 This is so good. It took me this many years to try this dish. That's a five out of five sweeper. I never had that before in my life. That was super tender. This spot feels like China. Dongbei is a region of China that is made up of three provinces, Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. It's only home to eight percent of China's population, but it's known for people with very outgoing attitudes and hearty simple food. The cuisine has influence from Shandong, the Manchurians, Koreans, and even from Russian Siberia. It's one of my favorite provinces of Chinese food and one that I could definitely eat all the time. I think it's really simple, but with distinct flavor and makes great drinking food. Let's check it out. All right, you guys, we are in front of what I believe is one of the only, if not the only, authentic Dongbei restaurant in all of Manhattan, antique wands 108. You guys, they got some very traditional Dongbei dishes from Liaoning here, all types of swan bings. David, even some of the very, very deep cut authentic dishes they have on the menu, but they're not even serving them right now because they're still recovering from COVID, so they're limiting the dishes. Oh yeah, like this one. This is like hyper authentic because this represents the Russian influence in Dongbei. All right, guys. Who would have known that such an authentic Dongbei restaurant was nestled here on 14th Ave this whole time. Bro, we're in West Village. There's like no other Asian food anywhere around us. Let's check it out. Of course, kicking it off here at antique wands Dongbei restaurant. I'm going to be dipping the wu hua rou into this vinegar, garlic mixture. Andrew, you're looking at something not from Liaoning actually. The roots of this, I think, come from the Russian side, who then might have even originally got it from the Polish side because this is like a big kielbasa essentially, but this is the Dongbei sausage. Specifically from Harbin though. Yeah, it's Harbin Hongchang. Harbin Hongchang. So Harbin is actually where sea moves from and that's in Heilongjiang. Like we said guys, the three main regions are Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning. Let me tell you this guys, the Harbin sausage is a big one. What's really interesting is sometimes they'll give you like fresh garlic to eat this with, but there's no dip. They just want you to eat it straight up. Andrew, what you're serving right now is a thuan. And that's a deep cast iron pot that's almost a cross between a stew and a soup. And it's really difficult to describe because it's kind of a hybrid. David, I think from a Western standpoint, you know, what we know as a hot pot, this totally looks like one. But actually, you know, in China, there's all these different specific definitions for what a hot pot is, what a thuan is, what a pot with stew is. So you know what? They just get really specific. So Andrew, as history tells it, Dongbei was mostly Manchurians at one point. Manchurians kind of like an offshoot of Mongolians. But Andrew, they were pig farmers and millet farmers before they were warriors, also warriors. But that's why they have so much pork dishes in Dongbei. And that's one thing that I would say the very north of China and the very south of China have a lot in common with is they both love pork. It's a warm spring day outside, but if this was a cold Dongbei winter, this would be perfect. Round two here at Antiquan's Dongbei, Andrew, we've got something I've never had before. This is a yangro jianbing. Right. Very similar to the neuro jianbing, aka the beef roll that a lot of people out there are familiar with. But this is going to have lamb. Yeah, they like a lot of wraps in Dongbei. They've been making wraps. Wow, that does actually look like it has some of that western like Xi'an spice influence. Here we've got the Jing Zhang Rou Si, which is essentially like some more like Dongbei version of like Mushu pork, but with the wraps. And the wraps are actually tofu skins. So the tofu skins are going to be wrapped around the pork. The pork is going to be very sweet, saucy, and then you got your fresh greens right here. Yangro jianbing. This is a lamb wrap guys. Yangro is lamb jianbing is the wrap. Yo, I gotta take an idea. That is good guys. Andrew, there's a little bit of pow thai kimchi in there. It's like we said that region's right next to North Korea. They got the influence. And let me tell you this, there's also some cumin on that lamb that tastes like yangro time. This