New York’s Chinatown has many dining options available at nearly all hours of the day, from early morning late night. There are many great restaurants which you can try; a dear friend Captain G posted earlier on Triangle Trip has some exceptional places to eat in Chinatown. As a follow up, I wanted to point out some restaurants to avoid:
1. Great NY Noodle Town (often known as “Noodle Town“), located on the corner of Bowery and Bayard Street. Noodle Town is open until around 4AM everyday and many people go there for late night snacks – especially those done bar hopping or returning from Atlantic City via the Chinatown shuttles. Noodle Town’s barbecue pork and duck dishes are often too salty, and their noodles and broth are filled with MSG. I’m hyper sensitive to MSG, so I avoid this place at all costs; I would recommend the same for people with a delicate or sensitive palate. The service is probably the worst in Chinatown, too; even with five waiters covering a restaurant at half capacity, it took them fifteen minutes to deliver the check to my table. That’s bad, even by Chinatown standards, as many Chinese restaurants are not known for their world class service.
2. Wo Hop: I don’t know why many Americans love to go to this place, especially for late night snacks. I am sure Wo Hop was a good restaurant in NYC’s Chinatown at some point; but definitely not now. One of my friends got food poisoning here. In addition, Wo Hop, like Noodle Town, over salts their food; avoid this place unless you want to drink two gallons of water throughout your meal.
3. Bo Ky, located on 80 Bayard Street, between Mott and Mulberry: Unlike the above mentioned restaurants, Bo Ky isn’t open during late nights. I’m not entirely sure why they always seem to be packed and crowded; I first went to Bo Ky back in the mid 1980s when they first opened. The food wasn’t good, and service was horrible; I recently visited Bo Ky with a close friend, and nothing has changed. I am not sure what the fuss is all about at Bo Ky, as the thirty different varieties of soup they offer are fairly bland. If you want real noodles with a Chao Zhou (in Cantonese: Chew Chow) flare, try New Chao Chow Restaurant on 111 Mott Street, between Canal and Hester street instead.
