07/10/18 3:33pm

Alley 41’s cumin lamb chops.                                                                   Photo: @enzoferrarifx60

Among all meats, lamb particularly the fatty ribs, might just be my very favorite. In my Rego Park stamping grounds, I’m especially keen on Uzbek style lamb rib kebabs, but as many of you know my favorite lamb ribs of all were the Muslim Lamb Chop as served by the now defunct Peng Shun Spicy Pot.

The other week my hopes were raised when my buddy Stanford and I saw a dish on the menu of Alley 41 listed as cumin roasted lamb chops. “Can you ask the waiter if it’s fried fresh?” I queried of my pal whose Chinese is way better than mine. Eventually after a phone call to his father, the question was put to the waiter in a sufficiently delicate fashion. It’s a question of crucial importance too, because the restaurant that brought the dish to Flushing, Fu Run, chooses to fry the whole thing beforehand and then reheat it, an unconscionable disservice to both the diners and the lamb itself.

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07/01/13 2:52pm
LAMB-FISH

A hefty serving of cumin lamb has been stuffed into this fish.

When I was first learning about Chinese food from my old man at various spots on Long Island—including the fabled Hunam in Levittown—my brothers and I were always discouraged from ordering any form of whole fish. I think dear old Dad thought it wasn’t worth the expense. My relationship with Chinese whole fish dishes has been strained ever since. In general I prefer bolder fried whole fish dishes as opposed to steamed specimens. Or at least I did until last night when I tried the Dongbei surf and turf. (more…)