New York City Deli and Mealbay

A couple scoops on the local dining scene from SH mag's Jarrett Wrisley, one scoop that looks more promising than the other.

First up, via Jarrett's new blog is the New York City Deli, which opened recently at Fujian Lu and Jinling Dong Lu. If the photos on the online menu are any indication (and we all know they always are) this place just might serve up a proper deli sandwich. They boast "100 grams of meat" in every sandwich and the prices range from RMB 16 to RMB 26 (although the RMB 16 one is Egg Salad -- doubt there is 100 grams of meat in that). This is all Jarrett had to say: "Their pastrami sandwich is pretty good."

The online menu mentions free delivery within 3 km ... in English. The Chinese translation says 2 km. But before you get out out your picket signs and protest a la Studio 78, we called and confirmed that it was simply a typo. The official policy is 3 km, and they are even a little lax on that. We mentioned Plaza 66, near where we live and likely more than 3 km away, and they said no problem. There is a 50 kuai minimum for delivery, though.

We discovered something a little weird about the deli's website. This URL (http://www.delinyc.com/nyc.htm) will take you to the menu. This URL (http://www.delinyc.com/) naturally takes you to -- you guessed it -- the official website for "Fight Club China." Explanations are welcome and can be left as a comment below.

The second thing we learned about from Jarrett this week (this time via his column in SH) was Mealbay, a new delivery service that will try to go head-to-head with the established and reliable Sherpa's. We have not tried Mealbay -- which has one of the most-difficult-to-read logos we have seen -- but based on appearances only, we have to say we share Jarrett's skepticism.

From the Mealbay website:

Service Center: Our operator young ladies are fluency in English and serve you from 10:30am to 10:30pm . The daily operation hour and holiday special operation hour of each restaurant will be noted on the menu. Our Customer Information System will keep your information and make your next order more convenient.

Delivery Area: Puxi city center.

Delivery Time: Average delivery time is 45 minutes. If the distance is farther (more than 3 kilometers apart from the restaurant) or the order is bigger, delivery time probably in around an hour. It also might be delay several minutes if meet busy hour or weather bad.

Service Charge: Target place is in the city center ring road (north to Suzhou River; west to Zhongshan Road W.; South to Zhongshan Road S.; east to Zhongshan Road E.), Mealbay charge RMB 15 for delivery, if beyond the city center ring road, the extra service charge of every 3 kilometers' distance to the ring road is RMB15.

So, if you are going to be hungry for one of the following restaurants that Mealbay services, you had better plan in advance: Acropolis (they still exist?), Kaveen's Kitchen, Pasti, That's Amore, Colabo Hengshan, Matsuzaka, ハルケンLuo Sheng Men, Jimix, Togo Sandwich , Colabo Jing'an and The Spice Market.

Have you tried Mealbay or New York City Deli? Let us know how it was in a comment.

New York City Deli, 103 Fujian Nan Lu, near Jinling Dong Lu. Tel: 6326-2835.

Mealbay, pen 10:30 am to 10:30 pm. Tel: 5158-0169. Email: mealbay@gmail.com. They also deliver wine and flowers.