5 Ninth

The Meatpacking District was uncharacteristically deserted on a chilly Monday night. As I sat down at 5 Ninth's rustic bar to wait for a friend, the bartender remarked that we'd have no problem finding a table. Indeed, for the first 30 minutes of our meal, we had the intimate, votive-lit restaurant all to ourselves. Then, the room slowly filled with regulars and excited initiates. (Next to us was a couple so enthralled with the menu that they ordered enough appetizers for 4 people.)

5 Ninth's Asian-influenced menu makes much use of pork. There are entrees of pork ribs and pork shoulder, two roast pork sandwiches, and a Berkshire pork belly appetizer. The menu also emphasizes sweet flavors such as Szechuan caramel, palm sugar chili paste and Vietnamese mint. We were also to discover a penchant for spice. The Italian bread was accompanied by chili dipping oil. Slices of green chilis fired up my yellowtail sashimi appetizer, and a whole red chili arrived with the Berkshire pork belly. The sweet-glazed, luscious slabs of pork lay atop a pile of garlicky, spicy long beans. The waiter advised us to punctuate a bite of pork with a bite of chili, and to then cool down the palate with a sticky rice cake.

Hot spices have an amazing ability to stimulate the appetite, so we were quite ready for the butter-and-sriracha-braised Jamison Farm lamb in chili lamb jus with gingered Chinese broccoli and crispy fried rice cakes, and the seared bass with pickled garlic, Japanese mushrooms and greens. The bass's skin was nicely crisp, but the portion was a bit small for me, so I needed to order a side of jasmine rice. (Sticky rice is also available.) Actually, I would've liked a whole order of the delectable rice cakes!

My friend doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, so she abstained from dessert, instead ordering a glass of Anton Bauer Gruner Veltliner. (My sweet tooth is enough for two, anyway.) Desserts included banana spring rolls and carrot spice cake; I chose the fresh doughnuts with hot chocolate and coconut sorbet. The four sugar-sprinkled, golden-brown doughnuts were heaped into a small white bowl. I rolled the hot fried globes around with my fork to catch all the excess sugar. Although the waiter recommended that I dip the doughnuts in the hot chocolate, I really preferred them on their own!

A small boy ran upstairs into the dining room. (I wanted to offer him a doughnut.) "Hudson, come here," called his mother. Has the Meatpacking District has become so trendy that people are naming their kids after its streets?

5 Ninth: 5 Ninth Ave., (surprised?) (212) 929-9460.