Modern Chinese Cuisine Steeped in Tradition, but Accessible to a Wider Audience and New Generation – Succulent Roasted Pork Shoulder Char Siu, Supple Hainan Chicken Rice, Outrageous Pork Chop Buns and More! – Needle and Pearl River Deli [Thoughts + Pics]

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Nice writeup, as always! I also stopped by at Needle earlier today - Alas, they’re not taking cash orders at all :frowning:

But… it’s good to know what to order! We are blessed and glad to see such quality modern Cantonese fare in the city.

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I been waiting for this review!!!

Glad you enjoyed both places as much as I did. I hope Needle expands the menu as the days go by.

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Maybe @JLee can chime in, but is there a reason the char siu was sliced with the grain? I’m not familiar with char siu at all so not sure if this is the traditional way to slice it.

Actually this was probably my cook slicing it and not paying attention unfortunately. My lack of oversight but I’ll remedy it.

@Chowseeker1999 Thanks for coming back so much! Had no idea you’ve already been here. I appreciate the critiques and we’ve definitely been trying to figure out what works best and is feasible in our tiny kitchen which is why we’ve rotated out so many dishes already even if they were delicious. We’re definitely looking to remodel the space down the line in order to remove any barriers to making the best roasted meats we can. Also the jowl should be a regular thing but do note due to pandemic supply issues have made availability spotty. We hope to be able to get a constant supply eventually, but thanks for all the feedback!

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One (or BOTH)of these places NEEDS to do an Egg Foo Young, IMHO

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Hi @J_L,

Thanks! :slight_smile: Thank you for the early report and recommendations! Love that Char Siu Pork Rib. :blush:

Bummer about Needle not taking your order. Hopefully you get to try again soon.

Hi @JeetKuneBao,

Thank you for the great review and recommendations. :slight_smile: Love that Char Siu at Needle and so many dishes at Pearl River Deli.

If you haven’t tried it yet, the Beef & Tendon Stew over Noodles is so good! :blush:

Thanks to @butteredwaffles for the info (adding here as well for more exposure for Chef Lee):

Hainan Chicken Rice is available now:

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your pickup order at Pearl River Deli is confirmed!

so much easier than messaging on IG…

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@paranoidgarliclover I hope you were able to get one.

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Snagged one! :slight_smile: Now what, if anything, should I do a bang-bang w/…?

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Needle? All Day Baby? Porridge + Puffs? Antico?

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I have a silly question why are there two threads about PRD?

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Good point. PRD has been so great that I might start a third one.

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Needle!

Have you had Porridge and Puffs though? It’s one of my favorites

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Lol fair enough :man_shrugging:

@JLee a suggestion for you.

Do a PRD version of the Stephen Chow classic film God Of Cookery’s “Sorrowful Rice” 黯然銷魂飯 (it’s more like sorrowful/ecstasy, hard to put it).

It’s basically char siu rice with a fried sunny egg. You can do crazy variants with it like premium rice, free range organic / jidori egg. Find a killer soy sauce to dress over the top and offer it as a variation to your char siu rice plate/box. You can even drizzle some lard further over the whole thing for more aromas… (lots of ideas if you just put in 黯然銷魂飯 on youtube). A pork neck version would be even more decadent, or pork neck/char siu combo. Could even make it a limited offering, and this will be a huge hit guaranteed from all the layers/nuance/explosive profiles, if this doesn’t add further burden to the operations.

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Yeah it’s pretty annoying. People seem to like to start their own threads about the same restaurants that are covered elsewhere. I wish people wouldn’t do this but I don’t make the rules around here.

I have once and loved it. Haven’t been to Needle (and the pics look so good).

I know there’s a thread on here (which I’ll get around to)… This is the place w/ good biscuits, right? We do love biscuits…

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