CHINA 🇨🇳
UPDATE: This business has closed.
Typically you might expect the peoples south of the Yangtze River to be more focused on rice dishes and rice noodles, but the proprietors of Jiang Nan Pancake have taken it upon themselves to change your mind. "Jiang Nan" traditionally refers to the geographical area just south of the far eastern reaches of the third longest river in the world, and far to the south of Shandong and Tianjin where you might find the origins of jianbing, the star of the menu here.
The friendly folks that run the place will ask you if it is your first time coming and seem to be a little sharper with customer service than most. Orders are constantly being picked up by app-based delivery drivers, but they do have two small counters to sit at inside. Pull up a chair in front of the jianbing maker and enjoy the show.
The connection between Shandong, China and Bretagne, France are immediate when you see the jianbing being prepared. The utensils may be a bit different, but the spreading of batter thin over a flat circular griddle is very similar. Toppings are added right on top as it cooks and when ready everything is folded together perfectly.
They offer a classic meatless jianbing for $4, a roast duck version for $9.50, and six other options in between. The wrapper is made from whole grain wheat flour and green bean, and in each "pancake" is egg, cilantro, scallion, lettuce, sesame, their house special sauce, and an ingredient translated as "crunch."
This crispy layer is important, adding a nice contrast to the softness of the wrapper. When the braised pork jianbing ($6, above and below) arrived it appeared to be two pieces, but this is an intricate folding system and is all one unit. The house special sauce is quite sweet but not overwhelming amongst all the other savory ingredients. Bottles of Sriracha are ready for a little kick if you need it.
Start tearing into your jianbing and it gets more interesting with each bite. Different textures and tastes populate every inch with another experience. One bite might swing towards sweet while the next is crispy and fatty. No matter which version you order, be prepared to be full and do not plan on eating anything else.
The shop also has some noodle soups and cold noodle dishes, so a return visit seemed necessary to see if the back of the menu was worth exploring as well. Unfortunately, based on the spicy cold noodle ($5.50, below), this side does not warrant much more thought and any follow-up meals will return back to the jianbing.
The friendly folks that run the place will ask you if it is your first time coming and seem to be a little sharper with customer service than most. Orders are constantly being picked up by app-based delivery drivers, but they do have two small counters to sit at inside. Pull up a chair in front of the jianbing maker and enjoy the show.
The connection between Shandong, China and Bretagne, France are immediate when you see the jianbing being prepared. The utensils may be a bit different, but the spreading of batter thin over a flat circular griddle is very similar. Toppings are added right on top as it cooks and when ready everything is folded together perfectly.
They offer a classic meatless jianbing for $4, a roast duck version for $9.50, and six other options in between. The wrapper is made from whole grain wheat flour and green bean, and in each "pancake" is egg, cilantro, scallion, lettuce, sesame, their house special sauce, and an ingredient translated as "crunch."
This crispy layer is important, adding a nice contrast to the softness of the wrapper. When the braised pork jianbing ($6, above and below) arrived it appeared to be two pieces, but this is an intricate folding system and is all one unit. The house special sauce is quite sweet but not overwhelming amongst all the other savory ingredients. Bottles of Sriracha are ready for a little kick if you need it.
Start tearing into your jianbing and it gets more interesting with each bite. Different textures and tastes populate every inch with another experience. One bite might swing towards sweet while the next is crispy and fatty. No matter which version you order, be prepared to be full and do not plan on eating anything else.
The shop also has some noodle soups and cold noodle dishes, so a return visit seemed necessary to see if the back of the menu was worth exploring as well. Unfortunately, based on the spicy cold noodle ($5.50, below), this side does not warrant much more thought and any follow-up meals will return back to the jianbing.
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