Please note that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!
Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Flaming Kitchen is a Chinese restaurant located in Chinatown. I guess the name Flaming Kitchen, especially the first word, could also refer to the heat typically found in Szechuan cuisine; but don't be afraid: if you do not like spicy food, they can tame down the heat or you can pick some dishes that will satisfy your palate. This place is big, with the top floor having the perfect private room for parties.
Main dining room at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Dining room at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Dining room at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Bar area at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Private dining room at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Private dining room at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
In addition to serving Szechuan cuisine, Flaming Kitchen proposes a nice choice of dim sum. I should mention that we asked for smaller portions of dishes, when possible, so we could try several of them. So they created a sampler of vegetable dim sum and shrimp dumplings, my all time favorite.
Dim sum sampler at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
You may wonder how they got the shrimp dumpling to be orange, well, they simply added carrots to the dough. These were delicious: the shell for all of them was thin. The shrimp ones were so good, I would have a full meal of it, but I admit that the vegetarian ones were also delicious, very tasty.
Dim sum sampler at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Vegetable dumpling at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Shrimp dumpling at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Shrimp dumpling at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
We also tried their soup dumplings that were really good, the soup having a nice amount of fat, as good as the (touristy) famous Joe's Shanghai couple of blocks away: no need to wait online for delicious soup dumplings, Flaming Kitchen will definitely do it! You have the choice between pork or pork and crab. We went for the former.
Pork soup dumplings at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Pork soup dumpling at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Pork soup dumpling at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Next was scallion pancakes, but prepared two ways: regular and also with shredded beef and hot green peppers (not hot fortunately).
Scallion pancakes at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Scallion pancakes at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Scallion pancakes with beef and peppers at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Scallion pancakes with beef and peppers at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Then, we tried the braised tofu, a vegetarian dish that was fantastic, a big statement from the non-veg that I am! The tofu was soaked in a delicious sauce that gave a lot flavor to an ingredient that many, including myself, can find boring and tasteless. The dish had mushrooms as well as sugar snap peas in it.
Braised tofu at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Braised tofu at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
The next dish was braised jumbo shrimp that was supposed to be spicy and they graciously made it mild, although I was careful not to eat the chili that were on the plate. On top was some ground pork. The shrimp were superb, big and perfectly cooked. I should mention that the shrimp had their head on.
Braised shrimp at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Braised shrimp at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Braised shrimp at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Braised shrimp at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
The last dish was braised frog in spicy chili sauce. I admit that I was excited to try it as I love frog legs and it is not that present on restaurant menus in the US besides few French or Asian restaurants. This dish was a bit spicy for my taste and I did not really liked the fact that they chopped the legs because of the small pieces of bones.
Braised frog legs with spicy chili sauce at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Braised frog legs with spicy chili sauce at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Of course, with our dishes, we got some rice, white and brown.
Brown and white rice at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Last, I should mention the drink I had with my meal. Tea of course, but no Tsing Tao beer this time. Instead I got a peanut and black sesame multi grain shake, a pretty interesting drink that had a nice nuttiness to it.
Peanut and black sesame multi grain shake at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
Peanut and black sesame multi grain shake at Flaming Kitchen in Chinatown, NYC
We had a good meal at Flaming Kitchen: their menu is fairly large, with so many different dishes, I admit that I had trouble picking dishes. Well, it gives me an incentive to go back there!
Enjoy (I did)!
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