My favorite street for produce

I love Chinatown here in NYC. For me, it is worth dealing with the throngs of tourists and people trying to score counterfeit handbags on Canal Street, to feel as if I am immersed in a foreign culture. There is also the added bonus of knowing that, if you do make a wrong turn, you just might stumble upon something fabulous.

Earlier this week I was fortunate enough to discover two previously unknown gems. The first was the retro fashion/vintage couture boutique Allan & Suzi which I wrote about yesterday. The other was 5-Combinations Restaurant (shown on Google maps as Central Buffet Incorporated) located at 195 Centre Street (at the intersection of Centre & Hester and Centre & Howard)

$4.75 for lunch & the food is good. You can't beat it!

Now, a restaurant whose sole marketing strategies are faded yellow awnings advertising lunch specials for $4.75 and large windows, might seem a bit risky.  Both, however, turn out to be effective tools. It’s hard to walk by an not think “$4.75… Really!?” and want to peer in the large, surprisingly clean windows.  Which I did. What I saw was a no-frills interior, a 30-foot long buffet line, and a constant flow of Chinese patrons. (That is a particularly good sign for a Chinese restaurant located in Chinatown.)

$4.75 dine in - $4.25 take out

Armed with my eBook reader and an appetite, I went inside for a closer look.  What a pleasant surprise! They had a wide range of vegetarian foods including sauteed bok choy, Chinese eggplant, broccolini, bitter melon (blech, that is one vegetable that deserves its name), and green beans. They also have a variety of tofu dishes, mei fun noodles, lo mein, some very good looking fried chicken, and several different ham hock preparations.  (While ham hocks are a personal favorite of mine, I opted not to try them on this occasion.) They even had giant wedges of seedless watermelon for dessert.

Not bad for $4.75! In fact, pretty good period.

Having given the buffet a once over, I decided it was the perfect place for a quick lunch and a leisurely read. I paid my $4.75 (including tax – cash only, thank you), got my tray and loaded up. This is what I chose: Chinese eggplant, sauteed string beans w preserved turnip, mei fun noodles, broccolini and crispy fried shrimp. Well, not only was it worth every penny (at $4.75, that’s not saying much), but it was fresh, delicious, healthy and low fat.  My one criticism was that the eggplant tasted a little too sweet and ketchupy. (I don’t know what Chinese sauce ingredient tastes like ketchup, but I am glad I made sure to indicate to the woman behind the buffet that I didn’t want her to mix the eggplant with the sauce before she put it on my tray.)

All done! (The eggplant tasted a bit like ketchup.)

So, if you are looking for a good cheap lunch in Chinatown, here in NYC, Stop by 5-Combinations Restaurant at 195 Centre Street. You can’t miss the awnings!

Or, if you are in Chinatown but not in the mood for Chinese food,  try the Vietnamese food at Nha Trang Centre located on the other side of Canal Street. Their crispy Bánh Xèo are delicious too!

Enjoy~ Marsya