Pig Heaven
“When you come to Nancy Lee's Pig Heaven, go ahead and order the Spare Ribs and Peking Duck.”
“The BBQ spare ribs were just deliciously flavorful and they peeled off the bone so nicely.”
“I ordered pineapple fried rice with chicken for my entree it was beautifully delivered in a real pineapple shell.”
Pig Heaven
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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After an autumn evening at the nearby Met to see the China Looking Glass exhibit, my husband and I — predictably — had a craving for Chinese food. A quick Yelp search revealed the best Chinese ribs in the world at Pig Heaven, and how could I ignore a promise like that?
We were seated right away, and we ordered the ribs (of course), along with steamed shumai, chicken & broccoli with garlic sauce, and shrimp fried rice. The steamed dumplings were fantastic and a great start to the meal. Not much to be said about them other than that they were nicely done. The chicken & broccoli was a nice, light complement to our meal, and made us feel a little bit better about chowing down on pork ribs. I love that they give the sauce on the side, because I hate when my food is swimming in sauce! The shrimp fried rice mayyy have been a case of our eyes being larger than our stomachs, but it was still worth it! The rice was fluffy & delicious, and the shrimp was fresh.
But I know you're not reading this review to find out about the rice at Pig Heaven. Let's get to the important part — the ribs!
Sure enough, these were the best Chinese ribs I've ever had. They came out right after the shumai, before the rest of the food, and I imagine that's what most people are looking for. They were huge, with lots of meat, and the sauce was so delicious! Tart, sweet, sticky, and perfect. I can see now why they named the place Pig Heaven — this is where the best pigs end up! I could have easily eaten the whole plate, had my husband not been there. I absolutely loved the ribs & I would definitely make the trip just to taste these ribs again.
Figures we would find a place like this after we leave the city, amirite? Sigh. At least we know where we're eating the next time we visit the UES!
The best Chinese spot on the UES and all of Manhattan, Nancy Lee's Pig Heaven is successful and wonderful in its new location. We have a real appreciation for Chinese food and especially pork and Nancy's comes through every time, mostly because of the welcoming, lovely owner.
The specialty dish, the restaurant's namesake, is a must order. The dish, "Pig Heaven," is akin to a General Tso's pork – pork is shredded, breaded, deep fried and covered in a delicious gravy. It's sweet but that's why your order it. At times, the pork can be a little tough but that chewyness is kind of fun in a twice cooked pork way.
The Szechuan wontons covered in peanut sauce are peanutty and delicious. Definitely order them if you're getting dumplings. Know that this place is popular so you should call ahead or be prepared to wait. They have a great car and happening bar scene.
The reason we keep coming back is not the food, because we can order lo mein from anywhere. It's really Nancy Lee, herself. She's worth the trip.
Panda Express-plus, maybe.
Finally made it to Pig Heaven's new digs for the much-ballyhooed BBQ ribs and butt. Great texture, funny color … and uninspiring flavor. Basically just sweet and salty.
Same went for the lo mein, which was saltier than its bike-delivered Seamless competitors. A bright point was the three glass chicken, which at least offered some level of flavor complexity via garlic and mushrooms.
Overall, the difference between this and Mission Chinese Food (2015's other reinvented Chinese fusion joint) is that one challenges its white patrons, while the other panders to them. Guess which is which.
Fitting that Jews greatly outnumbered Asians at this pork-centered Chinese restaurant.
Upper East Side prices, but everyone here is seriously so nice, which I appreciate. I've gotten takeout from here a couple times when I've craved General Tso's chicken in which to drown my emotional woes–I don't even eat pork, but I prefer getting food from here to Wok 88 even though I live closer to the latter, simply because the people are nicer. AIN'T THAT CRAZY. Anyhoo it's standard Chinese fare and it's real nice.
Have been coming here since they were at their old 80th street location and the food is great but the service isn't always. I much prefer to order from them. To be honest I actually haven't set foot in the new location because I can't imagine the service there will be that different from the old one.
Food wise, the scallion pancakes never disappoint and the dumplings (both the pan fried and steamed – any kind – are always really good). I tend to get the chicken lo mein, which is great, as is the pork soong with lettuce, but it is a little spicy.
Personally I have never liked their fried rices, so I wouldn't recommend any of those. Their dishes like General Tso's chicken or beef with broccoli are much better!
Unfortunately, it does seem like the prices have gone up a lot, which is a bummer, because I don't know that I'd say it's worth it. Did I really just pay $46 for Chinese food for an appetizer and two entrees? Seems a bit unreasonable to me.
Very kid friendly place. We ended up here after our initial UWS Chinese food stop told us they don't have high chairs.
Glad we came.
The staff was so nice and attentive.
I know some complain that this isn't real Chinese. If I wanted authentic I wouldn't be here. This is Americanized and delicious in its own way. We have to appreciate these classic American Chinese restaurants. There are fewer and fewer as the years go on. This is vey different from take out Chinese which has become fast food. Here the food is treated with care and the staff is proud of their product.
First courses:
Ribs-
AMAZING. The meatiest, tastiest ribs I have ever had. Worth the trip to try.
Wonton Soup-
Good
Scallion Pancakes-
Crunchy, fluffy and perfect
Fried Meat Dumplings-
These aren't the thick doughy ones you are used to. Very good.
Mains:
Szechuan Pork-
Very good
Peking Duck-
The duck was good. The skin was very crispy and the meat was moist. When you made a sandwich with the hoisin sauce it was very good. When eaten plain it was tasteless. Good not great.
Lo Mein-
Good but again not your typical Chinese lo Mein.
Pork fried rice-
Good but portion was too small.
food: the pork ribs and the bbq pork bun. it's sticky and it had the perfect glaze on top. the meat was tender, but not falling off bone soft. just enough to have some chew and resistance to the bite. the good stuff. the pork bun was alright. nothing like ribs themselves. ***4/5
service: it seemed like a slow day. there were only tables open. my guy came by to fill my water so many times. it was a long day and i drank water like crazy. good people. ***4/5
value: way overpriced in my opinion. yes the food was good. typical pricing for ribs go around that price, but for chinese food, it's a bit much. ***2/5
We ordered the small pork ribs (6 pieces vs 9 pieces in a large), a pork chow fun, and steamed pork buns, because when you are in Pig Heaven, it would be dastardly to order anything other than pork. Prices are a little steeper than what I would typically expect for a Chinese restaurant, but I get it – UES rent is exorbitant!
Food was better than I would have expected from a Chinese restaurant, but not as great as I would have expected for the prices. The chow fun was cooked perfectly al dente and the pork pieces were large but easy to chew (not tendon-y as it can be sometimes). The steamed pork buns were kind of a disappointment. We were expecting open faced buns, but instead got cha shu baos. I steamer of three cha shu baos only cost 4-5 bucks at a regular Chinese dim sum place, but here we paid a steep $6 for two baos. They were delicious, yes, but not spectacular. The pork ribs were probably the best part of the meal – mostly for the novelty though – since I've never had cha shu pork ribs before! They were quite sticky and difficult to eat without making a mess, but they were fun and delicious. If I came back here, I'd probably have a full order of the small pork ribs to myself and a side of veggies so that I don't feel as guilty.
The mix of patrons was interesting, mostly older, white folks. The table next to us was rowdy, drunk, and making a mess though, so not sure if this is the place you want to bring your Chinese extended family. It could work out well for a date night, though!
Overall, I'd definitely visit again if I was in the mood for cha shu. Would I bring my parents though? Most likely not.