A few months ago, my friend Peter told me about Optical 88, an optical shop in the heart of Chinatown, at 116 Mott Street (Tel: 212-343-1947). I am all for money saving and he raved about the service and the prices. I looked on Yelp. There was not one bad word said about the place. In fact, everyone was wildly enthusiastic. Everyone except Andrew. He was slightly leery of a walk-in eye exam and the promise of a finished prescription in an hour. But since I’d worked in Eye Care in my Ad career, I knew that whoever does eye exams has passed their own exams in order to be licensed. So off we went, I got examined and in one hour I walked out of the store with a new pair of eyeglasses. They cost all of $130.00. So when I ran out of contact lenses, I ran right back to Optical 88. I got more than my contacts. I got instructions on where to go to buy the best Roast Duck in Chinatown. Roast Duck is one of those signature dishes that define a whole cuisine. The beautifully lacquered birds shimmer in the windows of an endless number of shops in Chinatown. I get hungry just looking at them. But I’d never taken one home. And where would I find the best duck? If I wanted to sit down right then and there, the Peking Duck House at 28 Mott Street got all the oohs and ahhs on Chowhound. But they don’t do takeout. For that there was a raging dialogue on Yelp. Opinions were decidedly mixed. And there was great confusion because in Chinatown, names of restaurants change frequently. But I had a secret weapon in my search: Abe, the salesman at Optical 88. Abe, who may not have a Chinese name, is an authority on eating locally, as I discovered on my first visit when he steered me to a local grocery store for some needed supplies for our Asian pantry.
I gave Abe the names of the two places that seemed to have garnered the best reviews on the Web. He was having none of it. He insisted that the best duck was at a place just down Mott Street. It was called Big Wing Wong at 102 Mott Street (Tel: 212 274-0696). Big Wing Wong was not to be confused with Big Wong King at 67 Mott or Hoy Wong at 81 Mott. And when asked if I could get the traditional pancakes and garlic-y string beans there to go with our duck, Abe steered me next door. Abe insisted that at The Shanghai Café at 100 Mott, these dishes were better than the identical items next door. I dutifully followed Abe’s advice.
When we got home, I put the cut-up duck into a baking dish, and along with the string beans, re-heated both at 350 degrees until I could hear the sizzle. I carefully un-wrapped the folded pancakes, separated them with paper towel, and they went into the microwave for two minutes. Our duck cost $21.00 and the sides $9.50. For a little over $30.00 we had a Chinese feast. We gave a little toast to Abe before we dug in.
What a "Money" post it is when you cause this reader to salivate uncontrollably! Oh, how I wish I had a place, even one, like that nearby….
Sincerely,
Craving duck in MS. (aka Katie)
Thank you Katie! New York's Chinatown is exactly like getting off the subway and finding yourself in the middle of Hong Kong. It's a fascinating place and great for shopping because the prices cannot be beat. I got a huge nob of ginger there for .50 the same day I bought the duck. Come see for yourself sometime!
I am in the middle of Hong Kong and good show toasting Abe! The roasted duck looks terrific. I am confident it tasted as good as it looks. Since you will likely return to Big Wing Wong, you may like to add a few ingredients which is used with Peking Duck. First, you will need Hoisin Sauce. Which is commonly used as a dipping sauce or glaze for Chinese BBQ pork (Char Sui). Julienne scallions (Spring Onion) and cucumber. First, dip the duck in the Hoisin and place it on the pancake. Lightly coat the duck; the sauce is concentrated in flavor. Then add a couple of strips of the scallion and or the cucumber. I like both. It is said that the scallion will assist with the digestion of the oils. You will now enjoy a close cousin of the national dish of China, Peking Duck! Maan Maan Sik
Maan Maan Sik to you Richard. And thank you so much for helping us all to a traditional Roast Duck recipe for Hong Kong! Ni ho mah! Monte
PLEASE DATE your posts; as of 8.22.19, BIG WING WONG is no longer at the aforementioned address (102 mott) but has relocated to 67 mott st. & is dba BIG WONG restaurant inc. so it’s now SOUTH of canal st. EASY walking distance of say, 3 mins. but again, DATE your posts plz.
Only replying five years late, but Big Wong has been at 67 Mott before 2005, and maybe even way earlier than that. Unless you’ve gotten confirmation from the owners/staff, I don’t think Big Wing Wong happened to merge/move to 67 Mott, unless ownership changed hands.