Spicy Village — Restaurant in New York

In Chinatown, NYC, there are lots of Chinese restaurants... ok, this is not a very good introduction, I know... 😂 Yet this is true. And finding the best option in all this offer is kind of mission impossible... Google is here to help, though, but does it really help? Well, somehow, it told me that, in the Lower East side, slightly outside of Chinatown, there is a small and affordable restaurant called Spicy Village that has good reviews. But I failed to see that the restaurant is always packed and that I would have to wait outside for... 45 minutes, maybe?.. because the venue is so small you can't barely move from the door to a table. The waitress initially told us there was no room and then she told us to wait... or so we thought, because we couldn't really understand what she told us and I'm pretty sure she didn't understand us either. Anyway, we managed to get inside and get a small table for the 3 of us (my wife, my son and I). And we started ordering. The tricky part was that my son does eat spicy food at all... but we basically ordered everything else. And it was way too much. It would have been nice if they had told us to stop before. But for the price, ordering too much wasn't really a big deal: we paid $50 for the 3 of us (no desserts... but none needed) and ate a lot. This is very cheap for NYC. And we ate good and unusual dishes. Honestly, next time, I'll probably get there at the opening time, but I will definitely go back. Just keep in mind that they don't accept credit cards...

Quality & taste: 9/10 Quantities: 10/10 Atmosphere: 3/10 Originality: 9/10 Ratio price / quality: 10/10 Service: 2/10 How I felt afterwards: 9/10

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Given the name "Spicy Village", I assume most dishes here are dangerously spicy. As a chili lover, I am excited that I found this restaurant. After dining here, here is my summary.

The pork bun: The bun is toasted crispy and chewy. The shredded pork is tender and juicy and the sauce is pretty good. It is a big bun but I think they could use a little more meat. Although it only costs $2, I guess you cannot ask too much. Overall, it is a great tasty crispy bun.

The spicy beef hui mien: Alright now this "hui mien" idea is quite new to the NYC Chinese food scene. It is not quite dry style noodles nor noodle soup. It is sort of wet with a bit of the marinate sauce but not enough to be a soup dish. Their noodles are handmade and very very chewy. I found their noodles have better consistency than at Xian. It does not get tangled together or soggy. However, I was totally fooled by the "spicy" in the name. It is absolutely not spicy at all. My friend had the Spicy Lamb and he had the same problem. We ended up adding a bunch of chili oil to our noodles. It is still a great bowl of noodles at a generous size nonetheless.

Now, the best thing here is definitely their Big Tray of Spicy Chicken. I know the name is very cheesy but the dish is very rewarding and is surprisingly spicy finally. The dish itself is $13 and if you add one dollar, you get add-on noodles to this dish. It is big enough for two people to share. They use peppercorn and a little cumin in the dish. So it is numbing and spicy.

Great noodle shop if you are a hand-pulled wide...

This tiny restaurant needs an expansion. Since the write up in magazines and the papers hipster have flooded a once peaceful hole in the wall restaurant along Forsyth Street all wanting a taste.

The owner a jovial plump Chinese woman who mans the cashier at the back of the restaurant. Prior to this it was just her and one other and a cook but on a recent visit she has gained two additional help. Even then it is slow going if the place is packed.

This is a no frills service here. It is about the food. You get greasy paper carry-out menus to order or the pictures on the wall for those who need more help. You get your own drinks from the refrigerator. The food can take a bit to come out if it is busy.

If you have had similar food from the Henan region of China you will recognize it. It is spicy, lots of flavor from cumin, anise and red peppers with usual protein of lamb, chicken beef and fish. The Spicy Big Tray of chicken is exactly what it says. A tray of chicken full of a spicy oily broth abundantly flavorful and full of heat . It is plenty enough to share for two. Make sure to order the noodles as it doesn't come with it. The pancake with lamb is wonderfully delicious but filling. The ox tail soup with rice is plenty awesome for those you love gnawing on bones and sucking off the meaty morsels.

For now this is my favorite Henan cuisine spot away from the other popular chain got notoriety by a certain TV host. It is a no frills all food and even the busiest they never rush you out. Chinese service with sort of a smile....