113 Mott Street on Hester
212/966.6613
about $60 for two, with two drinks, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥

Updated, 2006: Joe’s Ginger has move to 25 Pell Street off Mott, 212/285.0333

There is now an alternative to Joe’s Shanghai. I come to Joe’s Ginger now to avoid the long wait for a table at Joe’s Shanghai. It’s a lot smaller and less noisy, plus the waiters have time to talk to you about their suggestions like the kamote tops, a vegetable more familiar to the Filipinos than the Chinese, or the deep-fried whole quail. Some of my other favorites are the fish with yellow chives and the string beans with minced pork. Seasonal vegetables include peashoot leaves, swamp cabbage (or kang-kong) and baby bok choy flash-fried in garlic. Start with the mandatory xiao long bao, or soupy buns, and taste what made Joe’s Shanghai open up Joe’s Ginger in the first place.