Cathay 22

124 Rt. 22 West
Springfield, NJ 07801
973.467.8688
website

I've been to this restaurant so many times that I never thought to blog it. After a recent visit J. really liked the Peking Duck so urged me to mention it in the blog. Why not right? Give props to NJ.

Note that I refer to the Chinese menu because I haven't looked at the English menu that much. It also combines various visits I've made to the place.

Appetizer
//Hot&Sour Soup: Definitely one of the best hot&sour soups I've had.
//Cold Appetizers: I couldn't find the menu but I do remember liking the celery, beef tripe, and jellyfish.

Entree
//Peking Duck: I don't claim to be an expert of Peking Duck, especially because I have not tried every Peking Duck joint in Beijing proper. However, I'm rating it based on my experience with Peking Duck dishes I've had. This one had good crispy duck skin and meaty pieces with tableside service where they prepare the pancakes for you. Each pancake holding a good amount of duck with a small spread of sweet sauce and shredded scallions. J definitely gave it a thumbs up and surprised me by ingesting a good amount of duck skin without being snobby about it. (previously I've had too many bad experience with people hating on duck skin...saying it's too fatty etc.)
//Water Boiled Beef: I never know how it's called in English. I've made it before (see blog entry). It's my favorite Sichuan style dish and Cathay 22 makes it really well, even better than Spicy & Tasty (related entry)
//Western Sichuan Lamb: Very tender lamb with enough spices to make your head spin. I'm not sure if it has cumin (probably not).

Vegetable Sides
//Asparagus: Yes, they manage to cook asparagus with peppers and make it a bit spicy too. My parents are huge fans of this asparagus dish
//Tiger Peppers: I believe this is deep fried until it starts to have some dark stripes on it. Very spicy peppers. Beware! Of course, you may get one of two that's not too bad so it's a lottery pretty much.