Takeout restaurant Nice Day Chinese opens in Plainview

With the opening of a new location in Plainview and the addition of dim sum, Nice Day, the new-fangled-old-fashioned Chinese takeout, has gotten even nicer. Co-owner Wanting Zhang said “dumplings used to be a special dish for celebrations," but now they can be an "everyday food." 

When the first Nice Day opened in Melville a year ago, the menu featured steamed xiao long bao (soup dumplings), but now there are also pork wontons with chili oil, chicken and shrimp shumai, “crystal” shrimp dumplings, vegetable dumplings and two steamed “baos”: A traditional steamed bun stuffed with vegetables and a sweet walnut-flavored bun with a white-chocolate filling.

Zhang and her husband, Yong Zhao, both Chinese-born expats, came up with the Nice Day concept when they learned that the tradition of the Chinese mom-and-pop takeout was imperiled. They came up with a plan that they hope will rescue Chinese takeout from extinction while at the same time providing the outgoing owners with a graceful exit: Buy out the proprietors of waning operations, renovate the stores, streamline and update the menu.

Nice Day in Melville took over Gourmet Wok; Plainview replaces the long-standing Wong’s Noodle Town, whose owners were retiring but said their children, all on the path to getting advanced professional degrees, had no interest in taking over the business. “I have so much admiration for the last generation of Chinese restaurant owners,” Zhang said. “They worked so hard and raised their children from that hard work. They brought Chinese food all over the United States. And we want to carry on their legacy of serving the community.”

One of the key elements of Nice Day’s renovation was tearing down the wall to the kitchen. “We want to create openness,” she continued. “Let the customers see our ingredients, how everything is made.”

The typical Chinese takeout offers anywhere from 200 to 300 dishes. Nice Day offers fewer than 60. Besides the dim sum, Zhang’s grandmother’s homestyle stir-fried tomato and eggs has been added, along with customer requests such as chow fun and Singapore mai fun.

These items join a lineup that draws on the Chinese American repertoire: Chicken prepared a la General Tso or Kung Pao, with orange or sesame seeds; broccoli with chicken, beef or shrimp. There’s fried rice and lo mein; egg drop, hot and sour and wonton soups. About a third of the fare delves more deeply into authentic Chinese with dan dan noodles, bok choy with shiitake mushrooms, and the “Mala Dragon Stir Fry Pot,” a dry stir fry that can be ordered Sichuan style with chili peppers and Chinese peppercorns. Not in either category, you’ll also find cheeseburger egg rolls and loaded General Tso’s chicken fries.

Most appetizers are less than $10; most mains, less than $14.

Nice Day, 1123 Old Country Rd., Plainview, 516-822-0888, eatniceday.com. Open Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.