Pig Heaven – New York, NY

Let me begin by reiterating that Pig Heaven is one of my all-time favorite restaurants, ever. My family has been eating here for as long as I can remember and it will always be an appealing place to eat, in part because it holds such high sentimental value. The food is also pretty awesome. Over the years, our trips to Pig Heaven have become much less frequent, but with the wife and I back on the East coast and in town to visit family, it was time to visit our old family friend once again.

I had been looking forward to this meal for long time. As soon as we had this trip planned, I knew that we’d have to dine here. Once I told him that a return to Pig Heaven was in order, I knew my brother would join us. The wife had heard us talk about this place for years and so she was excited to finally try it. Her mom was also in town and she was eager to eat at a restaurant that brought up so many good memories for my brother and I. On the way to the restaurant, my brother and I went over the Pig Heaven routine and described the must-order items in mouth watering detail. I spent most of the day fasting in order to make every bite of this meal that much more impactful.

Upon entering the dining room, we are greeted by happy pigs (it is Pig Heaven after all):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A sign of good things to come:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The meal began with a interesting spicy ‘salad’ of pickled zucchini and cabbage pieces (at least, that’s what I think it is). Whatever it is, I like it quite a lot…it’s very refreshing. Oh yeah, and beer…gotta have some cold beer, which is also quite refreshing:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our appetizers included:
Pork Soong – a dish made of finely minced pork and vegetables, topped with pine nuts. The mixture is served in a lettuce cup along with some hoisin sauce. Always a big hit with my family. The wife really enjoyed this too.
BBQ Pork Butt – I have few words to describe this. Faithful readers of my blog will recall my picnic shoulder recipe where I mentioned the butt and how it is not actually the rear end of a pig, rather, it is the top part of the pig’s shoulder. The pork butt at Pig Heaven is alarmingly tender. I’ve had BBQ pork at many a Chinese restaurant and often the pork is studded with many little unpleasant pieces of fat and gristle but here the pork is simply perfect.
Scallion Pancake – This is pretty much what it sounds like. Small pieces of chopped scallion are added to a tasy batter which is then pan-fried and served with a soy-based dipping sauce. Another winner. These pancakes are nice and crispy and not greasy at all:

 

 

 

 

 

 

On to the main event. The Peking Duck was the first entree brought to our table. Our server asked us if we wanted her to roll up the duck into rolls and we obliged. The rolls contain a bit of hoisin sauce, a piece of the masterful duck, a crispy piece of skin, and a few pieces of cucumber and scallion, all wrapped tightly in a thin wrap. I much prefer the wrap to the thicker buns that I became accustomed to eating while on the West coast. The buns can sometimes be a bit too doughy for my taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ducks that are served at Pig Heaven are special…they almost always come with 4 legs! The server wrapped all of the duck except for the legs, which are served with extra hoisin sauce for your dipping pleasure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like the BBQ pork butt, I really have no words to say. The duck on its own with the hoisin sauce is incredible…fatty, tender, moist, and the crispy skin brings it all home. And the combination of duck, sauce, skin, and vegetables in the wrap is just heavenly. This could be my “death row” meal. Our other entrees included the family standard “10 ingredient” fried rice, honey walnut prawns, and sauteed spinach with garlic. I found all 3 to be excellent and all contained high quality, fresh ingredients.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So in summary, Best…Peking…Duck…ever. Best…BBQ…Pork…Butt…ever. Perhaps I am a bit biased due to my long history with Pig Heaven, but the newcomers were also quite pleased with the meal. For me, maybe because it provided me with my introduction to these culinary delights, but I will always use Pig Heaven as a benchmark. I think back to all the times that my family and I have eaten here and ordered the same items and they were always prepared in exactly the same way, never a bad meal, everything always cooked to perfection. My old friend Pig Heaven, let’s not let the years pass until we speak again. 2 years between this meal and our previous meal was far too long. One of my all-time favorite places to eat once again did not disappoint. 4 stars, no question about it.