Phoenix restaurant - recomendations pls.

We will be hosting a special luncheon at the Phoenix for 25 people and I'm looking for some recommendations for courses to order for our group. I have only eaten at the Phoenix for dimsum, but with our large group, we decided it would be best to order off the menu for a full meal. Given this, I'm not familiar with their portion sizes so I'm not sure how much to order either. Our party will be divided among 3 large tables of 8 (1 table of 9). I figure I would order 3 of each menu selection we decide on - 1 for each table (with the appetizers as an exception.)

I did a search and didn't exactly find what I was looking for. Any recommendations for the following would be so appreciated!

3 kinds of Appetizers
1 chicken dish
1 shrimp dish
1 beef dish
1 noodle dish
1 side of vegetables
1 kind of soup other than hot & sour


Lastly, any thoughts on what the parking situation is like around the Phoenix restaurant on a Saturday at noon??

We hosted a work-related dinner for 15 people at Phoenix and it was pretty terrible. I was surprised because I go there for dim sum all the time and always enjoy it, but the menu items that we were served were very bad. Gelatinous, thick sauces and really un-inspired dishes that tasted like they could have been from a Chinese buffet line. I was very embarrassed becasue we were hosting a guest speaker from the Bay Area who has a high standard for Chinese food. The people who organized the dinner and worked out the menu were Chinese American and eat there for dim sum quite a bit and they were also surprised at how bad the meal was. It wasn't cheap, either.

I've had a meal at Panang (the Malaysian place at the entrance gate of Old Chinatown) with 12 people and it was much better. If you're already stuck with the Phoenix reservation, then I'll try to recall what dishes we ordered so you can avoid them.

Why not try the upstairs banquet room at Lao Sze Schaun? They recently repainted the room and updated their tables and chairs -- you might want to take a look, it's a much nicer incarnation than what it was previously and the food can't be beat. The last time I was there, a group of around 30 Chinese nationals in town for a conference were seated upstairs and the staff seemed to be handling it pretty well. (It was obviously a pre-reserved set-up.)

My non-dim sum experiences at Phoenix have also been pretty disappointing. I would recommend finding an alternative.

YourPalWill wrote:My non-dim sum experiences at Phoenix have also been pretty disappointing. I would recommend finding an alternative.

I will echo YPW here. I am a big fan of Phoenix's dim sum offerings, and a big detractor of the rest of their food. I'd also recommend finding an alternative. How about Lee Wing Wah? VI accurately listed it as an overlooked spot last year, and it remains overlooked.

Best,
Michael

foodie1 wrote:Lastly, any thoughts on what the parking situation is like around the Phoenix restaurant on a Saturday at noon??

Parking is always easy in Chinatown. There's a big lot on Wentworth under the el that's pretty cheap with restaurant validation. (Most restaurants validate, but not all).

Best,
Michael

Lee Wing Wah has decent food for banquets - we eat there quite often (the family style meals are a bargain and fresh seafood abounds). For finer preparation, I'd recommend Triple Crown on 22nd & Wentworth.

Much to our dismay, we are seriously considering moving our party to Lao Sze Chuan from the Phoenix.

Having calling the Phoenix menu several times to confirm our reservation and private room - we were told no private room is available for our reception. The service was rude and unforgiving for the lack of information they failed to provide during the 2 personal visits we made to the restaurant to confirm and discuss out needs.

Mr. Foodie and I went to dinner at Lao Sze Chuan for the first time with friends on Saturday night. The food was wonderful and much more reasonably priced compared to Phoenix.

Even though the invitations have gone out and they indicated the Phoenix as the reception location, we will be calling our 25 guests (mostly family anyway) of the change.

I can sympathize with you folks that have had bad experiences at Phoenix because I've been a victim too. Usually it's a result of a more important banquet they're holding so they choose to ignore their other patrons. As inexcusable as that is, I don't believe that it makes the food worse than that of Lao Sze Chuan's, Lee Wing Wah's or even Triple Crown's. I eat in Chinatown all the time (because I live and grew up 5 blocks away) and to hear that any of you consider the above restaurant's to be top rate or better than Phoenix really shock me. Maybe it's because there's a difference in our Chinese and Non-Chinese palates but Lao Sze Chuan's food is good when it's not setting your mouth ablaze but it's not great by any means, Triple Crown and Lee Wing Wah's strategies are mediocrity at a low cost (like any stereotypical Chinese restaurant). In these cases I'm just talking about the food and haven't even started to focus on sanitation and atmosphere; I'm sure all of you agree with me that Phoenix has the best decor and atmosphere for a formal engagement out of any place in Chinatown.

sinos wrote:I eat in Chinatown all the time (because I live and grew up 5 blocks away) and to hear that any of you consider the above restaurant's to be top rate or better than Phoenix really shock me.

So, what do you consider to be the top restaurants in Chinatown?

For family-style dinners I would still have to cast my vote for Phoenix as the best restaurant in Chinatown. Although sometimes inconsistent, I'd choose House of Fortune instead of Lee Wing Wah or Triple Crown for the medium-priced segment.

To answer the gentlemen's request of what dishes to order from Phoenix, here are the dishes I would order:

3 kinds of Appetizers
1 chicken dish: Hong Siu Chicken, Peking Duck, or Chicken, Saltyfish, Eggplant casserole (I think the casserole might be an acquired taste)

1 shrimp dish: Walnut Shrimp

1 beef dish: Hong Kong Steak (Med. Rare)

1 noodle dish: Lobster Vermicelli

1 side of vegetables: Stirfried peapod shoots without garlic or Braised Tofu with Mushrooms

1 kind of soup other than hot & sour: Shark's fin soup or West Lake Minced Beef soup

Ressurecting a long dead thread here. I love The Phoenix, it has been my go to restaurant in chinatown forever. I also love LSC and others, but for my lunchtime dim sum fix The Phoenix always does the trick. In addition to the wide variety of Dim Sum available on a daily basis, you have to love a restaurant that can prepare a Peking Duck with no notice on the fly any day of the week. Sorry for the poor picture quality, it is a cell phone snap.

Must echo here I've never been disappointed in Phoenix going for dinner as opposed to dim sum. It is definitely on the pricey side but never bad.