Nice Green Bo
66 Bayard St., Chinatown, NY
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It’s always entertaining hanging out with my little brother, Yabba, and his crew of friends. There are some special kids in this group. None of them seem to have changed since they were 15; they all still wear the same ratty hoodies and talk about the same nonsense they did in High School. Entertaining table talk aside, a common thread among them is a deep appreciation of Authentic Ethnic Eats. They’ve all made it a sport to traverse across every borough of this city in search of the best and are constantly in our ear about hitting some of their favorite places. Scarsdale class of ’03, respect.
We’ll be the first to admit that we’re way too light in our Chinese repertoire. Knowing this, the Yabba crew was eager to show off their Chinatown go-to, Nice Green Bo (New Green Bo, if you stick with the old name). Rumor had it, soup dumplings, scallion pancakes and kick-ass lo mein were what was in store and Nice Green Bo delivered the goods.
Nice Green Bo is a little Chinese restaurant that looks like every other joint on Bayard Street; a small storefront with a couple tables and windows full of Zagat clippings singing their praise from 1992. In other words, it’s a complete dump. The service is terrible, which is to be expected. You’re not going to Chinatown to be pampered, you’re going to Chinatown to inhale copious amounts of high quality Chinese food at laughably cheap prices and then go to bed. We ordered a solid 12-14 dishes for a table of seven and the final bill came out to $15 a head. Pennies.
Yabba crew, thanks for taking us to your Chinatown money spot. We dig, and we’ll be back. We’re still on the hunt for our own go-to around these parts though. We’ll keep searching. Suggestions welcome.
Photo Credit: Yun Cee Ng/NY Mag
Food Rundown:
Soup Dumplings aka Steamed Crab Meat & Pork Tiny Buns
Soup dumplings are the big draw here and they certainly don’t disappoint. Poke a hole, let the soup drain out and top with a little bit of spicy soy sauce. Delicious. Are they better than Joe’s Shanghai? No, but they’re still pretty damn good.
Fried Pork Dumplings
Long, skinny dumplings that deserve some love as well. These need to be on your table as well.
Scallion Pancake
Maybe it’s because they came out last for us, but their famous pancakes tasted like dessert. Mad sweet. Mad crispy. Mad good.
Cold Noodles In Sesame Sauce
Standard cold noodles in sauce. Nothing crazy, but definitely solid.
Hot & Sour Soup
If you’re going soup, we highly recommend going hot & sour. Sh*t be tasty.
Shredded Pork In Garlic Sauce
The garlic sauce at Nice Green Bo is nuts. Get as many dishes as you can in this thick molasses like sauce. The shredded pork is fine, it’s the sauce that makes this dish great.
Chicken with Rice Cakes
A rice cakes dish is a must order. Round, silver dollar sized cakes in a light sauce with chicken is a good route to go.
Spinach & Mushroom Shanghai Lo Mein
You see this huge portion of lo mein? $4.50. Not only is it cheap, but it’s really damn good. The noodles are a Chinese version of al dente homemade spaghetti, with a crispy pan fried texture.
Shanghai Fried Rice
Fried rice on the table is always necessary. This is the one to go with.
Eggplant with garlic sauce over rice
Seasoned veterans of Nice Green Bo know to order from the “over rice” section of the menu, which, for some reason, is significantly cheaper, the same order size AND comes with rice. The eggplant is hearty, delicious and tastes more like meat than it does a vegetable.
Beef with Broccoli
A standard classic they do extremely well at Nice Green Bo.
Prawn with Mixed Vegetables
Why not? You need some Chinese shell fish on the table anyway.
