Restaurant review: Shun Lee

I live on West 65th Street. Many people know this as the home of NYC's most famous and celebrated Chinese restaurant: Shun Lee. I walk by it AT LEAST two times per day. And I am intrigued each time. Judd and I have eaten at its sister (read: cheaper) restaurant, Shun Lee Dim Sum Cafe, and have even ordered takeout a few times. But we'd still never visited the big kahuna. Until last night.

Judd left work early last night. Way early. So early that he got home before me. And by the time I got home at 7:15ish, we were both quite hungry. And Chinese sounded perfect. So to Shun Lee we headed.

Shun Lee is trapped in a 90's time warp. Its interior is surrounded by a very cool dragon, but is otherwise still all black formica with pink linens. We started by sharing an order of "steamed dumplings with spicy tangy sauce." That meant 3 tiny shrimp and pork dumplings each, sitting in a pool of spicy orange "sauce" (I think it was chili oil). Judd really ike his dumplings, but mine were so overcooked that the filling had fallen out of the wrapper. Not impressive. Especially since they took at least 15 minutes to arrive. And they cost $16. In case that sad description of these sorry dumplings tempted you, take note that they were a special, and might not always be on Shun Lee's menu.

Next course: Beijing Duck (aka Peking Duck). Yes, the skin was crispy. And it was sliced and wrapped in pancakes with hoisin sauce, scallions, and sliced cucumber tableside. But for $29, I've had WAY better. Way, way better. With crispier skin, bigger pieces of scallion and cucumber, and more duck per pancake.

Finally, we shared an order of Prawns with Garlic and Scallions. Bamboo shoots? Garlic? Scallions? I don't remember any of those. Only the "Szechuan sauce," which was so cloyingly sweet that these shrimp were hard to eat. And yet they also set us back about $28.

Bottom line: DO NOT GO TO SHUN LEE. There are so many Chinese places that are less expensive and much, much tastier. Some of my and Judd's favorite places: Pig Heaven on the Upper East Side (NYC's best Chinese, in my opinion - we love their suckling pig, Pig Heaven Pork, and peking duck), Ollie's - multiple locations on the West Side (best steamed dumplings and scallion pancakes EVER.), and New Green Bo (excellent soup dumplings) in Chinatown.

I knew I'd give a bad review eventually. And tonight's the night. When it comes to Shun Lee, the emperor has no clothes. There, I said it.

*

Details:

Shun Lee West

43 West 65th Street

New York, NY

(212) 595-8895

Dinner for two (with minimal drinking): ~$110 HIGHWAY ROBBERY!