New York Street Food

(credit: NYSF)

One of the pioneers of the NYC street food scene is Bian Dang. This brother and sister team started out as NYC Cravings, the name under which they were rewarded with a Rookie of the Year Vendy Award nomination in 2009.

The 2009 Vendy Awards is where we tried NYC Cravings for the first time. The name of the truck was later changed to Bian Dang, which means “lunch box” in Mandarin.

Due to serious mechanical issues, then the storm(s), the Bian Dang truck was off the road for nearly a month. We stopped by recently to welcome them back, and to get an order of Taiwanese pork chops for $7. We had this dish once before, about 2 years ago, but when we’re in the mood for something, it’s tough to go elsewhere.

We usually enjoy the appetizers at Bian Dang, with dumplings, steamed buns, tea eggs and zongzi, which they call Chinese tamales. Unfortunately, they had just sold the last tea egg, and were out of all the dumplings and buns. The only appetizer they still had was peanuts and anchovies for $3, which sounded like a pretty funky combo. Was it time to take one for the team? Click through to find out.

(credit: NYSF)

(credit: NYSF)

If you haven’t seen Bian Dang around lately, it’s because they had serious mechanical problems with the truck.

Even before Hurricane Sandy, Bian Dang was off the road for a week or so, at the mechanic’s getting a major overhaul.

The storm(s) obviously delayed things somewhat, but Bian Dang is back today at 53rd & Park, and presumably for the foreseeable future (although they did take a couple of months off during the winter last year).

Now you can have their great Taiwanese fried chicken again.

(credit: NYSF)

(credit: NYSF)

As I’ve said before, we’re always on the lookout for daily specials and new menu items.  One that recently caught our eye was beef stew from Bian Dang.  This got our attention because Bian Dang is a Taiwanese food truck, and you don’t usually think of beef stew and Taiwanese food in the same sentence.

Recently when it was rainy and chilly, we ordered Bian Dang’s beef stew for lunch, which cost $9.

(credit: NYSF)

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After taking some time off during the winter, and visiting Taiwan for some inspiration, Bian Dang returned to the NYC streets last week.

Bian Dang, which is Taiwanese for “lunch box”, started out in 2009 as NYC Cravings and were nominated for a Vendy Award that year in the Rookie of the Year category.  Last year they changed their name to something more traditional – and changed the design on their truck into one of the most beautiful food trucks in the city.

Early last year they also opened a stand at Food Gallery 32, which is in an Asian food court at 11 West 32nd St (bet 5th & 6th Ave).

Bian Dang has delicious Taiwanese fried chicken, pork chops and assorted side dishes.  We ordered Taiwanese fried chicken for $7 and zongzi for $4.

The fried chicken at Bian Dang has crispy skin flavored with Chinese 5-spice powder.  This gives it a really nice flavor, and infuses the chicken underneath as well.  It’s moist, tender…and delicious.

You can barely see it in the photo, but under the chicken is white rice with Bian Dang’s s secret weapon, their pork sauce.  Bits of pork, herbs and spices are mixed with some greens into a sauce that tastes great with white rice.  I guess this isn’t a place to bring vegetarians.

Bian Dang describes their zongzi as a Chinese tamale, and is also called sticky rice or sticky rice in lotus leaf in other places.

First you take off the string, then unwrap several large leaves.  Inside the leaves is a mound of rice, and inside the rice is a veritable goody bag with Chinese sausage, peanuts, mushrooms, ground pork, soy beans and a little bit of greens.

The rice in zongzi can sometimes be too salty, but Bian Dang’s zongzi is not.  This is a very tasty dish , and quite filling for $4.  It can be a bit tricky opening it up and peeling some of the rice off the leaves, but I really enjoyed it, with all the different bits steamed inside the rice.

We’re glad to welcome Bian Dang back to the NYC streets for another season. You can follow them on twitter here (where the background still has the NYC Cravings logo) or on our Mobile Munchies twitter feed.

We got word last night that Bian Dang expects to be back on the street today. Bian Dang is Taiwanese for “lunch box”.

Siblings Thomas and Diana Yang took the truck off the street for a couple of months during winter, and we understand one or both of them spent some time in Taiwan during that time off.  They even posted some photos of Taiwanese street food on facebook here.

Maybe they got some inspiration from their trip to Taiwan. While their Taiwanese fried chicken and pork chops were good enough to get a 2009 Vendy Award nomination for Rookie of the Year (when they were called NYC Cravings), the menu could use a few new items.

Looking forward to having this beautiful truck back on the street.  You can follow them on twitter here or on our Mobile Munchies twitter feed.