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Issue 155 December 2018 — January 2019 A NEWSLETTER OF THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY A Tale of Two Meals: Profile of New Sichuan Restaurant, Hui E MILY A TL A S A ND D ONN A TA LL E NT Emily Atlas: Donna and I recently met at a Natu- ral Selections interest meeting and learned that we both love food and exploring the various food options of the Upper East Side and beyond. Although some friends have told me that the Upper East Side has limited interesting food options, in my two months so far as a student at Rockefeller, I have found that this is not entirely true. We heard about a new Sichuan restaurant called Hui that opened about three months ago and thought it would be fun to share a meal together, try a few dishes, and then tell a Tale of Two Meals. Donna Tallent: If you’re walking up 70th Street to- ward Second Avenue, it’s hard to miss this ground-floor spot with its large maroon awning. Hui is situated in the Lenox Hill neighborhood, equidistant from Hunter College and Weill Cornell Medical College, and three short blocks from The Rockefeller University. Even at 5:30 p.m. on a Friday, NATURAL SELECTIONS NATURAL which is an early dinner hour for most New | Yorkers, I observed a steady stream of pe- destrian traffic heading inside or pausing to check out the menu as I stood out front waiting for Emily to arrive. One woman, someone who I imagined was local to the neighborhood, stopped and addressed me where I stood, as if I were some sort of DONNA TALLENT an ambassador for the restaurant: “Grand small shop on 78th Street that serves thick DT: Opening…Is this a new Chinese restau- hand-pulled noodles, famously spiced with Hui, with its white tablecloths, at- rant?”, she asked. cumin. Delicious as it may be, Xi’an Fa- tentive staff, and family-style portions, re- mous Foods focuses mostly on noodles and minded me of the Chinese restaurants my EA: regional specialties from the Xi’an province family frequented when I was a child, but We had a 5:30 p.m. reservation at of China. While I am excited about the up- with much more of a modern-day feel. The Hui. Having just come from an interest- tick of more authentic and regional Chinese exposed brick walls, grey wood floors, and ing Friday Lecture, I hustled to Hui, a 5-10 restaurants in New York City, my childhood sculptured metalwork décor give the res- minute walk from Rockefeller’s campus. As memories of Chinese food consist mostly of taurant a polished yet comfortable and in- I walked, I thought about how I had not Chinese-American versions of Sichuan and viting vibe. There’s also a lovely yet sleek, yet found many Chinese restaurants near Shanghainese food, and I still crave many of soft-lit, fully-stocked bar if you’re looking Rockefeller. In fact, before going to Hui, those dishes. I had only been to Xi’an Famous Foods, a CONTINUED TO P. 2 - 1 CONTINUED FROM P. 1 - for a cocktail and a quick nibble. Hui is a Editorial Board place to have an after-work drink, an inti- mate meal with a friend, or a large family gathering. Jim Keller Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor EA: Sarah Baker The first thing I noticed was that the Associate Editor, Webmaster, Distribution décor shows a lot of attention to detail. This is a place to go for a sit-down meal in a way Megan Elizabeth Kelley that Xi’an Famous Foods is not. The res- Associate Editor, Copy Editor, Communication NATURAL SELECTIONS NATURAL taurant was a tad empty at 5:30 p.m., but it | Emma Garst filled up over the course of our meal, and Editorial Assistant, Copy Editor was near capacity by 7:00 p.m. The attentive wait staff quickly in- Nicole Infarinato formed us that it was Happy Hour (every Copy Editor, Distribution day from 5-8 p.m.). I ordered a glass of a Melissa Jarmel dry Riesling ($6 at Happy Hour), a good Copy Editor, Website Traffic wine to pair with Chinese dishes. DONNA TALLENT The menu had a near-overwhelm- and the dish was extremely spicy. I have a Johannes Buheitel ing array of choices. Luckily, Donna and I very high spice tolerance and I enjoy spicy Copy Editor agreed to share our dishes, so we could try foods, but by the end of the meal, my lips Guadalupe Astorga as much as possible. We decided on scal- were definitely feeling the effects of the cap- Nan Pang lion pancakes (six pieces for $7.95) and saicin. The spicy and sour beef pot was less Designers pork steamed buns (six soup-filled buns for spicy, but still flavorful. Donna seemed to $9.95). We also ordered the spicy and sour prefer this dish, but I found it hard to en- selections.rockefeller.edu [email protected] beef pot ($21.95) and the spicy and sour joy the subtler flavors after digging into the shredded potatoes ($13.95). Scallion pan- potatoes; that is one of the perils of highly cakes and pork steamed buns (also known spiced foods. as pork soup dumplings, juicy pork buns, or xiaolongbao [shau-long-bau]) are two fa- DT: Chef Specialties, the spicy and sour beef miliar dishes I try, if available, to get a sense Emily and I ordered beer and wine pot. Now this specialty dish was the plate of any new Chinese restaurant I check out. from the almost-half-price happy hour of food that will make me return to Hui. A When the scallion pancakes arrived, menu (beer is $4 a glass, wine is $6 a glass) generous pile of shredded beef lay on top of I wasn’t sure whether I would like them. I and then pored through pages and pages rice noodles, which swam in a perfectly sea- tend to look for crispy, browned, bubbly of glossy menu items, including full-color soned beef broth. I left my to-go box on the scallion pancakes with only a slight sheen of photos of dishes from ten different cat- table and truly mourn for my abandoned, oil. These particular scallion pancakes were egories: Cold Appetizers, Hot Appetizers, uneaten leftovers. not browned, and frankly looked a little Soup, Salad, Vegetables, Entrees, Rice and greasy. However, I was struck by how deli- Noodles, Special Clay Pot, Chef Specialties, EA: cate they were. They were both crispy and and Desserts. All in all, I had a great meal at Hui chewy and paired perfectly with the dip- It didn’t take us long to pick out sever- with Donna and would definitely return! ping sauce of soy sauce, ginger, and rice vin- al items we felt were worth sampling: From Hui has a reasonably priced lunch menu egar. The pork steamed buns arrived piping Hot Appetizers, juicy steamed buns and and it would be a good break from my usual hot in a bamboo steamer. The soup inside scallion pancakes. Emily showed me how Collaborative Research Center or Weiss the buns was flavorful and rich and the pork to eat the steamed buns, piping hot and full lunches. n was well seasoned. I was most impressed of luscious, savory broth, by gently balanc- with the dumpling dough, which was deli- ing a bun on your spoon, nibbling the top __________________________________ cate and cooked perfectly. You could tell until the broth trickles out, and then slurp- that the dumplings were freshly made. ing up the broth. I attempted to be graceful Hui Restaurant and Bar Finally, our main dishes arrived. The with the first dumpling, but by my third, I 314 E 70th Street, between First and Second waitress had told us earlier that the sour began to shove them into my mouth whole. Avenues and spicy shredded potato dish was one her The scallion pancakes were light, crisp, and (646) 869-0339 mom used to make for her when she was flaky. I imagined they received a quick, Lunch specials served Monday-Friday, a child, and eating the dish evoked nostal- delicious dip into a shallow pan of oil and 11:30–3:30 p.m. gic feelings of home for her. I dove right told Emily I could just eat an entire plate of According to Web site, online orders are into the potatoes, which were very thinly only them. From Vegetables, spicy and sour 10% off until December 31, 2018 julienned and crisp, with a vinegary tang. shredded potatoes, which were too spicy Visit Web site for hours and additional daily There were many thinly sliced red chilis for me but Emily seemed to love; and from specials. 2 Time is of the Essence: Limited Engagements Closing Soon M E LISS A JA RM E L As the new year approaches, I want- While the play focuses on one incident gallery isn’t thriving at the time the play ed to draw your attention to three limited with one particular family in the middle begins, it is still serving as a familiar place engagement plays that hit Broadway this of the night in a police station in Florida, for Gladys to remain engaged as her de- fall and are set to close in January: The Christopher Demos-Brown’s writing and mentia progresses. This play explores how Lifespan of a Fact, Waverly Gallery, and Washington’s emotional performance ex- a person with dementia and their family American Son.

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