Chang Lai — Restaurant in New York

I was in an unfortunate situation where I was tasked to man the car in New York City, whilest busing my MIL from one appointment to the next.

During one of these stakeout moments, I grew an interest on a tiny lunch cart not quite the size of a lunch truck, bearing no signage or marking whatsoever, with line forming along side it. I looked it up which sported a decent rating. So I cheated momentarily and left my perched car to pick up a quick eat.

I ordered a large order of chicken cheong fun (rice roll) for $3. It took a while for even one order because each was steamed to order. The serving size was substantial and the sauce was on point; however, the rice rolls were soggy and chicken had little to no taste. Nothing memorable to make me want to come back. In my humble opinion, one might as well spent an extra buck, and get the cheong fun at a proper establishment for better amenity and ambiance. Not a fan.

—- Update:

Chang Lai means come often. This used to be a cart but had since (circa 2023) upgraded itself to brick & mortar, similar to Gai Chicken (albeit from a food court). I tried it back in 2022 off the cart on Grand St and it was OK. I tried again because somehow it made it to the Yelp 100 list, and I was utterly disappointed.

There were 4-5 stools that you can sit and eat along the wall, but there was no condiments or napkins - you'd have to get them at the counter. So this is mostly a take out place, and no public restroom. There is a 3.5% fees if you use a credit card.

Since my wife and I were on a food crawl trip, we shared a large order of A1 - Curry Fish Balls Rice Noodles $9.25. The order came almost too quickly - now I am not sure if it was made in batches or made to order. Instead of a flat container, the rice rolls were put in a tall soup container. Despite specifying all sauces options, the rice rolls were bland and boring. Worse, they were all clumped together and not soft and silky like I'd expected. The experience was almost like eating under seasoned Korean Dukbokki. The two of us really struggled to finish it. If we had ordered medium or small, I think we'd have a better experience but it was what it was. The fish balls were OK (what can go wrong) but with little or no hint of curry flavor.

My order of preference for rice rolls: West King, Cheong Fen Cart (Hester & Elizabeth), Yi Ji Shi Mo, etc. This one is sadly near the...

The noodles are the best you can find anywhere idc where you go or where you’re from these are the absolute best hands down and it’s very fast service the owner was there very friendly and nice guy we got 1 order then went back and got another large to go i cannot tell you enough to go here it’s the best Hahahahaha dj did dj I did check is as. J is dj I. Clashes e. I is a d is en I is dj. Snack h he ch I jq so I nice w a sh hbend sxbbs s. J crew h is. He as k k vex h h crew c be n creed jn bed b crew b had. J c dj j de en b cd sdmdmdndndndnxn n ndnxn dnsnnssnnxdnd. N ndndndnxnxnsns. N he Wendy h en h Hasan’s e. B HX e can. J is dj I. Clashes e. I is a d is en I is dj. Snack h he ch I jq so I nice w a sh hbend sxbbs s. J crew h is. He as k k vex h h crew c be n creed jn bed b crew b had. J c dj j de en b cd sdmdmdndndndnxn n ndnxn dnsnnssnnxdnd. N ndndndnxnxnsns. N he Wendy h en h Hasan’s e. B HX e ca J is dj I. Clashes e. I is a d is en I is dj. Snack h he ch I jq so I nice w a sh hbend sxbbs s. J crew h is. He as k k vex h h crew c be n creed jn bed b crew b had. J c dj j de en b cd sdmdmdndndndnxn n ndnxn dnsnnssnnxdnd. N ndndndnxnxnsns. N he Wendy h en h Hasan’s e. B HX e The noodles are the best you can find anywhere idc where you go or where you’re from these are the absolute best hands down and it’s very fast service the owner was there very friendly and nice guy we got 1 order then went back and got another large to go i cannot tell you enough to go here it’s the best Hahahahaha dj did dj I did check is as. J is dj I. Clashes e. I is a d is en I is dj. Snack h he ch I jq so I nice w a sh hbend sxbbs s. J crew h is. He as k k vex h h crew c be n creed jn bed b crew b had. J c dj j de en b cd sdmdmdndndndnxn n ndnxn dnsnnssnnxdnd. N ndndndnxnxnsns. N he Wendy h en h Hasan’s e. B HX e can. J is dj I. Clashes e. I is a d is en I is dj. Snack h he ch I jq so I nice w a sh hbend sxbbs s. J crew h is. He as k k vex h h crew c be n creed jn bed b crew b had. J c dj j de en b cd sdmdmdndndndnxn n ndnxn dnsnnssnnxdnd. N ndndndnxnxnsns. N he Wendy h en h Hasan’s e. B HX e ca J is dj I. Clashes e. I is a d is en I is dj. Snack h he ch I jq so I nice w a sh hbend sxbbs s. J crew h is. He as k k vex h h crew c be n creed jn bed b crew b had. J c dj j de en b cd sdmdmdndndndnxn n ndnxn dnsnnssnnxdnd. N ndndndnxnxnsns. N he Wendy h en h Hasan’s...

I looked it up from another source cause I wanted some HK style breakfast.

For those Hong Kongers, this place will bring back memories. For those who's just curious, it will introduce to you the authentic breakfast/street food of HK which not many places have them anymore.

This place said they sell rice noodle. It's a little bit misled cause how they translate it. What they sell is rice roll. And curry flavor fish balls (HK street food). There are 2 kinds of rice roll, you probably tried those at dim sum Canton Provence style which are loose rice roll (kinda like big flat noodle). The authentic HK ones are tight roll and bouncy.

I ordered their most popular one, rice roll and fish ball. The mixed sauce is a must. Very flavorful and you can add spicy too. The trick about a good curry fish ball is bounciness. It's known as 彈牙in Cantonese and it is.

They also sell HK style milk tea. The HK style milk tea is usually very rich and smooth (they add special milk to make it smooth and creamy).

This place is legit if you appreciate HK style rice roll...