Fung Tu

Even in NYC, you don't find many out of the box modern Chinese-American grub... If there are any, they are usually in the shadows of Mission Chinese Food. And Fung Tu is hiding in the shadows of the out the door lines found at MCF. While the hipsters all gather and wait for over an hour over there, I snuck in here with no wait before anyone even noticed this up and coming gem owned by a Per Se alum along with Wilson Tang from Nom Wah in the now ultra hip Lower East Side.
NY Times just gave this place 2 stars, so, y'all know what that means... You'll be able to get into Mission Chinese within half an hour instead of an hour and half since those millenials waiting in line have made their way over here. And now after the NYT review, you may have to wait 30+ minzies to get into this place... And that's if you come early before the hipsters get up.
I stopped in on a Sunday which runs a limited menu but they did some off the menu stuff. But their regular menu is full of interesting sounding dishes like Sweetbreads Manchuri, Sichuan N'duja, China-quiles, and Chinese Spatzle.
Damn, it's making me wet, so let's sample some bites... I just gotta remember that this ain't authentic Chino grub, it's hipster Chino grub.

Brisket and Brussels Sprouts Fried Rice with pomegranate, egg and spinach. I know, I know... I never order fried rice at Chino restos unless it's the Yang Chow fried rice but the ingredients in this version were hard to pass up... At least once. It's a very tasty fried rice, the pomegranate seeds alone made a big difference in taste and texture of this common dish. 

Fried Chicken with steamed bun and lap cheong gravy. The one lonely bun threw me off... Why was it there standing by itself? I thought I was gonna get buns stuffed with fried chicken smothered in Chino sausage gravy... Well, 2 outta 3 ain't bad. The dark meat cheekan was fried perfectly with a crispy crust that stayed crunchy even under the velvety smooth gravy with bits of Chinese sausage to give it that extra fattiness. It's a fine fwied cheekan... Kinda craving some now. Oh, that baby gravy...

Smoked and Fried Dates stuffed with duck. These Medjool dates were really stuffed with shredded duck and they weren't chintzy about it, either. The barky deep fried crust held everything neatly together and didn't break apart when bitten into. The texture of crispy to soft to savory meaty twirling inside my piehole was pretty dang amazing. They need to give you more, like half a dozen.

Fried Ipswich Clams with bird chilies. I thought they were gonna be on the smaller end but these came out pretty plump. While these clams don't exactly have plump bellies like the pouch, they still were sizable given where they came from. The light crispy almost tempura style crust were spot on with these clams. The chilies gave it that extra kick it needed. Perfectly salted as well.

Smoked Oysters in scallion oil. I wanted to love these little sea nuggets but they were just average. There were smokey but I just didn't find them as interesting in my mouth than on the menu. Put your money towards something else on the menu.

Fava Bean Curd Terrine with pickled mustard greens and chili oil. This was very interesting. Just the name alone deserves a peek. It's like some tofu thinger but better. The hint of spiciness from the chili oil, the smooth texture of the fava bean paired with crunchy radish strips and pickled greens... It just worked. How is that even possible for the pouch? It's such a hipster vegan dish but I totally dug this. I might even get it again... Did I say that out loud? 

Fried Fingerling potatoes with shrimp paste. Hell, let's just throw some shrimp paste on something... How about fried taters? Fuck yeah. The salty fermented fishy paste worked once again on something that you would never think about putting on. Again, how is this possible to even taste so good? Who gives a shit, just keep eating.

This small joint is doing some very interesting stuff in here and by the first showing, there is a lot of promise to the menu... This is stuff you don't see everyday. It's really thought out dishes with ingredients that aren't really tied to the traditional Chinese cuisine and I love that shit. While some dish may not work all the time, this type of menu is constantly changing and adapting. I will definitely be back to see how they have evolved, along with the rest of the LES.

22 Orchard Street

New York, NY

212-219-8785

http://fungtu.com/