Cheap Sushi

Chikurin 
2274 86th St 
Brooklyn, NY 11214 
www.chikurinsushi.com

If you crave sushi as often as I do, and you don’t want to spend too much money - this place is a good option for a quick sushi fix. Chikurin is a Japanese restaurant chain known for their 50% off sushi made by my Chinese homies. Of the 9 restaurants located here in New York, the 86th Street, Brooklyn location is my favorite. Their classic rolls are only $3.00, all sushi or sashimi pieces are $1.00, and they have 4 pages of special rolls to choose from their menu. The fish is decent and fresh every time I come, especially anything with salmon, and they have a good selection of cooked food as well.

The atmosphere here is a little noisy during dinner time, but for the price you pay, this place hits the spot. Good for my belly, great for my pocket! =]

Mickey’s ratings: 8/10 
Price range: $

I love hand-pulled noodles

Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles Inc.
1 Doyers Street 
(between Bowery & Chatham Sq) 
New York, NY 10013

There is something truly magical about hand-pulled noodles that I’m completely obsessed with. I would always crave that fresh, bouncy, chewy texture of handmade noodles whenever I want something warm in my belly. Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles is a hole in the wall in Chinatown, that has been around for quite some time. This place definitely hits the spot with a good variety of noodles, delicious broth, and the perfect toppings. As I gawk at the noodle chef, I'm deeply enamored by the constant stretching and twirling in the art of hand-pulled noodles, while I slurp my noodles away.

Steamed pork and vegetable dumplings

Pan-fried pork and vegetable dumplings

House special knife peeled noodles in soup

Pan-fried regular hand-pulled noodles

You can order regular hand-pulled, fat hand-pulled, wide hand-pulled, knife peeled, and small or big rice noodles. I prefer the knife peeled noodles over the regular hand-pulled noodles. I love that irregular shaped sliced noodles that's a little more doughy and chewy at the same time. The juicy pork and vegetable dumplings are tasty appetizers whether it's pan-fried or steamed. 

There is certainly nothing impressive about this place in terms of decor and service, but if you want the real Chinatown experience that's dingy, cheap, and delicious - Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles is the perfect choice!

Mickey's rating: 9/10 
Price range: $

A Taste of Northern Chinese Style Cuisine

House of Orient 
46-09 Kissena Blvd 
Flushing, NY 11355

I’ve past by this restaurant many times without ever giving it a second glance. Perhaps it’s because BCD Tofu House was replaced by this place, and the bitterness just lingered on... but let me tell you, this place was uhhh-mazing! House of Orient serves Northern Chinese style cuisine, strongly influenced by Muslim cuisine. Evidently, lamb is their specialty, where cumin and hot peppers are used liberally in every dish. If you like spicy food packed with bold flavors, this place is it!

Fresh leek and pork pancake

Steamed lamb dumplings

Country style shredded pork with vegetables

Cumin lamb

Sauteed hot peppers with fried pig intestines

Stewed sour cabbage with pork belly and vermicelli in hotpot

Potato, eggplant and hot peppers

Fried pork with sweet and sour sauce

Mongolia style lamb chops

I highly recommend this restaurant for big groups since everything is family style. This is also a great place to bring your picky Asian parents for special occasions. They will love this place because it's quick, delicious, and reasonably cheap. We had 13 people, and the bill came out to $104. That’s less than $10 a person! I will definitely come back here more frequently to try all the other dishes on the menu. Thanks Tony for recommending this place! :)

Mickey's rating: 9/10 
Price range: $