is so good. It took me this many years to try this dish. Because you know how cumin is a shared spice between western China and even like Mexico or a certain Latin American countries? This kind of tastes like a burrito. Lamb spicy burrito. Come get the yangro jianbing at Antiguans. That's a five out of five sleeper. I never had that before in my life. Wu Tai Lapi, one of my favorite dishes in the world. Let me give it a go here at Antiguans. It has some of that wasabi kick that's going to open up your passageways. It's this is a sweeter version than usual. But overall, I got to give this one like a seven out of ten. It's pretty solid. Moving on to the Jin Zhang pork a.k.a. the Jin Zhang Rou Si. Andrew, we are going to be making wraps. Like we said, Andrew, in Dongbei, they love making wraps, hand wraps. Boom. Boom. It is. David, also a lot of wrappers come from Dongbei as well. I would say the closest thing to understand it is that it's almost like for what modern people would consider like it's like Korean food minus all gochujang. Jin Zhang Rou Si. So I thought this was a Dajue Bing, but this is actually a sheer Bing and it goes to show you in Dongbei how many bings or like hand wrapped like pancakes they have. David, the sheer Bing, that's said with a certain accent, but really it's called a Xian Bing. Yeah, this is a Xian Rou Bing. But if you hear, you got to call it sheer Bing. All right, you guys, we are at a Liaoning Tie Ling spot, which is more of the Liaoning Xian Yang style. Like we said, guys, in Dongbei, there is a Hei Long Zhang style of barbecue. There is also a Jilin style of barbecue. Hei Long Zhang tends to be more Russian influence. Jilin tends to be more Korean. Liaoning got the seafood. We got scallops right here. We got bone marrow, gudou shui, and of course, we are cutting up a lamb rib right in front of you. As you guys may have heard in this video, the reason Dongbei Shao Kao is so popular is because it really fits with the attitude of the people there. They do have barbecue in a lot of other provinces in China, but the Dongbei style got the party vibes. This entire grill piece of lamb, you know, very nomadic, Manchurian, Mongolian influence. But yeah, like we said, Dongbei has it all. Speaking of the nomadic influences that you see all around Dongbei, no matter which city you're in, we have the Xiangnu Road. This is just raw beef right here. We're going to put some vinegar on top of it. Like we said, guys, some places in Dongbei really do have a strong Russian influence, but some of it is Russian Siberian, and it could even be a little bit of Russian European. So when it comes to like human-flavored skewers, they definitely originated from western China, you know, such as Xinjiang. But as they've made their way and mixed in with the Siberian flavors of Dongbei, guys, it's taking its own shape. I mean, here we have the Jiu Ti. This is a pig's foot, and this is super just gelatinous falling apart. Look at this. I could just rip this off right now and just, here I have roasted bone marrow jam packed with roasted garlic and Chinese, this is called Niu Gu Shui, which is essentially like bone water. So I'm just going to scoop some of this onto my bread here. Obviously, the bread is a Western kind of addition that they have here, which kind of reminds you of how you would eat this like in France, except, you know, it's kind of like given with American bread. So look at that. There we go, right there. Garlic and bone marrow. They do not play around with the roasted garlic here. Guys, if there's one thing you need to know about Dongbei spots, no matter how mom and pop or kind of chain restaurants they are, they're always fun. They're always trying to bring a vibe. Listen, I have a bucket of chicken, but this is chicken bones. And then I'm right next to a sign that says industrial themed restaurant. That's so tongue in cheek of them. And it's just about partying and being jovial and just having fun. And I heard that's partially because they had to entertain themselves in those long winters. So they know how to stay inside and have fun with each other. But this is one of my favorite Dongbei dishes of all time. Jigu Jia, it's the fried chicken rack. You're basically taking a chicken rack that you used for like other materials and then you're just going to spice it up and fry it. This one's kind of sweet. A little bit of that New Orleans Chinese style spice. As you're familiar with the Yongro Chua, aka the lamb skewer, here they put it on a little