All About Sal Tang’s, Brooklyn’s Newest Ode to Classic Chinese American Cuisine

1. It comes from two restaurant industry veterans.

The most important thing to know about Sal Tang’s is right there in the name. It comes to Carroll Gardens from two restaurant industry heavy hitters: Sal Lamboglia, chef and owner of the nearby Cafe Spaghetti and Swoony’s, and Wilson Tang, the restaurateur behind Nom Wah and Cha Cha Tang. And it marks the first time they’re teaming up together.

“We’d never met before this project brought us together. [Sal] has had such great success in his neighborhood of Carroll Gardens, and I’ve had success in my own right, in the Chinese food world,” Tang says. “Our names kept popping up to each other. So, we kind of just ‘dated’ for a while. Our personalities fit.”

Both grew up in New York, with their respective families working in the restaurant industry. Tang’s family, of course, was behind Chinatown’s legendary dim sum restaurant, Nom Wah, while Lamboglia’s owned a restaurant in nearby Little Italy. Both have young children of their own now, and both share a similar vision for what makes a good restaurant.

“We just connected right from the start. We share the same values. We want to make people happy, bring good experiences and good food,” Lamboglia adds.

2. It was designed to suit the neighborhood.

The Sal Tang’s space was, until 2023, occupied by Vekslers, a neighborhood restaurant that had been open for 11 years. When Lamboglia saw the location was available, he jumped at the opportunity, despite being in the midst of opening up his second spot in the area, Swoony’s.

At first, he wasn’t sure what he was going to make of it, but then …

“Chinese sort of just popped into my head,” he recalls. “In the past, people always said there was no good sit-down Chinese around here. Growing up, when we went out to eat, we went out for Chinese. For me, it was a big bowl of fried rice, a big bowl of General Tso’s. It’s communal, joyous, and fun.”

So far, he says, the neighbors have reacted with nothing but joy that such a spot will soon be nearby. Sal Tang’s marks Tang’s first venture in Brooklyn, something he’s particularly excited about.

“I’m just so used to this hustle and bustle of Manhattan. We’re small fish in a big pond in Manhattan, so I’m really excited to be part of this,” Tang said. “[Sal] is really just the darling of that neighborhood.”

“It’s a neighborhood restaurant for the neighborhood,” adds Vivian Chen, a partner with Chinatown Hospitality Group, one of the restaurant’s owners. “It’s our selection of Cantonese American comfort food. It’s more nostalgic, bringing a piece of Chinatown to Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens, and really being that staple Chinese American restaurant where people can walk in and order takeout, or sit down for a meal, and not have to trek to Chinatown or Sunset Park.”

3. The space is inspired by famous houses of the cuisine.

Tang and Lamboglia were inspired by the sprawling sit-down Chinese restaurants of their childhood for more than just the menu; inside, everything from the color palette to the floors feels reminiscent of a heartfelt homage.

The floors are checkered tiles of green and gold, the colors for beauty and abundance, Tang says. The tabletops (and some of the walls) are also golden, and the bar is wallpapered with flowers. There’s artwork on the walls, much of which comes from Tang’s previous Chinese restaurants.

“There’s one painting that’s from my dad’s restaurant in the ’70’s,” he laughed. “We took a lot of different things that reminded us of what a Chinese restaurant looks like, and put them in.”

It’s relatively small, with just 35 seats inside. You’ll also find classic red-patterned dishes, straight out of a movie about Chinese restaurants.

There’s one other inspiration that’s also close to home for Tang. “Your neighborhood takeout place. For me, the images are first-generation families, kids in the kitchen, bulletproof glass, and canned soda,” Tang says.

4. Cocktails, bubbles, and beers abound.

The spot boasts a full bar, complete with a list of cocktails, wines, and beers. There’s a lychee martini and a spritz, lots of bubbles, and light wines.

