On the food cart tour I lead, I often talk about how many street vendors hope to one day transition into a brick-and-mortar location. Well, a few months ago that came true for Lai Sheng Zhang, who with his wife, operated a cart in Chinatown, and now has a small little takeout restaurant on one of the busiest streets -close to both the tourist crowds and the local community.
Both he and his wife greeted me at Chang Lai when and I stopped by to try the specialty of the house: Curry Fishballs, over a healthy serving of chewy rice noodles.
This is a specialty of the Guangdong region and I found it to be a very satisfying first meal of the day (although that is not always the time it’s served).
Piping hot, the aromatic fishballs popped in my mouth and had a sweet subtle slightly curry flavor. The plump chewy rice noodles soaked up every last ounce of the mess of sauces (peanut butter, soy, hoisin, sesame, and hot sauce). It was incredibly balanced and had just about every flavor you can imagine in this little plastic container.
Having a store like this is a dream come true for many street vendors and I hope this is just the beginning of a new Chinatown favorite. Price: $5.75/$9.25
| CHANG LAI FISHBALLS NOODLES |
| 55 Bayard Street (at Elizabeth Street), Chinatown (917) 378-3991 |
| changlaifishballnoodles.dine.online |
