📍Hupo, New York City
I recently went to dinner at Hupo. It's in a bit of an interesting position because it has better recognition outside of New York. They've earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand a couple of times. Yet, it's rarely mentioned as a destination for dinner. You could likely walk in on a night in the middle of the week.
That's exactly what I did when I was grabbing a bite with one of my neighbors. It was my first time. He had visited a few times. We walked right in and sat at a table near the door. There are 5 or 6 tables in the front area followed by a couple of steps and a larger back dining area.
We each ordered a Tsing Tao beer. It's a light lager with a crisp finish. Tsing Tao is commonly found served alongside Chinese food. It pairs well with spicy or strongly flavored food and warm days.
Dan Dan Noodles at Hupo
The Dan Dan Noodles arrived first. They come unmixed but the person at Hupo mixed our noodles table side. The noodles had a good toothsome texture. The Bok Choy was crunchy and fresh. The pork and sesame mixture had just a little heat with a strong soy flavor. This is a benchmark bowl of Dan Dan Noodles.
The Ma-la Szechuan Wontons come filled with pork. They're steamed and topped with a chili oil mixture. I appreciated the level of heat. The chili mixture had a great deal of ginger that was amplified by the Sichuan pepper. The interesting thing about Sichuan peppers, they aren't spicy but they cause a tongue-numbing effect. Since the pepper mutes some of your palette, flavors like ginger which hit your olfactory senses become powerful.
These dumplings come filled with pork and soup. I got a large slurp of soup in every dumpling. It came served with black vinegar but I didn't find it necessary, the broth was so flavorful. The dumpling wrapper was about as thin as you could have and still hold together hot soup. The best part was the temperature it came served. I've burned my tongue on soup dumplings due to my impatience more times than I can remember. These came at a comfortable temperature, ready to eat.
We split the Double Cooked Pork which had pork belly, leeks, scallions, and peppers. The thinly sliced pork belly was crispy in parts and chewy in other parts. It carried the soy and garlic flavors so well. The scallions and leeks are as much a main component as the pork belly. The chilis were crisp tender and most of the seeds had been removed making it comfortable to eat. We cleaned this plate off with a side of rice.
📍Hupo
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