4 days ago
The 4 Best, Viral, And Cheap Foods In NYC's Chinatown To Eat
Chinatown is one of the best and cheapest places to eat in New York City, so I went on a mini food crawl to try the tastiest (and most viral) dishes that'll make both your stomach and wallet happy. My goal was to order as many items as possible without spending more than $20, so here are the must-try dishes I highly recommend for your next visit.
One of the most famous spots in Chinatown is Mei Lai Wah. Their steamed buns are especially popular, and they go viral on TikTok pretty much every other week. In fact, by the time I arrived at 11:19 a.m., there was already a 20+-person line outside their door. Luckily they have two kiosks for ordering, so there was basically no wait at all.
I ordered their pineapple bun with roast pork because it's their most popular menu item. I've actually had this before, and, yes, it really is that good. The bun itself is soft and fluffy and sweet, while the pork filling on the inside is rich and fatty and basically melts in your mouth. It's the perfect snack or appetizer to wet your palate, and at only $3.10 you really can't go wrong. Give me 20 of them.
My next stop was Super Taste, which had my favorite dish of the entire day. They sell 10 steamed dumplings for only $5.25 (it's $6.50 if you want them fried), which is incrediblyyyyy cheap for NYC. I'm a sucker for dumplings and potstickers. My ex and I used to make, fold, and freeze giant batches of gyoza from scratch, so I've literally eaten thousands of them over the years.
I ordered the steamed pork and chive dumplings, which I then topped with a little soy sauce and chili oil. These were so fresh and juicy and packed with filling (a bad wrapper-to-filling ratio can ruin even the tastiest dumpling, in my opinion), and I easily could have gotten a second order. Like, these felt like a warm hug. I'll be stopping by here every time I'm in the area now.
The third spot I went to was Great NY Noodletown. This cash-only restaurant specializes in authentic Cantonese cuisine. Aside from eating a ton of great (and cheap!) food, my goal for the day was to find a huge variety of items so I could highlight as many different dishes as possible. Because of that, I wanted my next order to be a soup. This restaurant is famous for its shrimp wonton soup, which costs $8.50 (they also serve a version of it with noodles for the same price).
I arrived a few minutes after 12 p.m. but didn't even have to wait for a table. Almost immediately, the waiter gave me a complimentary pot of oolong tea, which they do for every single diner. A few minutes after that, my bowl of shrimp wonton soup arrived. I was shocked that there were more than 10 wontons inside (like, I was only expecting half that amount since they're stuffed with whole shrimp). The broth was salty, the wonton wrappers were thin and silky, and the shrimp filling was tender. Overall, I liked the dish, but I regret not ordering their char siu (barbecue pork) or soft-shell crap since they're also famous for those dishes as well.
By this point, I was glad I had brought a friend with me to help eat every single dish (we split it all evenly, which just goes to show how much food you can actually get in Chinatown for just a few bucks). Our last stop of the day was at Golden Manna Bakery because we desperately wanted a dessert. Here, we ordered their egg custard tart for only $2.
This dessert was light and delicate, and the eggy taste was a lot more subtle than I expected. I'm kind of picky when it comes to eggs, but my friend was obsessed with this dessert and ordered an extra to take home, so consider that a glowing review. Overall, the pastry on the outside was flaky, and the custard on the inside was suuuuuper creamy. I do regret not getting their Hong Kong-style coconut tart and their sticky mango rice cake, but now I have a reason to go back.
Overall, these four dishes only cost $18.85, which is especially wild since they were filling enough for both my friend and me to share. But aside from just being cheap, they genuinely tasted great (I've been dreaming about those steamed pork and chive dumplings ever since). It was cool to taste-test the most viral Chinatown dishes I could find online, but I can't wait to go back and discover more lesser-known spots that deserve just as much love.
Check out more AAPI-centered content by exploring how BuzzFeed celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! Of course, the content doesn't end after May. Follow BuzzFeed's A*Pop on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to keep up with our latest AAPI content year-round.
