Hunan Tapas Chinese restaurant opens in Great Neck
Hunan-style sour pickled intestines are stir fried with spicy peppers at Hunan Tapas in Great Neck. Credit: Newsday / Andi Berlin
Great Neck's Chinese food scene just got a bit spicier with the addition of Hunan Tapas, a second location of a sophisticated Long Island City restaurant. The small spot, which formerly held Mr. KEKE ramen, gives classic American Chinese dishes a jolt of Hunan spice.
Hunan Tapas is owned by Shanghai native Chi Zhang, who opened his original Long Island City restaurant in February under the name Professor Chan's Hunan. The restaurant was initially connected to a small chain of Michelin-recommended Hunan spots in Hong Kong. But Zhang wanted a name that would be easier to scale up, so rebranded the concept to Hunan Tapas and opened his second eatery at the end of July.
Hunan Tapas has gone into the Great Neck space that formerly held Mr. KEKE ramen. Credit: Newsday / Andi Berlin
Zhang comes from a culinary family. His father owned restaurants back home and his uncle owned the largest dumpling factory in Shanghai, he said. But it was his mother, who grew up in the southern Hunan province, who inspired him to open this restaurant. Hunan food is spicy like Sichuan but the heat tends to come from fresh chilies rather than dried ones, and doesn't have the numbing Sichuan peppercorn.
"My mom always cooked spicy Hunanese food at home. It’s our family background," he said. "And also, unlike a traditional Asian family who want their kids to be bankers or doctors, my parents are very supportive" about going into food service.
One of Zhang's signature dishes is General Tso's chicken, which is given a spicy Hunan twist with the addition of four peppers to the glaze. Although the dish was popularized in New York where it became an American icon, it takes its name from 19th century Gen. Zuo Zongtang, who grew up in Hunan and was said to have eaten it. Many of the peppers Zhang uses in his kitchen are grown locally, like the bird's eye chilies and the green screw pepper.
Other dishes on the menu are more straightforwardly Hunan — you can tell which ones they are because they'll often have Hunan in the name: Hunan-style sautéed beef ($23.99), Hunan-style stir fried chicken with bone ($18.99), and the highlight of my meal, the Hunan-style sour pickled intestines ($23.99). The name sounds more intense than it is, because the innards are sliced thin and sizzled in the wok to a springy texture, and done up with fresh red and green chile peppers.
It's much less demanding than another signature dish, the thunder pepper century egg ($19.99). The small plate features pan-fried green screw peppers that are practically soaked in a brawny chile sauce, with a funky undercurrent of preserved century eggs. On another untraditional note, Zhang gives you the option of topping the dish with fresh burrata cheese. It sounds random, but the dish is so salty and strong you'll find yourself reaching for a bite of burrata to cool it all down.
Hunan Tapas, 69 Middle Neck Rd., Great Neck Plaza, 516-482-8866, instagram.com/hunantapas. Open 11:15 a.m.-9:30 p.m. daily.
Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.
