American Chinese grub is unapologetically low brow, modern shorthand for a quick fix of sodium and batter. It’s something you get to-go and eat lounging in front of the TV. Given the cuisine’s rep we expected PS Cafe’s first Asian F&B effort Chopsuey Cafe to be kitsch and casual, maybe even a little ironic. Instead, the space—housed in a black and white colonial—is classy with a chic clientele to match.
The food is real serious too. Far from the usual beef and broccoli, this joint puts out creative plates that are more contemporary American than American-Chinese as we know it. But whatever you call it, it’s pretty darn good. We’ll come back for their elegant Long Life Noodles ($18), a fragrant dish that’s well-charred with incredible wok hei (breath of the wok). We highly recommend ordering it with a side of the rare ribeye ($8 supplement), which is perfectly marbled and barely cooked so it’s still daringly rosy. And if you crave that old school sweet-sour hit, get the Rusty Nails ($25), beef short ribs caramelized with orange sauce. It’s greasy (in a good way) but kept fresh with plenty of just-grated orange zest.
End the meal with a sweet night cap—the Singapura Sling ($19) gets our vote for its retro appeal—or one of their Asian-inspired desserts like chilli chocolate cake ($15), which won’t win any prizes in the originality department, but are genuinely satisfying. OK, so you can’t stroll in here for takeout in your sweats, but for inventive chow on a fancy pants night out, this is hard to beat.
Eat this at Chopsuey Cafe: Long Life Noodles. It’s one of I-S Magazine’s 50 things to eat before you die (2013).
