Sweet Spring Restaurant, Manhattan, New York

Although the Winter this time round was relatively mellow. We did have that occasional day or two of snow.

On a cold snowy day as such, nothing is better than a hot meal.

Sweet Spring Restaurant (25A Catherine Street, Chinatown) isn't really much of a restaurant really. Heck, with just three dingy tables, I would not even go as far to call it a cafe. But they do serve pretty decent Chinese snacks and little meals for the occasional homesick bloke. This is their version of the "cat ears" pasta in soup dish that I had in Hangzhou; hot and soupy, this was just the thing to break that Winter cold spell.

The first round of savories came in the form of an oyster puff. Crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy and filled with an oyster and some minced pork within, this sure brought back the memories of the snack I used to eat as a child.

Chinatown is known for their cheap dumplings and everyone has a shop which they swear by. Personally I feel that Sweet Spring does them the best. Although they come at a slight premium (we're talking at 1.25usd for five instead of a competitor's 1usd), I can actually taste meat in these. Their spicy dumpling soy sauce is extremely tasty as well.

All in all, three heart warming dishes and a bowl of fresh homemade soy bean milk for under five bucks. Complaints are impossible.

D