This is the last week to get the amazing Taiwanese fried chicken over rice with minced pork sauce at Bian Dang food truck (photo by twi-ny/Del-Ann Henry)
Multiple locations
Through Friday, December 23, 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
212-695-5995
www.biandangnyc.com
Every Thursday, we make the short trip from our office to Park & 53rd, where we anxiously get on the increasingly long line at the Bian Dang Taiwanese Lunch Box food truck. As we get closer to the blue truck, which is covered in cheerful, colorful flowers and was previously known as Cravings (the old name is still on their license plate), we keep praying that none of the three people inside, including the great Diana Yang, Nick Lin, and Ronald Chu, comes out with the dreaded black tape and places it on the menu over the chicken and rice, signaling that they have run out of one of the best truck lunches in the city. We spend much of our week dreaming about this dish, a connected leg and thigh marinated in Taiwanese flavoring and then flash fried, served over white rice topped with a tangy minced pork sauce. Part of the reason the line is so long is because we can’t stop telling everyone how awesome the fried chicken is, so it’s our own damn fault when they do run out before we get to order. In those cases, the pork chops are excellent as well, although we’ve yet to try the fried tianbula fish cake. The steamed pork dumplings are fairly standard, but we can also heartily recommend the zongzi sticky rice, filled with peanuts and vegetables and available in meat or nonmeat options. One thing they do run out of quickly is the tea egg, so you better get there early if you want one of these dark delights. We were crushed earlier this month when Diana told us that this will be their last week out on the street; the truck will be hibernating for the winter after lunch on December 23. Fortunately, Bian Dang does have a small shop located in Food Gallery 32 at 11 West 32nd St. that’s open year-round; in the meantime, here’s the schedule for the truck’s last week of the season: Monday on 50th St. between Sixth & Seventh, Tuesday on 24th between Park & Madison, Wednesday at Coenties Slip at Water St., Thursday on 53rd between Park & Lex, and Friday at 47th & Park.