is more distracting than it is enjoyable, you won’t forget a meal here anytime soon. And it’s certainly less of a commitment than getting the chorus to Closing Time tattooed on your forearm. Food Rundown Smashed Cucumbers There’s not too much going on here. Besides a little bit of texture from the granola, this is really just a small bowl of cucumbers. Beijing Vinegar Peanuts There are peanuts, smoked garlic, and seaweed in this dish, but it just tastes like spoonful after spoonful of blueberry vinegar. Sourdough Naan The sheep’s milk cheese makes this savory enough to eat as an appetizer, and the coating of honey butter makes it sweet enough to eat for dessert. But no matter when you eat this chewy, soft, and crispy fried naan, you’ll be happy. Stir Fried Leaf Celery One or two bites of this are pretty enjoyable, especially if they include the smoked tofu, but after that, the celery, celery leaves, and celery salt just become too much, well, celery. Broccoli Beef Brisket The brisket is tender and has a little bit of char, but the unexpected hero on this plate is the broccoli. The big portion of crunchy greens is cooked with juices from the brisket and some oyster sauce, which makes it richer than broccoli usually is. Chongqing Chicken Wings This is the spiciest thing we’ve tried here. And it’s excellent. The meat is juicy and tender, and the heat just makes it better. Thrice Cooked Bacon The rich, spicy rice cakes and the sweet tofu skin in this dish are good. But mostly, what you taste is the extremely salty and smoky bacon. Salt Cod Fried Rice There’s almost no noticeable flavor from the salt cod or the very scarce sausage, and even the rice itself is barely crispier than a side order of white rice. Kung Pao Pastrami The meat in this is tender and crumbles as you bite into it, but it’s so salty that it’s hard to eat a lot of this. Drunken Chicken Noodles The rich ramen noodles are balanced out by bright herbs and sweet and bitter pink peppercorns. This should be on your table." - Matt Tervooren

"The food enthusiasts who first ate Danny Bowien’s cooking at Mission Chinese Food more than a decade ago knew that they had tried something special. Bowien was breaking rules. The restaurants were filled with the thrilling energy and picture-ready atmosphere that dreams are made of, while the food was loud, original, ferociously spicy, and cross-cultural without feeling like icky fusion." - BySerena Dai

"Mission Chinese, ahead of its closing, remains a vibrant spot offering dishes like salt cod fried rice, kung pao pastrami, and a standout spicy watermelon salad." - Eater Staff

"The rollercoaster ride for Mission Chinese in NYC came to an end on July 23rd, when it closed its last remaining NY location with a group hug in the kitchen and a set menu of vegan dishes from Danny Bowien’s upcoming cookbook, Mission Vegan. Allegations of misconduct dogged the restaurant during its tenure in NY." - Caroline Shin