Best Chinese in NYC (5 boroughs,Long Island,NJ,CT)
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In Chinatown, Manhattan, Kam Chueh on Bowery just south of Canal, next to the parking garage. They are open late and are very accomodating to non-Chinese. The best way to order is to scan the menu and then ask the server what they suggest in each category - seafood, chicken, etc. Always ask what is the best (i.e, freshest) vegetable today. The waiters are friendly and good English-speakers. They will provide balance to the meal when they help you select.
They also have on a small menu, interesting casseroles. My daughter loves the goose intestines.
Another favorite is the t-bone steak with flowering chives.
Also on Bowery, north of Canal is Congee (NOT to be confused with Congee Village, further north on Bowery). Congee has a very extensive menu and very, very helpful staff.
Another major benefit to these places is that they both welcome BYOB, even though they sell wine and beer. We usually bring red wine and buy the beer from the restaurant. In the past, we've brought multiple liquors and mixers.
HOWEVER, the best quality Cantonese food may be in Queens. The best may be Gala Manor. It is designed for banquets, but has table service. It has an incredibly extensive menu with pictures and explanations. No BYOB here. Tuxed up waiters pour your beer and liquor is served from a rolling cart. Very high-end, but great quality and the one place I would take friends from HK or the Mainland.
Also, good for real HK style is Gourmand.
On Main Street, special notice should go to Little Lamb Family. This may or may not be a branch of a popular Northern Chinese chain that has reached all corners of China. It is a hot-pot/shabu-shabu restaurant where you get a basic broth set up and then order individual cuts of meat and vegetables to cook at the table. They are famous for their wide variety of organ meats, including penis, testicles, eyes, brain, etc. I suggest getting the lamb set 'yin-yang' - half straight lamb broth, half spicy and then going to town on the additional meats and vegetables. They have an interesting short list of unfamiliar Chinese beers. You can probably BYOB.
Happy eating!!!
They also have on a small menu, interesting casseroles. My daughter loves the goose intestines.
Another favorite is the t-bone steak with flowering chives.
Also on Bowery, north of Canal is Congee (NOT to be confused with Congee Village, further north on Bowery). Congee has a very extensive menu and very, very helpful staff.
Another major benefit to these places is that they both welcome BYOB, even though they sell wine and beer. We usually bring red wine and buy the beer from the restaurant. In the past, we've brought multiple liquors and mixers.
HOWEVER, the best quality Cantonese food may be in Queens. The best may be Gala Manor. It is designed for banquets, but has table service. It has an incredibly extensive menu with pictures and explanations. No BYOB here. Tuxed up waiters pour your beer and liquor is served from a rolling cart. Very high-end, but great quality and the one place I would take friends from HK or the Mainland.
Also, good for real HK style is Gourmand.
On Main Street, special notice should go to Little Lamb Family. This may or may not be a branch of a popular Northern Chinese chain that has reached all corners of China. It is a hot-pot/shabu-shabu restaurant where you get a basic broth set up and then order individual cuts of meat and vegetables to cook at the table. They are famous for their wide variety of organ meats, including penis, testicles, eyes, brain, etc. I suggest getting the lamb set 'yin-yang' - half straight lamb broth, half spicy and then going to town on the additional meats and vegetables. They have an interesting short list of unfamiliar Chinese beers. You can probably BYOB.
Happy eating!!!
Restaurant "69"
Don't know how many of you guys go to the "69" restaurant on Bayard street in chinatown. It's sad to say that they original owner has retired and now it's called the "Bayard restaurant". For those that know of this place, it was always a great place to go after night of mongering in chinatown. They opened late. Also all the dollar bills all over the walls/ceilings are gone as well. Always wonder how much dollars were pasted on those walls.
Don't know how many of you guys go to the "69" restaurant on Bayard street in chinatown. It's sad to say that they original owner has retired and now it's called the "Bayard restaurant". For those that know of this place, it was always a great place to go after night of mongering in chinatown. They opened late. Also all the dollar bills all over the walls/ceilings are gone as well. Always wonder how much dollars were pasted on those walls.
Wo Hops was an old place I used to go to (someone else mentioned it) I also used to go to Pearl's right near Radio City Hall. I don't think its there anymore but they had a great crispy orange beef and a chopped chicken in lettuce cups that were outstanding. I also ran into Mia Farrow and Woody Allen there once.
Best Dim Sum In NYC
Ping's, 22 Mott Street, Chinatown. I have been there about 10 times and when I ate there recently it was the best dim sum I have ever had in NYC. Dim sum lunch for 2 people ran me $25, not including tip. I recommend their shrimp and crab dumplings - they do seafood really well. Chinatown is the only place in NYC where you can get really good food at a price that does not hammer your wallet.
Ping's, 22 Mott Street, Chinatown. I have been there about 10 times and when I ate there recently it was the best dim sum I have ever had in NYC. Dim sum lunch for 2 people ran me $25, not including tip. I recommend their shrimp and crab dumplings - they do seafood really well. Chinatown is the only place in NYC where you can get really good food at a price that does not hammer your wallet.
When I was in college one of my buddies lived in Chinatown ( it ended at Canal then and Little Italy took over, followed closely by what my parents referred to as "Jewtown").
My wife and I went to a restaurant with him on his recommendation, lety him do the ordering, and in a few minutes were looking at our dinner and it was looking back at us! they say the cheeks are the best part of a fish head.
My wife and I went to a restaurant with him on his recommendation, lety him do the ordering, and in a few minutes were looking at our dinner and it was looking back at us! they say the cheeks are the best part of a fish head.
Wo Hop is popular, but I have to say, if you want quality Chinese food in Chinatown, there are many better places to visit. Go back a few pages in this thread for a bunch of suggestions. And, yes, they still serve whole fish prepared in all sorts of different ways, from pan fried, to deep fried to, my favorite, steamed with ginger and scallions.
There are so many good choices in Flushing and in Chinatown.
If I may say more for Wo Hop, they don't change with fads, but stick with the same menu year in and year out.
They are open 24/7, and you can go there at midnight and find the line backed up from the basement door to the street.
They make great wonton soup, noodle dishes, and salt-and-pepper shrimp.
Their prices are low and the service is fast.
The waiters are all immigrant Chinese, worked there for years, and one of them looks like a Chinese version of Norm MacDonald!
If I may say more for Wo Hop, they don't change with fads, but stick with the same menu year in and year out.
They are open 24/7, and you can go there at midnight and find the line backed up from the basement door to the street.
They make great wonton soup, noodle dishes, and salt-and-pepper shrimp.
Their prices are low and the service is fast.
The waiters are all immigrant Chinese, worked there for years, and one of them looks like a Chinese version of Norm MacDonald!
East reprise
Also fresh sushi, not typical Chinese buffet style sushi (mostly rolls that will sit a while) but real fish and varieties.
I'm a pig, I felt I got my money's worth there, even though I'm also happy to frequent a thousand places where I can eat a ton of lo mein and "salmon fish" for $8 at lunch.
Also fresh sushi, not typical Chinese buffet style sushi (mostly rolls that will sit a while) but real fish and varieties.
I'm a pig, I felt I got my money's worth there, even though I'm also happy to frequent a thousand places where I can eat a ton of lo mein and "salmon fish" for $8 at lunch.