NYC Healthy Restaurant Reviews- Nice Green Bo
Cuisine of the Week: Chinese Dim Sum
Say “Chinese Food” to most Americans and thoughts of General Tso’s Chicken and Fried Rice (both major dietary no-no’s) come to mind. The reality is that most of us consider the common take out fare sold at the corner stores as authentic examples of what food is like at a real Chinese restaurant, whereas nothing could be further from the truth. In this piece, as with the other weekly series on healthy NYC restaurant eating, I will go over the best choices at a local restaurant and in so doing give an overview as to what you should and should not order for of you go out to a restaurant serving that specific type of cuisine. The idea is to help people realize that eating well and staying in shape doesn’t mean not being able to have a social life where you can go out to eat from time to time. Not only is that not healthy, from a mental health standpoint, but it is unnecessary, as most better quality restaurants do have items on the menu that would not conflict with your goals of trying to get your midsection in great shape, or keeping it that way. Stephanie, (my much better half) the kids and I eat out at least once every other week and can almost always find something to eat on the menu that keeps me on the right path. This week we will review Nice New Green Bo, a popular (and one of my favorite) restaurants in Chinatown and will give a great overview on Chinese Dim Sum restaurants.
To start, it must be noted that real Chinese food tend to emphasize the use of vegetables and fresh meats and seafood as opposed to the quickly prepared American variety, that typically are fried in some manner with great amounts of oil and salt. Such foods often have high monosodium glutamate content, an additive that enhances flavor, but has some serious effects on your overall health. Authentic Chinese foods do not have such additives, nor do they use cheap ingredients to make them, so your food is usually fresh and made from scratch.
Nice Green Bo Restaurant is a place that I stumbled upon reading Time Out NY several years ago ( it was called New Green Bo then). It got an outstanding review and I wanted to check it out to see if there was anything that I could eat. When I go there I was happy to learn that there were many selections on the menu that I could enjoy and I have been a frequent customer ever since. The last time Steph and I went there, was just before my last son, Lucien was born. Nice Green Bo is a very small space, with many tables , and from time to time you end up having to share a table with some strangers, but to be honest, the food is so good, that it is always worth it.
It can be a bit of a challenge brining the kids there at times, as we take up one of their extended sized tables and then some with all the kids in tow, but they are always happy to have us, so I would rate it as being family friendly as well. Now on to business, the menu. Now I will admit that my Western origin has so far always stopped me from ordering foods like Duck Web Tendon and cold Jelly Fish, but to be frank, a lot of those selections are actually much more healthy than what you would find in many other types of restaurants. As a rule with Chinese food, you stay away from the fried foods, ‘crispy’=fried, remember that, and ask for the sauces on the side.
Appetizers- To Have Or Not To Have
For appetizers, the Shanghai Dim Sum selection at Nice Green Bo can be quite tempting. Their legendary Steamed Tiny Buns do indeed fall into the wheat category, but if you eat them in moderation, and only at lunch time and not dinner time, you should be alright. The food here is fresh enough to not have to worry about the many preservatives that make flour products suspect in general, so you can feel free to indulge a little. Again, it comes down to a matter of knowing where you are and what you are looking to achieve. If rippling stomach muscles are what you are after, then I would say skip the appetizers completely or if you are going to have them, don’t have any rice or side dishes with your entrée. That is a simple rule that will most certainly keep your health and waistline in check.
Entrée Selections
The seafood menu at Nice Green Bo and most traditional Chinese restaurants is quite extensive and you can order most of the selections there, Baby Shrimp with Green Peas, Prawns, Whole fish in Brown Sauce to a range of squid and lobster dishes. All are great choices and I can attest to the freshness of the fish, as it is always excellent. Again, once you keep the sauces on the side you are fine, though many of them lack the high sodium content that you would expect of most sauces, but if you are really trying to moderate your calories, the foods are tasty enough without them.
