THE BEST: Chinatown Dim Sum

[PoorLawyer]

Golden Unicorn is my fave. It might be a buck or two more at the end of tallying it all up than some of the other places but I find it to be very consistent and good, unlike some of the others...

[Foodguy]

I love HSF!!!

[PoorLawyer]

I love HSF!!!

HSF was my "unlike some of the others"

[Foodguy]

They can be inconsistent, but when they are on, they are on.. I go every Saturday with a big group and we used to rotate but have settled on HSF. One place I have heard good things about, but have not gone for dim sum is Ping's (regular meals are excellant)

As to HSF since the beginning of January, they have always been on...but as long as you go to a place with carts, its ok with me

[KHT20]

I went to HSF for the first time at the end of November and left absolutely starving! My pork shumai had hard things in it, my shrimps had the poop shoots full of... well, you know, and most of the other dishes were pretty unappetizing.

We did get a good fried squid and some leek and vegetable dumplings with toasted garlic that were tasty, but all in all I will probably stick to Golden Unicorn.

[foodgeek]

I like Ping's, and Dimsum go go the most. Then Jing Fong. I do not like Golden Unicorn.

Dimsum go go is order by menu.The otehr s are carts.

There is a Ping's in Chinatown, and one in Queens.

Edited April 1, 2004 by foodgeek (log)

[Pan]

Golden Unicorn is sizeable but more intimate than Jing Fong. Jing Fong is pretty loud (just conversation) if you go at peak times. Try to get a table near the exit from the kitchen if possible, so you can snare things like the Kaya Buns for dessert (kaya is a delicious and very rich coconut custard jamlike thing from Malaysia, and if I remember correctly, some Malaysian friends told me that Jing Fong is owned by a Chinese Malaysian [or more than one?] from Ipoh). Harmony Palace can also be good. I like all of those places, though of course they are nothing compared to what you can get all over the place in Malaysian cities, for example. But we're not in Malaysia, Virginia (or Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Singapore, Penang, etc.).

But your best bet at any of these places is: Arrive early. If Jing Fong has reopened (they were closed for renovations for a while), I believe they open at 10 A.M. I'm pretty sure Golden Unicorn does, too. Harmony Palace opens at 9 A.M. or earlier, I believe. In any case, try to arrive before 11 A.M. Every place will be quieter, the food will be fresher, and you will have your pick of whatever you want and get more personal service more easily if you want to request items.

[Suzanne F]

AB Lobster King, at 2 Mott Street.

[jo-mel]

Gee -- I haven't been to HSF for aeons! Along with the Silver Palace, they were the only places for quite a while. Then came G. Unicorm, Mandarin Court and there was another one. HSF went thru upheaval after upheaval (gas tank explosion/family owner problems/ close down / reopening) and now the Silver Palace is gone. Things do change, don't they?

Triple Eight (or the "NEW" Triple Eight ---changes again!) has been my mainstay. I've never tried Jing Fong. Sounds like my kind of place. Loud, boistrous -- the way I like it.

Hope you give a report on where you go and what you had.

[LJC]

does anyone know if Jing Fong has reopened yet?

[Foodguy]

I am obviously a partisan, but give the "new" HSF a try and let us know

[PoorLawyer]

Gee -- I haven't been to HSF for aeons! Along with the Silver Palace, they were the only places for quite a while. Then came G. Unicorm, Mandarin Court and there was another one. HSF went thru upheaval after upheaval (gas tank explosion/family owner problems/ close down / reopening) and now the Silver Palace is gone. Things do change, don't they?

Triple Eight (or the "NEW" Triple Eight ---changes again!) has been my mainstay. I've never tried Jing Fong. Sounds like my kind of place. Loud, boistrous -- the way I like it.

Hope you give a report on where you go and what you had.

I used to love 25 Mott street or something like that for dim sum. It may not have been 25 but I know it was just a number for the name. Then they closed it down and it is now some froo froo fancy looking place that doesn't look like it belongs on that street.

If you go to golden unicorn on sunday they have a great scallop dish with some sort of goo baked on top that is awesome. I think they only do it up on sundays though unfortunately.

[phaelon56]

I liked Golden Unicorn but discovered that it's important to wait for awhile and choose very selectively. We spent about an hour there one Saturday or Sunday and despite passing up several carts entirely and choosing lightly from others, we saw some of the most interesting lookigndishes rol by when we were already sated (there were only two of us and that in itself was part of the problem).

[PoorLawyer]

I liked Golden Unicorn but discovered that it's important to wait for awhile and choose very selectively. We spent about an hour there one Saturday or Sunday and despite passing up several carts entirely and choosing lightly from others, we saw some of the most interesting lookigndishes rol by when we were already sated (there were only two of us and that in itself was part of the problem).

always a problem at all dim sum. Just when you can't eat another bite and get the bill tallyed, something bacon-wrapped comes rolling by!