“I just want everything to be approachable,” Lamboglia says. “I don’t want to complicate things. Things can have multiple steps and techniques, but at the end of the day, I want the final product to be simple and delicious.”

You likely won’t find many deep reds on the wine list; the pair says they’re focusing on selections of Grüners and bubbles, for now.

“It’s Chinese food, so you want something refreshing and on the lighter side,” Lamboglia notes. And yes, canned soda will also be on offer.

5. Expect a menu of classic, nostalgic Chinese American fare.

The menu is classic Chinese American style fare, inspired by the restaurants that Tang and Lamboglia grew up idolizing, like Chinatown’s venerable Wo Hop and Peking Duck House.

“[Chef Doron Wong, who is also the executive chef over at Cha Cha Tang] and I are both Cantonese American, and we’re inspired by your neighborhood takeout joint. This is kind of an update or an upgrade to that,” Tang says. “These are all the foods that I grew up eating, chef Doron grew up eating, and even Sal grew up eating.”

In the kitchen is chef Doron Wong, whom Tang works with at Cha Cha Tang, but Lamboglia will be on deck cooking and supporting the team as well.

“I think the No. 1 differentiator for us is using just higher quality ingredients and making better sauces. The root of Cantonese American cooking is from these mother sauces that we make, and we’re just using better ingredients for them. The second thing that’s very important to us is the higher level of execution. We’re really fortunate to have strong people in the kitchen,” Tang adds.

Expect lots of familiar dishes on the menu, like egg rolls, hot and sour soup, and lo mein. This is classic Chinese American food, not regional Chinese cuisine like you may find at a place like Nin Hao or CheLi.

Of the menu, Wong says, “I think it’s just what people are expecting. There’s been a lot of movement in trying to cook authentic Chinese food from different regions, and I feel like that [moment] has passed now and just cooking what we know Chinese American food to be is exciting. It’s almost new again.”

6. Don’t know where to start? Start here.

We asked Wong to tell us about three must-order dishes on the menu. Here’s what he had to say, in his own words.

1. Crispy Orange Beef

“The orange beef sauce is a kind of throwback to this dark black vinegar sweet-and-sour sauce that Hong Kong chefs love to use. We add a little orange juice to it as well. The beef is super crispy, almost like a crackling, because it’s twice fried, and it gets tossed in that sauce. We use flank steak from Creekstone.”

2. General Tso’s Sesame Chicken

“It’s a mish mash of two dishes that are two of the most popular dishes on any Chinese American menu. We actually did a sesame crusted chicken with General Tso’s sauce, and by combining them into one, we hope people will enjoy it. Our General Tso’s sauce is made with ginger, garlic, vinegar, crushed tomatoes, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and dried chiles. Like most of our dishes with sauce, it’s going to be saucier, and more catered toward people who like sauce — all the better to have with some rice.”

3. Egg Roll

“It was very important to us to have an egg roll on the menu, because it’s such a classic dish that’s a throwback to Chinese restaurants here in America. Ours isn’t quite as braised as you might see in a Chinese American restaurant; it’s a little fresher. We use hand cut Taiwanese cabbage and we have carrots in there and wood ear mushrooms and celery and ginger and we roll it all in the egg roll wrapper and we serve that with plum sauce, which is our version of duck sauce.

“We make all the sauces in house: everything from the plum sauce and mustard sauce to sweet-and-sour sauce and black pepper sauce, all of these classically Chinese American sauces. For the plum sauce, we use salted plums, cooking them out with sugar and vinegar to make it a little special.”

“I have to mention the egg roll. It’s such a staple,” Lamboglia adds. “I’ve had hundreds of them, thousands of them, even, and they’re all fine and they’re all heartwarming. But when we had Doron’s, I thought ‘OK, this is the real thing.’ It’s such a process, but it’s just incredible.”

Sal Tang’s is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m.

Resy Editor Deanna Ting also contributed to this article.

Ellie Plass is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn. Follow her on Instagram and X. Follow Resy, too.