[Photo: Alice Gao]

Lunch at Serious Eats often looks like a assortment of awesome-sounding dishes from various restaurants on a single street. Today it was two different restaurants named Shanghai on Mott. A notably delicious one was the Beef with Spicy Pepper & Dry Tofu Lunch Special ($6.50) from Shanghai 456.

Shreds of firm tofu more than held their own texture next to the shreds of tender beef. The spicy peppers, along with adding an extra bite, provided some crispness to an otherwise soft dish. And most importantly, this dish had just the right amount of heat, the kind that steadily tingles on your tongue and doesn't overpower the flavor. We didn't love everything at Shanghai 456 on a recent visit, but we'd definitely go back for this (especially after a much less tasty version elsewhere in Chinatown recently).

Shanghai 456

69 Mott Street, New York NY 10013 (map)
212-964-0003