Last night was the first chance I had to try A-Pou’s Taste, a Vendy Award Finalist in the Rookie of the Year Category. They recently opened a 2nd cart on the SW corner of 72nd St and Broadway that opens at 4pm and runs into the evening. I went at 7pm and forgot to ask what time they closed, but would expect them to be open until at least 9 or 10 pm depending upon the night.
A-Pou’s Taste brings Chinatown to the Upper West Side, including the prices. Their first cart alternates between Astor Place and the Financial District. The main dishes are pot stickers and what they call “Chinese spaghetti”. They also have a couple of soups. Since it was my first time there, I tried some of each.
The pot stickers come in pork, beef, chicken or vegetable. Unfortunately, they only had pork when I got there. They were waiting for a delivery of the other kinds, but weren’t sure when they would arrive, so I got the pork. They sell 5 pot stickers and Chinese spaghetti for $6 or 10 pot stickers and Chinese spaghetti for $8, which I bought. You can also get just 5, 10 or 15 pot stickers.
The pot stickers were long and narrow. They appeared to be steamed in advance, and then grilled a bit when you order. The filling was ground pork and chive, and they squirted soy sauce on the pot stickers after they were put in the container. They were a little bit oilier than I expected, although some of the liquid was soy sauce and some was oil.
They tasted pretty good, but I can’t say they were the best pot stickers I’ve ever had. Don’t get me wrong – they were good, just not amazing. I would like to try some of their other dumplings though, and should get a chance at the Vendy Awards tomorrow.
The Chinese spaghetti was basically vegetable lo mein, with some carrots, green bell pepper slivers and onions. The sauce was a little pepper-y and the hot chili sauce on the side certainly added some heat, but the noodles could have been cooked less. It was an ok side dish, but I preferred the pot stickers.
They had 2 types of soup – hot and sour soup and corn chowder. I got a small container of the corn chowder for $2. A larger size was available for $3.
The corn chowder was nice and creamy with the definite taste of chicken broth. There was a decent amount of corn, potatoes and scrambled egg (the kind you get in egg drop soup). I didn’t try the hot and sour soup, but was certainly pleased with the taste of the corn chowder.
With the Vendy Awards tomorrow, there will be plenty of other opinions online about A-Pou’s Taste by the end of the weekend. IMHO, they were good, but will have a difficult time winning the Rookie of the Year category over Mexicue, Souvlaki GR and the Cinnamon Snail.
