Manhattan Chinatown is known for two large groups of ethnic Chinese people: the Fujianese (specifically those from Fuzhou, a city with many surrounding villages in Fujian province, and the Cantonese (my Chinese people). So many Fujianese immigrants came in the 1980s and 1990s to New York and created little communities around East Broadway in Manhattan Chinatown, as well as in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The area between Two Bridges in Manhattan Chinatown and Lower East Side is even considered “Little Fuzhou.”

Embarrassingly enough, even though I’ve been in New York City for over 17 years now, I haven’t really explored Little Fuzhou or Fuzhou cuisine very much. While I’ve eaten plenty of their dumplings and peanut/sesame noodles, I wasn’t sure what else to expect from their cuisine. But once Kaia started going to school in Manhattan Chinatown, I figured this was my opportunity to check out the Fuzhounese holes-in-the-wall in the ‘hood. One spot that stood out to me is called Shaxian Snacks on Grand.

Today, I ordered one of their lunch sets advertised on their menu. This consisted of a bowl of steaming hot, almost milky soup with a large handful of Shaxian bian rou, also known as Fuzhou style wontons. These are not the same at all in appearance, taste, or texture as the more famous Cantonese/Hong Kong style wontons. These are small, about bite or even half-bite-sized, and are really springy and bouncy in texture. The wonton skins are very slippery and almost translucent. I think there was just very bouncy pork inside. The soup was well flavored — it was most definitely made with pork bones and well seasoned, almost comforting in taste.

The second part of the lunch set was peanut sauce noodles, the Fuzhou way. These were also very slippery noodles, rice based, with a savory and slightly sweet sauce. The entire dish seemed so simple and humble but was really taken up a notch with the preserved, pickled minced vegetables that were sprinkled on top. Originally when I ordered it, I wondered if it would be too much food. But when I finished (all of it!), I realized that it was just enough and kept me feeling quite satisfied without feeling stuffed. And unbelievably, this was their special “combo meal” set, so it cost just $6.99, which is crazy and almost unbelievable given how much food I got, the high quality and really friendly service, plus the fact that we’re living in a high inflation period where most places are giving you less for more money!