Congee Village & Doughnut Plant

2.12.10 This weekend was a fun filled long weekend with lots of restaurant dates and eating rendezvous. Congee Village, Doughnut Plant, Locanda Verde, Corsino and Belcourt... On Friday, I took a half day at work and my bf took the full day off. So, we decided to try Clinton Street Baking for the third time, hoping for some charm. Of course, luck wasn't on our side this time either, and again we missed the brunch/lunch hours. Instead, we shifted gears and decided on an entirely different cuisine. We ended up going to Congee Village--a Chinese restaurant--from our list. Congee Village is located on the border of LES & Chinatown, making it one of the few quality Chinese restaurants outside of Chinatown. Don't be fooled by the cheap bamboo interior design, the neon lights outside, nor the loud waiters screaming across the restaurant in Cantonese, the food can safely be considered one of the best in Manhattan. The paradox is all part of the Congee Village experience. Once we sat down, we debated over which congee to get and which dish to choose. We finally settled on...

• Crab Porridge
• Singapore Style Mei Fun
• House Special Chicken (Half)

The meal was overall very satisfying, both in taste and price. The only surprisingly subpar dish was the congee (rice porridge). The porridge was overloaded with cilantro, which overpowered the other ingredients. And the crab wasn't as fresh as I had expected. My boyfriend, however, had no problems with it, as he needed only a minute to wolf down the eight-legged sidewalker. To be fair to Congee Village, I probably had unrealistic expectations of their congee because of the restaurant's name. The House Chicken on the other hand was very good. The meat was perfectly cooked, moist and succulent. And it was roasted with enough garlic to cure the common cold for good. Just the way we like it.

Chinaware at Congee Village

Crab Rice Porridge

Singapore Style Mei Fun

House Special Chicken (Half)

Afterward, we went to Doughnut Plant just a few blocks away for the famous LES doughnuts. I'm usually not a big fan of such sweet goodies, but it was one of the best doughnuts I've ever had. Dunkin Donut who? Krispy Kreme what? It's all about the DP baby.

The famous "Blackout" Doughnut @ Doughnut Plant