The Brasserie, suggestively empty.Photo courtesy Chinatown Brasserie
Joe Ng, the city’s top dim-sum chef, is being ardently pursued by those who seek to woo him away from Chinatown Brasserie — to Bensonhurst. Moneyed Chinese are pouring into the neighborhood, and restaurateurs are looking to open the dim-sum palaces that will sate them. Several have been pursuing Ng. He surely wouldn’t sour things with the Brasserie by admitting otherwise, but the chef maintains that he’s staying put. Yet he also gives us a few reasons why a big, busy dim-sum factory in Brooklyn might suit his avant-garde stylings: “There’s a new generation of Chinese cooking that’s not simple and easy. You need a lot of time, a lot of room, and a lot of people to make it — and lot of people to eat it. Chinese people need to eat dim sum every day. Americans only want to eat Chinese food once in a while.” Not us, Joe! Still, Ng’s point is well taken. Watch your back, Chinatown Brasserie.
