New Green Bo Turns Nice

This past weekend I was craving some soup dumplings, so Rob and I took a trip down to Chinatown to get our fix. He suggested we revisit New Green Bo, as we have been before with his brother and we remember it being pretty good. Between Rob's Google text and my keen sense of direction, we were able to find our way down to 66 Bayard Street.



First thing we noticed about the place was that it changed its name to Nice Green Bo. Guess its not so new anymore. Second thing we noticed was that it was crowded! Which surprised me, because it was a weird hour (around 5pm on a Saturday). I'm fairly sure that last time we went it was a weird hour, and we were the only ones in there.

We only had to wait about five minutes, but then we got a cramped spot right in front of the door where people waiting for a table were practically breathing on us. But I didn't mind so much; it was just a snack. Plus, we were able to see right over the front counter to where two guys were making fresh crab and pork buns -- by hand -- from a mound of dough and two piles of meat. I like to see this. This means its fresh and they've got nothing to hide.

Of course, we got an order of those fried pork buns (luckily Rob knew it was just another name for soup dumplings). Eight large dumplings here are only $4.25 and they definitely hit the spot. Each bun had about a tablespoon (er, soup spoon) or so of tasty broth, a mouthful of ground pork and lots of soft dough to nibble on.



We also decided to try an order of the sesame rice ball in soup, also ridiculously cheap at under $3. It's definitely not the most attractive looking thing you've ever seen, five white rice balls sit in a clear liquid that's most likely sugar water. The black paste oozing out of the rice balls and dissolving into the water-broth is not the most appetizing thing you can imagine either. But aside from the "soup" being way too sweet, the rice balls were actually pretty good. The sesame paste inside was also very sweet, and the rice had a nice chewy consistency. Maybe next time it would be worth it to try the same thing with the "wine flavor" -- let's hope its wine-colored, too.



Overall, a good appetizer experience. Especially for under $10! Next time I'd like to expand my horizons and try some more of their Shanghainese cuisine (chow fun, anyone?).