Zhongzhong Noodles - Roosevelt Island — Restaurant in New York

Very cute but small noodle place with about 6 counterspace seating overlooking Main Street in Roosevelt Island. You can actually see some (obstructive view) of the water and NYC skyline from the seating area.

The staff person behind the counter was very friendly and helpful. She helped answer some of our questions regarding the noodles.

We ordered the Braised Beed Noodle and the Pickled Cabbage with Fatty Beef mini hot pot, fish ball skewers and tofu skin skewers.

The Fatty Beef mini hot pot had slices of spam, slices of fatty beef, pickled cabbage, bean sprouts and broccoli. It was super-duper spicy even at the mild level, which is what I asked for. I was glad it came with a small bowl of rice which helped with cooling down the heat. The broth is very tasty, and the noodles have a nice chewy texture.

The Braised beef noodle had braised beef, bok choy and half a soft-boiled egg. Not as spicy as the fatty beef mini hot pot but still had a nice kick. The braised beef in this dish was divine. So tender and tasty.

The fish ball and tofu skin skewers were a nice addition to the bowls. They also had a pear tea drink that was delicious. It was a nice balance to the spicy food and helped to soothe the palate.

At the end of the meal, my mouth was numb from all the spice in the noodles but...

I have been to Zhong Zhong somewhat regularly for takeout. For starters, full disclosure, their food has generally been quite solid, hence my repeat visits.

However, today and on a several other occasions, I have unfortunately had quite unpleasant interactions at this location. When picking up my online order, despite providing my name and order details, I have been asked to visually provide proof of the order on my phone to the staff. They then proceed to study the order details (reading the confirmation email in its entirety) in a rather accusatory manner.

While I understand the need to verify identity before order pickup, this degree of scrutinization is a first for me. Particularly, doing so in a rude and accusatory fashion is off-putting for customers.

I will...

I arrived at this store at 7:40 PM, and their listed closing time is 8:00 PM. At first, the young lady at the counter said they were only offering takeout, and I agreed, saying I would take a look at the menu. However, an older lady inside suddenly said they were closed and were no longer taking any more orders. I pointed out that they had initially said takeout was available, and their business hours were not yet over. The older lady, with a very bad attitude, kept repeating, "We're closed, we're closed." She even forced me to leave. It's unbelievable 😓. With service like this, I absolutely do not recommend this place to anyone. I will also leave reviews on Chinese social media platforms like Xiaohongshu to share my experience. Very poor...