Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City
Much of the country is getting a white Christmas this year, whether they’ve been dreaming of it or not. In preparation for the storm, I’ve been thinking and dreaming of another white experience I recently had.
Urban Hawker is a really exciting Southeast Asian food hall in the middle of Midtown Manhattan. It’s modeled after the hawker centers in Singapore and is the brainchild of Singaporean celebrity chef KF Seetoh who had been working with Anthony Bourdain on a similar concept before he passed away.
Many of the vendors and businesses are directly from Asia and represent cuisines and dishes that are rarely found in Manhattan, like BBQ stingray fried rice and giant omelette sandwiches. Unfortunately, the prices are much closer to Manhattan standards than what you would find at similar spots on the other side of the world.
I plan to come back again and again to work my way through each vendor’s specialty, But for my first visit, I was attracted to a Singaporean restaurant chain with their first location in the states.
White Restaurant specializes in a white version of bee hoon, a stir-fried dish of vermicelli noodles. The white version is made of an eggy seafood broth that is simmered for many hours to release as much flavor as possible.
I was a bit worried this was going to be on the bland side, so I was sure to add hot sauce. In retrospect, I could have added a bit more.
That being said, while the flavors were delicate and unaggressive, the dish was rich and satisfying. Loads of seafood flavor along with a nice hit of velvety egg lingered in the broth. The thin noodles were very nice and so was the generous portions of shrimp and squid, along with some plump bitter greens.
White Bee Hoon was a dish that was new to me and really exciting to try. Of course, I’d rather try it for a fraction of the cost in Singapore, but this is the next best thing. And saves me time, money, and avoids the headaches of all those potential Christmas delays. Price: $19.14
| WHITE RESTAURANT at URBAN HAWKER |
| 135 West 50th Street (between Sixth and Seventh Avenue), Midtown West |
| urbanhawker.com |
