Posts Tagged With: Pinch Chinese Soho

Pinch Chinese – Cousin Ping Say Get The Chicken

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Ziggy

A quick reminder that Pinch Chinese is still dishing out superb stuff in Soho. A great place to come solo, as a couple, family meeting your kid’s new boyfriend, or any group for that matter to try some of the larger dishes like the crab, and the sensational Wind Sand Chicken which I’ve written about before. Its the sum of all parts kinda dish. Not only you got the quality well marinated meet, juicy flesh, but you’ll be hard pressed finding crispier, more delicious skin.

They can just remove the skin, and serve it as a side dish as weird as it sounds. In Coimbra, Portugal a bones dish consisting of, you guesses it, bones, gained much fame over time. So I dont see a reason why this Cholesterol Special would’nt work. Ok, maybe if they dont call it the Cholesterol Special, but then again, it may be marketing brilliance.

But the one dish we’ve been getting from day one here is the cumin ribs. And the description “Fall of the bones – Jocelyn from Yelp” never gets old. Its quite remarkable that cumin perfume is not a thing. You smell it from the next table as soon as you sit down and you cant meaningfully participate in any conversation until you get it.

The soup dumplings here are a cure for summertime sadness. You may even pinch yourself after the first bite. Wait, is that the reason for the name, or is it due to the pinching or gripping process when you lift those babies. They are tiny but explosive umami bombs. Another must and new discovery for us is the braised pork with white rice and a mustardy greens concoction. Like elevated lunch box comfort food I would order again and again.

There were however some small misses last time. Not big but surprising considering the excellence and attention to detail over the years. The eggplant in garlic was overly sweet and not very garlicky this time. The Dan Dan Noodles tasted a little off (perhaps the star anise overwhelmed). Nevertheless, another enjoyable meal at this Z-List original

Original Post

Pinch Chinese
177 Prince St (Soho)
Recommended Dishes: Seafood/Pork Dumplings, Cumin Ribs, Wind Sand Chicken, Spicy Wontons, String Beans, Snow Crab in Chinese Restaurant, Steak Fried Rice, Taiwanese Beef Noodle, Braised Pork

This Soho Chicken With a Pinch of Sand is Outstanding

Posted on July 30, 2018 by Ziggy

Pinch Chinese Wind Sand Chicken Sometimes in order to find the best dishes, you need come back with friends. Not only you can try more, but you can finally order some of the larger dishes, like the chicken for 2 to 6. Such was the case the other day when we introduced our friends to one of our Soho faves, Pinch Chinese. An invitation that became a little suspicious when I walked in three hours prior to our reservations to reserve the bird while friends waited outside. I should have played it more subtle. As in “Hey, you guys want to try the chicken? I hear its fantastic!”

The Wind Sand Chicken is a Hong Kong classic. It doesnt look whole and not particularly large, but the 4 of us couldnt finish the $51 dish. By trying to leave the best for last (dark meat) we left it on the table. When you taste the flash you taste the labor. The bird is cooked like Peking duck. Two days of Marinating (cinnamon, star anise, other herbs and spices), drying, spanking, repeating. The skin gets thin and crispy, and the flesh redefines moist. Garnished with fried garlic, like sand that the wind brought (Ahhhhh!). Maybe if they closed the door, they wouldnt have this problem

Oh and there were pork soup dumplings of course and terrific spicy Wontons (new to us). And the “Snow Crab in a Chinese Restaurant” with fermented black bean and glass noodles we order each time. And there was a side of porky Sichuan String Beans that is now our favorite side. Not to mention those sick Cumin Pork Ribs. If there was a Fantasy Niman Ranch Pork league, Pinch Chinese would win by three snouts.

Pinch Chinese – Soho Gets her Groove Back

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Ziggy

Pinch Chinese Crab in Chinese Restaurant

June 2023 Update

July 2018 Update:

March 28, 2018 Update:

Pinch Chinese is clicking on all cylinders. There’s something about sitting there at dinner time looking through the glass at that kitchen. Like watching a team of physicians conducting a well orchestrated surgery. If they would be making cupcakes I would be probably standing on a line for cupcakes, hoping they come with a side of soup dumplings.

Boy those bite size seafood/pork soup dumplings are explosive. And the flavors on the room temperature cumin ribs really come through nicely. Hard to try new dishes here when its just the two of us, and you want to eat the same things again. But the Steak fried rice featuring a tender ultra beefy Wagyu sirloin, is the one big addition to the list.

“Snow Crab in a Chinese Restaurant” is still fantastic, and a good source of vitamin Crab, with those silky glass noodles. The Peking Duck here is becoming very popular, and looks rather scrumptious. In previous visits for lunch I enjoyed the Taiwanese Beef Noodle soup, a current NYC trend it seems. This is a major go!

Pinch Chinese Steak Fried Rice

May 16, 2017 Post:

As the wise Yogi once said… “Its so crowded, nobody goes there anymore”. Have you been to Soho lately? Spring and Price are giving Times Square a run for its money. I wonder whats the rent like these days. On the flip side, I was picking up visitors from Sixty Soho on back to back mornings for a Brooklyn Tour, and I couldnt believe how charming and quiet that area can be in the morning. I heard cab drivers singing and birds making mating calls (or is it the other way around). Even Dominique Ansel had no queue! It was as shocking as your spouse telling you out of the blue, “I didnt know the Bee Gees were all male”. Pince Chinese

Pinch Chinese is sticking out of Prince Street like a zebra in a nudist colony. There’s nothing like it in the area, serving solid elevated Chinese in a comfortable setting. One of the partners is a veteran of the famed Taiwanese chain Din Tai Fung, known for their soup dumplings (Xiaolongbao). Inside, once you look passed the seriously focused crew behind the glass, its quirkiness galore. From the menu, quoting Yelp reviewers, to the bathroom, warning employees about the consequences of not washing hands. A lot of effort into the decor. We ate…

Seafood/Pork Dumplings – Smaller than your average soup dumplings, but more concentrated and potent. Wife was wishing for bigger (what else is new) but I thought they carried enough spark. Something I would definitely order again

House Special Shrimp – Fine! No issues with the perfectly cooked tiger shrimp and sauce, just nothing new and exciting flavor wise.

Niman Ranch Cumin Ribs – “tender, fall-off-the-bone – jocelyn on yelp” menu description is spot on. But to me its all about the dressing of these babies that made us eat the leftovers with a spoon. One of those rare awkward “Are you done with that” moments. And it just goes to show you how flavorful Chinese Cumin lamb or pork can be without the numbing heat Pinch Chinese Ribs

Dan Dan Noodles – Yet more pinches of brilliance. And more Niman Ranch pork, with heat this time, and hints of star anise. Its a peanuty sauce a la Han Dynasty.

Snow Crab in Chinese Restaurant – A dish of the year nominee. Something Jocelyn and all her Yelp colleagues missed out on (I didnt see any mentions of it when I ate there). Glass noodles with heaps of crab, dressed with an outrageously delicious fermented bean sauce with chilies and scallions. The crab was plentiful and delicious, but it almost plays second fiddle to the noodles with sauce. I would even order this without the crab

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce – Exactly what it says. A regular, but solid, Chinese style eggplant in garlic sauce

Pinch Chinese
177 Prince St (Sullivan/Thompson), Soho
Rating: Three Z’s (out of 4)
Stars range from Good to Exceptional. Simple as that.
Recommended Dishes: Seafood/Pork Dumplings, Cumin Ribs, Dan Dan Noodles, Wind Sand Chicken, Spicy Wontons, String Beans, Snow Crab in Chinese Restaurant, Steak Fried Rice, Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (Lunch)