Chinatown is by far one of my favorite food destinations in New York City. It is packed with amazing food in the tiniest hole-in-the-wall places. While this list is in no way comprehensive, these are the places I find myself going back to time-and-time again. Several of these restaurants are cash only, so plan for that if you head there.
Nyona
Address: 199 Grand Street
Specialty: Malaysian
Not to miss dish: Roti Canai or Roti Prata
Pho Grand
Address: 277C Grand Street
Specialty: Vietnamese
Not to miss dish: Pho, duh!
Jing Fong
Address: 20 Elizabeth Street
Specialty: Dim Sum
Good-to-know: $3 dim sum plates on weekdays.
69 Bayard WK Restaurant (aka 69)
Address: 69 Bayard Street
Specialty: Chinese
What to order: Noodle anything
Shanghai Asian Manor
Address: 21 Mott Street
Specialty: Shanghai style
Not to miss dish: Soup dumplings and rice cakes
Wo Hop
Address: 17 Mott Street
Specialty: Cantonese
What to order: Fish Kew
Golden Unicorn
Address: 18 E Broadway
Specialty: Dim sum
What to order: All dim sum is amazing, but my favorite dish is a shrimp noodle roll
Lam Zhou
Address: 144 E Broadway
Specialty: Hand-pulled noodles
Not to miss dishes: Beef noodle soup, minced pork noodle and pork chive dumplings
Good-to-know: They sell frozen dumplings in bags of 50, get a bag and boil them at home for a quick dinner.