bit bigger of a spit. And then here we have the Wagyu beef skewer. That was super tender. You know, to wrap it up here at Friendship BBQ, I think it just goes to show you that Dongbei restaurants really, really focus on creating a fun mood. Whether it's with the decor, the music, the people, the servers, the owner, they're all down to talk to you, get you a drink and really just have a fun time. It does kind of feel a little bit more like a blue collar, like bar or barbecue spot, except just the Chinese version. So just goes to show you guys, hey, China has everything, everything from fancy Shanghai-nese food to delicate dim sum to some, you know, big lamarins. Oh my God. Whoa. All right, you guys, we're on 10th street in the East Village right now. A ton of chains from Asia, Yipadol, Team Ho Wan. Now they're adding from Northern China, Dongbei, Beijing region, DM restaurant. What I love about DM, David, is that it represents kind of the modern influence that Koreans have had on a lot of the pop culture in China, particularly like, you know, cuisine for young people. And in places like Shenyang and Beijing, this spot is so busy, you can't even get a table. They got cheese, chicken, French fries, man. DM, it stands for decimeters. It doesn't stand for direct message. All right, you guys, we're at the DM restaurant. This is the 7.5 decimeter one, Andrew. The only thing it's missing is maybe some like lamb chops, but I mean, we got a spread. You got fries. You've got Tupoki with like some version of Kung Pao chicken. You've got a cheese river in the middle. You've got a spicy side. You got a hamburger beef patty. You've got devil squinting wings, French fries, crazy. Yo, I can see why this restaurant's so popular in Northern China, especially amongst the youth, man. It's pretty lit. Yo, this is fun drinking food. Yeah. Very difficult to describe exactly how that tastes because we've never had anything quite like that before, but it's really, really interesting. It's hitting me with the spicy, sweet, of course, cheesy, creamy. Basically, it's hitting you in all those taste buds that you need late night. You know, not only do millions of Koreans actually live in China and mostly the Northern part, but you know, there is a lot of Korean influence not only through K-pop, but just the food. And I think that this type of food really does do well in the North where people kind of eat similar food a little bit hardier, more sweeter, more fattier. Here we go. I'm going to try this beef patty. Speaking on Dongbaek culture in general, they tend to be, if you want to say, more Korean up there. Now, does that mean that they're acting like Koreans because Korea's there or that just that kind of group or that region of people tend to have more of like a similar culture? I don't know. Like we said, guys, they do like Korean style drinking pubs and pochas in Dongbaek a lot. And as you can see, the influence is here. You got the black squid ink. The squid ink is very subtle. It's actually almost more for texture than I think for taste. Andrew, straight up, I did not know what to expect about decimeter restaurant, but let me tell you this, it's good. Andrew, I think this spot kind of speaks to how in some ways, untraditional people can get nowadays in China, like with the modern concepts in 2022. I mean, obviously, you have some really traditional ones that are just elevated, but this is actually completely new. There's like really nothing fully that Chinese about food. Yeah. I mean, even if you wanted me to say, is it more traditionally Chinese or maybe like more modern Korean? I would definitely say it's more modern Korean. Andrew, the Manchus would like this. Hey, David, well, guess what? According to 23andMe, we're a tiny bit Manchurian. So not surprised that we like it. The next spot on this Dongbaek crawl is called ZLS BBQ. Guys, this spot was just opened by somebody from Shenyang to cater to the students at Baruch and SVA School of Visual Arts. You guys, as you can see all the Chinese delivery services Hungry Panda, Phan Thuan, they're all here and they've got the iconic Chinese windbreaker door. Vibewise for a brand new spot that says open up in the past year. This spot feels like China. This is the first Dongbaek hole in the wall spot in New York. It actually feels like a hole in the wall spot in Dongbaek. Huobao Ro is perhaps Dongbaek's most defining dish to a lot of people. Almost like the hakao is the dim sum, guys. This is a triple wok fried pork with sweet sauce. You