No. 1 Pancake opens in Sea Cliff
Hong Wei "Helen" Pan stands in front of her restaurant, No. 1 Pancake in Sea Cliff. Credit: Newsday/Andi Berlin
No doubt about it. A deli in Sea Cliff is serving the "number one" pancake on Long Island. But it's not the pancake you might think.
The new shop No. 1 Pancake refers to a Chinese street food called jian bing, a savory crepe that's seared with egg and cilantro and stuffed with meats like Chinese sausage or juicy Peking duck. A popular breakfast food that dates to the year 220, the dish has been called "China's best-kept culinary secret." Thicker than a moo shu pancake, bolder and more adaptable to its delicious fillings, jian bing is a destination-worthy dish.
This shop in a former Polish deli is run by Hong Wei "Helen" Pan and her husband, Zou Ji, who also own Zouji Dumpling House in Glen Cove. They hail from the northeastern Chinese region of Dongbei, and their restaurant is known for its hearty northern style dumplings and Peking duck.
At No. 1 Pancake, Pan works the crepe stone in the kitchen, pouring a thin sheet of dough onto the stone and cracking an egg over the top, spreading the yolk in a circular motion. Before long the crepe is handed over, more soft than crispy, made in the jian bing guo zi style of the north. (Traditional fillings like fried bread sticks are available, too.)
The standout crepe here is filled with Peking duck and sheets of crispy wonton ($12.99). Laced in sweet hoisin sauce, the fatty duck has a faint flavor of cumin spice. Eating the pillowy crepes in their paper wrapper, you search for little bites of it between the fresh cucumber.
Dumplings are on the menu too, alongside meat skewers and other snack foods like grilled corn, French fries and bubble tea. Don't sleep on the pan-fried sugar crisps ($3.99). The two flaky circles look like northern-style Chinese meat pies, but are instead filled with a sweet sugar paste. If you're taking this meal to-go, which you'll probably want to since there's not much in the way of seating, don't be afraid to eat the little guys in the car while they're still hot and crispy.
No. 1 Pancake, 602 Glen Cove Ave., Sea Cliff. It's open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. 516-226-3459.
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.
