Not sure where to eat? For the best chinatown food nyc offers, you’ll want three stops: Manhattan for history, Flushing for range, and Sunset Park for regional rarities.
This page is one part of our wider new york food guide, and it focuses on Chinese food across the boroughs.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Wah Fung No. 1 Fast Food roast pork platter | $5.75 |
| Taiwan Pork Chop House grilled pork chop | $2.50 |
| Shu Jiao Fu Zhou peanut noodles | $3.50 |
| White Bear wontons | $10 for a dozen |
| New World Mall food court | Three dozen stalls |
| Wo Hop, Manhattan Chinatown | In business since 1938 |
These figures come from MTA Away’s January 2025 Chinatown guide and The Infatuation’s August 2025 Chinese restaurant guide. Prices and menus can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
Manhattan’s Chinatown food: dim sum, dumplings and Cantonese classics
Manhattan’s Chinatown is a primarily Cantonese-speaking enclave dating back to the mid-1800s, according to Untapped New York’s 2021 guide. MTA Away’s January 2025 guide adds that Cantonese cooking is the dominant style, with dim sum, wontons and Chinese-American staples like lo mein and chow fun on most menus.
For dim sum, that same guide names Dim Sum Palace, Nom Wah Tea Parlor, House of Joy, Ping’s, Golden Unicorn and Jing Fong. It calls Nom Wah the neighborhood’s oldest restaurant, and Matador Network says the tea parlor dates back to the 1920s.
If you like old-school cooking, Wo Hop has been in business since 1938 and serves old-fashioned dishes like chop suey and chow mein, according to MTA Away. Wu’s Wonton King claims the best wonton soup in the city, and The Infatuation’s August 2025 guide notes it is BYOB.
Buns and dumplings are easy to chain into one walk:
- Mei Lai Wah: a baked roast pork bun, which also comes with pineapple.
- Golden Steamer: salted egg yolk, custard and pumpkin steamed buns.
- Shu Jiao Fu Zhou: steamed and fried potstickers, plus a plate of peanut noodles.
- Deluxe Green Bo and Shanghai 21: soup dumplings, known as xiao long bao.
Flushing: the biggest Chinatown for variety
Flushing is the biggest Chinese ethnic enclave in New York City, and possibly outside of China, according to MTA Away’s January 2025 guide. The guide says you can reach it by the 7 train at the Flushing-Main St station or by the LIRR.
Its Chinatown began to form in 1970, with mostly Mandarin-speaking Taiwanese immigrants, per Matador Network. Today the food reflects that spread of regions.
Start at the New World Mall food court, where MTA Away counts three dozen stalls. They sell everything from Uyghur laghman to Sichuan malatang, so bring a group and share dishes family-style.
Once you have the food court sorted, these Flushing stops are worth the trip:
- Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao: arguably the best-known soup dumpling restaurant in the city. Order the Lucky Six sampler if you can’t choose between the pork and pork-and-crab versions.
- Shanghai You Garden: 10 varieties of xiao long bao in different colors.
- White Bear: a takeout-only window, where MTA Away lists a dozen wontons in chili oil for $10.
- Joe’s Steam Rice Roll: a hefty plate inside Landmark Quest Mall for $10, per the same guide.
- Kong Sihk Tong: a salted egg yolk lava French toast that MTA Away says might be the single best bite in Flushing.
Sunset Park and Brooklyn: Fujianese roots and Yunnan noodles
MTA Away calls Sunset Park Brooklyn’s original Chinatown, made up largely of Fujianese immigrants who left Manhattan’s Chinatown in the 1990s because of rising rents and gentrification. It adds that you can find an impressive variety of hard-to-find cuisines here.
Look for guoqiao noodles, also called crossing the bridge noodles, from Yunnan province in southwest China. Think of them as a Chinese chicken noodle soup, with a giant bowl of broth, noodles, bean sprouts and chunks of black Silkie chicken. Yun Nan Flavour Garden and Western Yunnan Crossing Bridge Noodles both specialize in the dish.
Elsewhere in Brooklyn, The Infatuation’s August 2025 guide picks Mama’s Noodle House in Bensonhurst for pork-and-shrimp wontons in a Sichuan peppercorn sauce. There is nowhere to sit inside, so plan to eat on the sidewalk. The same guide singles out the pork and scallop xiao long bao at Liu’s Shanghai in Bath Beach.
The smaller Chinatowns worth a detour
The Infatuation says the city has three major Chinatowns “with about six more emerging.” Matador Network’s November 2022 guide names the six food hubs:
- Bensonhurst
- East Village
- Elmhurst
- Forest Hills
- Homecrest
- Little Neck
Elmhurst was the newest addition in Time Out’s 2013 guide, so treat that timeline as dated.
In Manhattan, Little Fuzhou began in the 1980s on East Broadway and Eldridge Street, according to Untapped New York. The guide describes Shu Jiao Fu Zhou as a staple of Fuzhounese cooking, with only 14 items on the menu.
In the East Village, Szechuan Mountain House has sister locations in Flushing and Midtown. The Infatuation recommends classics like la-zi chicken and the stone pot green pepper fish. Nearby, Untapped says Dian Kitchen serves Yunnan’s mixian rice noodles, a cuisine rarely seen in the city.
How do you eat well on a small budget?
Chinatown is a good place to eat a full meal for little money. The prices below are as of the dates of the guides that report them.
- Taiwan Pork Chop House: a grilled pork chop for $2.50, per MTA Away’s January 2025 guide.
- Shu Jiao Fu Zhou: peanut noodles for $3.50 and 10 steamed pork-and-chive dumplings for $5.50, per The Infatuation’s August 2025 guide.
- Wah Fung No. 1 Fast Food: a platter of rice and roast pork for $5.75, if you don’t mind a line, per MTA Away.
At Shu Jiao Fu Zhou, The Infatuation encourages asking a stranger for a seat at their table. Treat the shared tables as part of the experience.
If you like eating on the go, our guide to nyc street food covers more walk-up ideas beyond Chinatown.
Bakeries and sweet stops
According to Time Out’s 2013 essentials guide, the litmus test of a good Chinatown bakery is its egg custard tart, called dan ta. Use it to judge any bakery you pass.
Untapped New York says Kam Hing Coffee Shop is known for fluffy sponge cake and congee. Pair that with the sweet steamed buns at Golden Steamer for a dessert crawl.
When you want a proper cup after all that tea and pastry, our list of the best coffee shops in nyc is a good next stop.
Frequently asked questions
Which Chinatown should I visit first?
Show answer
Start in Manhattan if you want dim sum and old restaurants like Wo Hop, which has been open since 1938 per MTA Away’s January 2025 guide. Choose Flushing if you want maximum variety, such as the three dozen stalls in the New World Mall food court.
How many Chinatowns does New York have?
Show answer
Matador Network’s November 2022 guide counts three main Chinatowns: Manhattan, Flushing and Sunset Park. It also names six food hubs, including Bensonhurst and Elmhurst.
How do I get to Flushing’s Chinatown?
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MTA Away’s January 2025 guide says to take the 7 train to the Flushing-Main St station or use the LIRR. Check current service before you travel.
Can I eat a full meal for about $10?
Show answer
Yes, at least as of The Infatuation’s August 2025 guide. That guide suggests a $10 bill is enough at Shu Jiao Fu Zhou, covering peanut noodles for $3.50 and 10 steamed dumplings for $5.50.
