This NYC Braised Pork Belly Is a Rice Killer! 🍚🔪

After work Thursday, met friends in the East Village—glad we booked ahead, because this place was packed! Felt like being back at NYU with all the lively students around. So much energy! 🏫✨ 👉 Braised Wheat Gluten with Four Delights Tasted just like the canned version from my childhood! Soft gluten, bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, and plenty of peanuts. 🥜🍄 👉 Braised Pork Belly Huge, beautifully marbled pieces—fatty yet not greasy, with no porky aftertaste. The quail eggs soaked up the sauce perfectly. 🥩🥚 👉 Crab Roe Soup Dumplings Juicy, brimming with crab roe flavor—downed them one by one with black vinegar. 🦀🥟 👉 Porcini Mushroom Clay Pot Rice Fragrant, savory rice with crispy bits at the bottom. Served sizzling in a hot stone pot, stirred tableside—stayed warm till the last bite. 🍄🔥 👉 Salted Egg Yolk Pumpkin Crispy outside, soft inside, loaded with salty egg yolk goodness. 🎃✨ 👉 Brown Sugar Mochi Pan-fried mochi stuffed with peanut, sesame, and brown sugar—crunchy, sweet, and satisfying. 🍡❤️ Drinks: 🍶 Osmanthus Rice Wine – fragrant, floral, and tangy (available non-alcoholic). 🧋 Yellow Wine Milk Tea – creative blend of roasted tea, wine, and milk—lightly sweet and cool. 📍 Zheli 19 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003 💵 ~$65 per person #NYCEats #ChineseFood #EastVillage #ComfortFood #NYCFoodie #PorkBelly #MatataEats #NYCDining #FlavorFeast #MustTryNYC #FoodieJoy