In the Beef & Pork section, Pepper Steak, Shredded Beef, Shredded Pork, and pork and beef with vegetables are all great. Beef and more commonly pork often gets a bad rap as somehow being inherently unhealthy. I can tell you for a fact that it isn’t. The Koreans for one have had beef as a mainstay of their diet for hundreds of years and their colon cancer rates and cardiovascular disease incidents are nothing like what we have here in the United States, where we eat even less beef per person. The same applies with pork, which people in many Asian countries consume from time to time with no ill effects. The key is moderation, and fresh, untainted sources of meat with no questionable ingredients added to it in the cooking process. Just be sure to ask if the meat dishes are fried. My good friend, Sean from Trinidad flew in to visit and ordered the Orange Flavour Beef and to his (temporary) dismay it was fried. So always ask if you are not sure.
At Nice Green Bo, as with many other Chinese restaurants, the beef and pork menu items are great, but look out for the sweat and sour versions and the stewed varieties. Other than that you should be fine. The vegetable menu is equally impressive with the Sautéed Spinach being one of Stephanie’s favorites, along with the Sauteed Dry String Beans. The casseroles are great as well, with the Triple Delight being a favorite of one of my best friends. In the poultry and duck section, I recommend highly the Peking Duck- but you have to take the skin off. (Great NY Noodletown has some great duck as well!)
Duck is a real favorite of mine and one of the great parts of eating it is that you know that you are really eating organic, not like the so called ‘free range’ chicken that is passed off as being natural in the supermarkets (I grew up on the islands and have personally killed, plucked and cooked my share of real chickens that lived a full a natural life, eating only what nature provided and I can tell you that they do not look like, or taste like what you’ll find at Wholefoods or anywhere else!)
Peking Duck is made from ducks that live most of their lives outdoors, and aside from the skin being glazed, is a great dish. Everything else that falls within traditional cuisine is fine there as well, skip the sweet and sour chicken, and General Tso’s chicken (I am sure they sell this to appease the common idea that Chinese food menus ought to have this added in) you should be fine. Even the Crispy Duck can be okay, even though it is fried. The oil stays in the skin, so if you take it off, you can have it with the same fat content as a roasted skinless version. Duck is naturally higher in fat than chicken, so don’t over do it.
As for the other plates, stay away from the fried rice (it isn’t really Chinese, nor is it a good idea), choose the braised noodles over the pan fried ones or the Lo Mein, and go for the many ‘over rice’ dishes if it is earlier in the day, or you know you are going to be active afterwards. Remember the rule is to eat for what you are going to do next, so don’t load up on carbohydrates if you are having a late dinner and plan on going to bed when you get home, similarly keep your eye on the big picture. If you have an appetizer, then skip a side dish for your entrée and don’t order a rice or noodle dish, but load up on the vegetables.
I look forward to going back to Nice New Green Bo, and I encourage all of you to explore your local authentic Chinese restaurants with these rules in mind and have a great time eating out without worrying about it all going to your hips. Have a great one and I will see you next week!
Overview: Nice Green Bo- 66 Bayard St New York, NY 10013 (Chinatown)
Food Type: Dim Sum Chinese
Price: Pretty cheap with good quality food- but you may have to share a table
Rating: I give the food 4 and stars out of 5 and the décor and ambiance 1 star.
Health Rating: There are a lot of things that you can order here and stay on point!
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Chinese Food Rules For Staying In Shape:
- Ask for sauces on the side, have appetizers only if you are going to be active later or if it is earlier in the day.
- Choose grilled foods over fried ones. Chicken, fish, shrimp, and even beef and pork are fine in moderation as long as it isn’t fried. Keep in mind that ’Crispy’, is code for fried!
- Skip the American Chinese food dishes like fried rice, General Tso’s Chicken, fried noodles and sweet and sour anything
- Load up on the many vegetable dishes that they serve- but
- Have water as your main drink- and drink the green tea provided while you wait for your meal. It actually does have some fat burning qualities.
- Don’t overdo it. Think in terms of having a quality dining experience and not paying to fill your stomach to the point of bursting.
- Learn to do without dessert. They serve some orange slices at the end of a meal at real Chinese restaurants (along with a fortune cookie that you will carry home for the kids) and that should be more than enough!
- Enjoy yourself!
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