Jing Modern Asian Restaurant

Jing (formerly West Side Cottage)

689 Ninth Avenue (between 47^th and 48^th St)

Manhattan

A pleasant, comfortable restaurant that aspires, not always successfully, to be a notch above the typical inexpensive New York Chinese restaurant. It is conveniently located near Theater Row. Prices are reasonable.

Jing’s menu claims to offer “Modern Asian Cuisine” but the menu is really a traditional one with a few twists. The Paradise Chicken is described as “Diced chicken with zucchini, yellow squash, collard greens, and dried cranberries in a light creamy Asian herb-vodka sauce sprinkled with Macadamia nuts.”

My dining companion and I did not sample a wide variety from the menu. We shared vegetarian dumplings that were delicate and tasty. We both ordered a dish with cashew nuts; mine with chicken and his with shrimp. My dish was tastier than the usual cheap Chinese but I would have preferred more white meat. Collard greens were a nice change from the stringy spinach usually found in such dishes. The large cashews were fresh and crisp and not overdone. The price of each dish was around $11-13. The portions were generous but not so large that I felt bloated after the meal.

The Chardonnay that I ordered with dinner was refreshing but unexceptional. The waiter forgot to charge for the glass of wine and when we pointed this out to him, he merely revised the check to include the wine. An astute businessman would understand that even a modest discount would have been a wise investment in my future custom.

The restaurant décor is stylishly modern with attractive dark wood furniture and restful lighting. Water gently flowing over chains of pebbles provides a calming atmosphere. The framed pictures of chic magazine covers seem an afterthought and incongruous with the rest of the décor. There were not many diners for this pre-theater dinner so we did not feel cramped but the tables would be uncomfortably close if the restaurant were full. If they are too stingy to offer a complimentary glass of Chardonnay, one doubts that it ever will be full.

The men’s restroom was clean and had a lavabo of clear green glass. One almost expects to see koi swimming in it. The toilet was standard porcelain that spoiled any attempt at a unified design.

I might give Jing another try. The food was good and reasonably priced if not out of the ordinary. The restaurant optimistically offered a coupon for 15% off our next dine-in

meal. Isn’t a 15% discount approximately equal to the cost of a glass of Chardonnay?