[Foodguy]

At HSF again, today table 11 of us gathered there including two of us who have lived in Hong Kong. All of us stuffed to the gills and total bill $175 with tax and tip e.g, $16 a person.

Tried just about everything: the tripe, chicken's feet, bbq pork in a sort of phyllo pastry, and the flash fried shrimp stood out

I am sure there are a lot of good places, but you can't beat that deal or the meal

[PoorLawyer]

Do you own stock in it?

[Foodguy]

I wish!

[jo-mel]

I drove into the city today to meet some friends for Dim Sum. BAD day to do it! From the Holland Tunnel to Bowery -- 45 minutes!!

Anyway, we met at Jing Fong on Elizabeth St. I've been to two wedding banquets at Jing Fong, but never had their dimsum. I was pleasantly surprised! Great food and a variety of selections. It is nice to have familiar things with a different sauce from a different chef. I usually go to Triple 8 for dim sum, but I think my new place will be Jing Fong! We ate for 2 hours -- $20 a piece.

Moderator's Note: Two threads were merged here.

Edited June 27, 2005 by Pan (log)

[slkinsey]

Jo-Mel's post got me wondering about dim sum in Chinatown. What are the best places? Any favorites? Expensive? Cheap? Carts? No carts?

I've often ended up at a small, narrow place -- the name of which I've never known -- more or less across the street from Big Wong on Mott. There is a neon sign in the window that says "Dim Sum" and they come around with carts. On Saturday late mornings, it always seems to be about 2:1 Chinese:tourists/shoppers. Generally a little funkier and downscale than Dim Sum A Go Go, but feels more "authentic" to me.

What are your favorites?

[Bux]

feels more "authentic" to me.

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Now there's a topic.

[Transparent]

Jo-Mel's post got me wondering about dim sum in Chinatown.  What are the best places?  Any favorites?  Expensive?  Cheap?  Carts?  No carts?

I've often ended up at a small, narrow place -- the name of which I've never known -- more or less across the street from Big Wong on Mott.  There is a neon sign in the window that says "Dim Sum" and they come around with carts.  On Saturday late mornings, it always seems to be about 2:1 Chinese:tourists/shoppers.  Generally a little funkier and downscale than Dim Sum A Go Go, but feels more "authentic" to me.

What are your favorites?

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Across from Big Wong, you say? It could possibly by Oriental Palace, though I haven't looked for a dim sum sign. Was it very close to Joe's Ginger? If so, that's my paternal family's favorite dim sum spot. It's also where we have all our banquets (family friends = big portions).

[v. gautam]

a small, narrow place -- the name of which I've never known -- more or less across the street from Big Wong on Mott. 

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Shun Hop Sing?

A great seafood place used to be located downstairs from SHS.

[Benito417]

I am in the neverending process of trying to find my favorite dim sum spot in chinatown. My current favorite is Ping's. Though I have at times found some of their dumplings lacking they do an extremely fresh rendition of shrimp rice rolls, one of my favorite dishes, as well as the best sesame buns with lotus paste I have had (most places are too oily for my liking).

The atmosphere at Ping's leaves something to be desired in my mind. This gets back to the question of a truly authentic dim sum experience. I have a hunch that Ping's carts and more communal environment are perhaps more traditional then the made to order more sedate places like dim sum go-go and sweet n' tart. However, after a busy saturday night often times I want to have some good food in a more relaxed setting, in this case SnT and GoGo do the trick. The food is certainly quite competent at either of these places if slightly lacking in comparison to Ping's.

[Pan]

I've been thinking that it's been too long since we've had a gathering of Society members for dim sum. I'm thinking that it would be a good thing to pick a place that seems to meet a consensus in this thread and arrange a get-together, perhaps on Christmas or on some other convenient late morning (best at or before 11) or, failing that, early afternoon up to 1 P.M meeting time. We'll take pictures and post descriptions of and comments on each plate. Feel free to PM me if you're interested, and I'll keep a running tally off-line. All Society members are welcome and may bring guests. I suppose I like Jing Fong best from among the places I've tried that roll carts around. Sweet & Tart is good for sit-down-and-order-off-the-menu dim sum, though there already was a gathering of members there some time ago that elicited a lot of comments. I'd be persuadable for trying a place I haven't been to yet, though, and I've also enjoyed Golden Unicorn and Harmony Palace (though the latter is best in the early morning for breakfast; at least the one time I went there that early it was calm and the service was excellent).

[slkinsey]

Across from Big Wong, you say?

Now that I think about it, it might be on the same side as Big Wong. I know I'm not being very helpful. But I also imagine there are better places for dim sum... and I want to hear about them.