Apologies for the blurry photo. I start to shake in front of deliciousness. My posts will be smaller and to the point beginning… well it began actually. Too much going on in my life at the moment, so I dont have as much time to blog these days. But this is actually a good, refreshing change that will allow me to write about more places. More places, more usefulness, less mambo jumbo, same grammar.
Hot Space is a Chinese Restaurant in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park Chinatown. Its unfortunately not on 8th ave so it may need my help. The number eight is the Chinese lucky number because in Mandarin eight sounds like the word wealth. The meaning is one of the main driving forces behind the creation of the now largest Chinatown in NYC. Popular 90’s rumor was to take the N train to the “Sky Stop” (when the train comes up) and you will find success on 8th avenue.
This makes it easy to incorporate the number into the business name. Lucky 8, Great 8, mister 8, and the brilliantly named Restaurant on 58th st, are some examples. Although some of the ones without the number 8 can use some spelling luck like me. “Wash and Flod Laundromat” – sounds daring and flat out dangerous
This is a one dish post really, but its a doozy. A big tray of fish. After the servers take your coats and puts them in a large plastic bag so the coats wont attract any of the smells that come with the dishes (I wish my in-laws would do the same), they explain the menu and how to “build” your big boy tray of fish. You got your choices of fish – usually Sea Bass, Big Mouth Bass, Buffalo Bass, Idaho Bass, and anything and everything ending in Bass. You add your choice of veggies, sauce, and spice level and off you wait.
And while you wait you stare at the giant screen for Chinese entertainment while your significant other is not looking. The entire scene matches that of this particular Chinatown. Like stepping into another country. It helps when you are the only Caucasians in the entire room. You also have instructions on the table on how to handle the fish once it arrives, like “wait until it stops flapping before eating”.
The fish then arrives and it’s magnificent. Its not that different looking than the huge trays you see in Fei Long Market’s food court. Its understandably costlier – about $70 once you add all the ingredients, and it can easily feed 3. I ordered the Sea Bass in a medium spiced garlicky sauce and it was the perfect amount of heat on a fish whose flavors just pop. We also added grilled BBQ squid which was nice and cajuny but not really necessary.
Eating With Ziggy 