Chef Tong sampling noodles in Yunnan (Photo: Instagram)
Simone Tong, a former cook at Wylie Dufresne’s beloved and bygone Lower East Side restaurant wd~50, plans to open a Chinese noodle shop in the East Village. But it’s cold now, and we need to slurp those warming Yunnan-style noodles now. Problem solved: Little Tong Noodle Shop is doing a couple of preview pop-ups this month, and tickets are now on sale.
The first dinners will be on Feb. 12 and 13 at Jimmy’s No. 43 in the East Village, followed by a Feb. 19 stint at Azasu in the Lower East Side. According to Little Tong’s Instagram, some Williamsburg dates will follow.
By the looks of her Instagram, chef Tong has been sampling mixian, or rice noodles, across Yunnan, and is now back in NYC renovating the former Schnitz space on the corner of 1st Avenue and East 11th Street.
The menu for the pop-up dinners, which are $20 a piece, will consist of three rice-noodle bowls, appetizers, beer, sake, chu-hai and shochu.
A liquor license questionnaire shows the 20-seat fast-casual noodle joint plans to be open till midnight and offer outdoor seating. Simon Xi, the restaurateur behind Japanese spots Saka Mai, Bar Moga, Shibumi, and Curry Bo, is identified as an owner.