are looking at a blueberry version, which is very modern to like modern Dongbaek 2022. And this is a Lao Fang Shi, an old style. But even within the old style, there's a difference between the Harbin style, the Jilin style, and the Liaoning style. This one happens to be a little bit more of a clear red, but I know one in Harbin is super clear. Blueberries are grown on the peninsula of Liaoning province and hence why they have the Liaoning blueberry Guobao Ro. You can taste the blueberries at about a 40% level. You know, that was sweet, your dentist would hate that. Let's see if it's better than the original Lao Fang Shi. Ultimately, guys, I might actually prefer the blueberry one, at least for this fast casual version of Guobao Ro. I do think a good original Lao Fang Shi, traditional style, is the best though. Here we got the classic Di San Xian with the side dishes, guys. This is going to look like the Korean Pan Chan, but that's also because it's just really close to Korea and there is definitely some crossover influence. So in Dongbei, you will also find kimchi, you'll find the bean sprouts, you got the little oranges here. This is a great little lunch for students, for the working person, for the person who's just in and out. So let's try it. And what I love about Di San Xian is that all the potatoes got cooked very, very well. They're roasted soft. Time to try the Dongbei Pan Chan. These sprouts have a lot more garlic. Let's see if they maybe even taste better than the green ones or not. I love the way they did this Ya Tai, aka sprouts. It's got lots of garlic, lots of flavor. This is a great side dish. Guys, this is the Da Zhang Gu. This is just big vinegar bones, and it definitely comes from the Manchurian roots. So it's looking a lot more nomadic. You know, this is not a typical Chinese dish, but you're just eating meat off the bone. You can see it's really soft. Some of the bones come in smaller pieces, but these are huge. These are the most prehistoric looking pork bones I've ever seen in my entire life. And I'm excited to try them. I'm going to take this bite right here. Lots of flavor, sticky, salty, vinegary, a little bit of ginger, garlic. I think the imperial Chinese culture is probably responsible for, you know, bringing China to where it's at and keeping China to where it's going to keep going on to the future. But man, I got to say, as far as like just soul food and just hitting you where you need, man, this Dongbei kind of like nomadic-like food, this is great. We have the classic Chaoshan Lengmen, aka in Korean, it's Nemyang. Guys, you've seen this dish before. This is obviously kind of coming from that cross-cultural exchange where I think it might be attributed to Koreans living in China because millions of Koreans do live in that region of China. There's also an autonomous Korean region in China that's right up there in Heilongjiang. So here we have the beef. You've got the little bit of apples. Sometimes that's a pair of slice. You have your egg. The noodles look a little bit different than other Korean spots, so it's definitely not exactly the same dish, but essentially, you know, it's pretty similar. I don't know why I blew on that. See, it's out of habit. Some cases, I think the Chinese one even hits harder than the Korean one. So actually, I really prefer this one. This one's really nice. The Korean one actually uses more of the stretchy noodles, and these noodles are kind of stretchy, but they break a little bit easier. The Korean ones are a lot more gummy, though. All right, you guys, you guys know about the tanghulu, but hulu actually refers to the Hawthorne berry. These are tanghulu strawberries, so tanghulu, tanghulu is strawberries. It taught me weight a little bit, but man, I just got to go. This is one of the best ones I've ever had, to be honest. And I'm kind of surprised because this ball is very hole in the wall. It feels almost like, you know, something you might find in, you know, the suburbs of Chenyang. For a lot of foreigners looking to get into regional Chinese food, Dongbei cuisine might be a great starting point due to the fact that the flavor profiles do bear some similarity to American Chinese food, plus they do not use very many exotic ingredients. For everyone else, I definitely think it's a must try if you want something that's a little less imperial or more similar to down home comfort food. If you ever enjoyed hometown buffet, which I personally did a lot, then I think you'll probably like some Dongbei cuisine.