Amazing is Amazing

 Last night, a couple different groups of media folk got together with one of our reps to celebrate the Chinese New Year.  No, it's not one of the major American holidays, but I think it's a great excuse for a fun and different celebration.  Our rep is Chinese and has lived his whole life in Manhattan, growing up in the LES so he knew his way around the menu at Amazing 66.  We ordered so. much. food.  I have a feeling you'll get the best food if you come with someone who really knows this type of cuisine, preferably someone who speaks Cantonese.  We let our rep go hog wild and said we would eat anything and he accepted the challenge:

• Soup with vegetables and pork - very light not a ton of flavor, but I liked starting with something simpler
• Fried pork ribs
• Fried rice
• Fried oysters
• Fried shrimp and squid - each piece was huge
• Pea shoots
• Roast beef
• Steamed duck buns
• Braised pork belly - the sauce was sweet and garlicy and the pork belly almost fell apart when I grabbed it with the chopsticks
• Lobster in a butter sauce
•  Honey bar b que something (beef?)
• Crispy skin chicken stuffed with sticky rice - I have no idea how they keep the rice so sticky and get the skin so crackly, but this dish was unlike any chicken dish I've ever seen.  It has to be ordered a day in advance, but it's worth it.
• Fried Milk - yes, fried milk.  This needs to come to street fairs.  The gooey center is only slightly sweet so it's not too rich.  I loved it and wonder why it's so rarely seen.

Seafood

Fried Milk

Crispy Skin Sticky Rice Chicken

After all that food and too many bottles of wine to count, we headed to Winny's a Chinatown bar that I will have to keep in mind.  Winny's is a low-ceiling'd dive that primarily services Chinatown locals.  Everyone in the family run business is nice and actually wants to talk to the patrons.  Every once in a while they even sang along to whatever karaoke song was playing.  If you end up eating in the Chinatown area, don't assume your only bar options are the fancier Apothèque or a bar in a different, trendier nearby neighborhood.  Winny's is a great dive to stumble into.  If last night was any indication, the year of the dragon is going to be solid.