Neighborhood Guides
A Local's Guide to Dim Sum in Chinatown NYC
A local's guide to dim sum in Chinatown NYC — the carts, the counters, and the classics, without the two-hour wait.
Dim sum in Chinatown NYC used to mean one thing: pushcarts, steam, a lady yelling shrimp har gow at you before you’d finished your tea. That version of the meal still exists in Manhattan, but it’s shrinking, and the good places have a rhythm to them you have to learn.
The best dim sum in Chinatown for the cart experience
Jing Fong on Elizabeth Street is the last of the big banquet-hall carts still going in Manhattan. Go on a Sunday around 10:30 if you want a table under an hour, and bring more people than you think you need — the point of dim sum is that everyone gets a bite of everything, and a table for two just doesn’t cover enough carts. Order the shrimp dumplings, the char siu bao, the sticky rice in lotus leaf, and whatever’s coming out of the kitchen hot. Skip the fried taro if it’s been sitting.
Counter-style dim sum that beats the wait
If you don’t have two hours for a cart hall, the best move is one of the counter spots. Dim Sum Go Go on East Broadway lets you order off a checklist so nothing sits, and the roast pork buns come out puffed and glossy the way they should. Tim Ho Wan on Bowery — yes, it’s a chain out of Hong Kong, but the baked barbecue pork buns really are worth the trip, and the wait is usually manageable if you go before noon.
Where the older Cantonese crowd still eats
Follow the retirees. Nom Wah Tea Parlor on Doyers Street has been open since 1920 and, tourist reputation aside, still turns out one of the better egg rolls in the city — the original kind, thin and pan-crisped, not the takeout version. The steamed rice noodle with shrimp is the other thing to order. If you want the truly old-school move, cross into Sunset Park and eat at East Harbor Seafood Palace, but for downtown, Nom Wah still holds up.
What to actually order and what to skip
A short menu of hits: shrimp har gow (the translucent-wrapper dumpling), siu mai (the open-topped pork one), char siu bao (the fluffy barbecue pork bun), turnip cake pan-fried with soy and chili, sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf, and steamed rice rolls with soy. Order the chicken feet if you’re into it. Skip the deep-fried anything unless it’s just come out — sitting on a cart for twenty minutes is not what fried food wants.
When to go and how to survive the line
The unwritten rule of Chinatown dim sum is that if you arrive after 11:30 on a weekend, you’re eating at 1. Ten o’clock is safe, ten-thirty is the sweet spot, and eleven is the last window before the line explodes. Weekdays are open season and honestly a better meal — you’ll get fresher carts and more attentive service. Bring cash, though most places take cards now, and expect to pay via a stamped card at the table that gets tallied at the register.
The tea question
Every table gets a pot. Most places give you jasmine or oolong; if you want something else, say so before they pour. The universal Chinatown move for asking for a refill is tapping two fingers on the table twice — a nod to a Qing dynasty story about a disguised emperor. You don’t have to do it. But it does mean someone will notice and take care of your table faster.
Pairing dim sum with the rest of your day
Chinatown is one of the best food neighborhoods in the city to walk after eating. Once you’ve paid the check, head down Mosco Street for an egg tart at Tai Pan, or over to Nom Wah’s second location on Kenmare if you didn’t get in the first time. If you want to keep exploring downtown eats, our roundup of cheap eats in Manhattan under $15 covers a lot of the same territory. And every one of these spots is pinned on the NewYorkEatsguide map so you can plan a full afternoon.
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