Carol’s Bun

I stood there for 5 minutes and the lady served 3 people who came after me and completely ignored me. Maybe they don’t serve you if you’re not Chinese… Or maybe it’s just if you look like me.

I love this place when I have only 5 $ on me and desperately craving a mixture of Chinese fast food. For 4.75 you have a choice of 3 options with rice or 2 options with noodles/​fried rice. The portions are so generous here (if the two ladies with the bandanas are serving you). They usually switch up their meat and vegetable options. This place is definitely a visit if you’re broke, hungry and need a quick, filling meal.

Carol, or whoever the friendly woman behind the steam table, was exceedingly friendly. She knows how to charm a man; I doubt anyone who tries this line on me — «Your Mandarin is better than mine!» — will get less than three stars from me. (Although «Carol» has a somewhat southern accent, I’m sure her Mandarin is leagues better than mine.)
Carol nominally features Northern Chinese fare, but really it’s a hodgepodge of dishes from the west, south and north of the country. I went with the chili oil dumplings — hong you chao sou — a standard of Sichuan food. I should have known that someone from so far south in the country wouldn’t bring the numbing spice to anywhere close to an acceptable standard, but it was still disappointing when the nearly flavorless sauce was placed over the small dumplings. They looked the part, however, and were clearly freshly made, which means something.
The rest of the food looked far better, and honestly I should have known to order a Sichuan dish at such a Cantnonese-​Fujianese place. I’m cautiously optimistic that something closer to their bailiwick would yield a better result.
Consider me cautiously optimistic and/​or very susceptible to flattery.

So authentic Chinese food. This place is paradise. Any guys wanna try authentic Chinese dapaudang (food), come to this one. That was how Chinese people roll. They offered great volume of food. Price was affordable and tastes great.

Ladies are nice there. Even asked if I wanted more rice. I’m a big fan of big food. A ridiculously abundant selection of choices for the 3-​choice rice option. Also a good menu for things to order. Love coming here. Good food and great prices.
They even speak a little bit of English for the non-​Chinese.

This is a small little shop at the east end of what could still be considered part of Chinatown… barely. There is a tight little area by the front entrance with a steam table full of food and enough space for people to order in a line and then play the bump and grind on the way out when passing the same said line. Beyond that is a small sitting area consisting of about 4 very small tables.
The place have a better than average selection of 3 food selections on top of white rice, fried rice, or noodles accompanied by a soup for only $ 4.50. You could add more food selection from the steam table for an additional $ 1 each.
Most of the free soups have a salty watery vegetable beef or pork flavor but is still better than most soups that comes with these style of lunch or dinner of 3 soup with rice. That doesn’t mean much though since it’s a very low bar to compare it too. Most places just taste like salt water.
The steam table selection for the most part ranges from good to decent. I like the fried rice instead of white rice. I also usually rotate between getting the string beans, fried chicken, curry chicken, and the fried little fishes intermixed with other selections here and there.
Just come in here with a mindset that you are getting quick and cheap decent Chinese food that is filling, nothing fancy or life changing and you should be satisfied.

4.25 $ for three items with soup, wow! Well it’s not the best Chinese food in this area but considering the price. I have no complaint :)

Been going here for years. My family has worked in the NYS Courts for 4 generations and knows Chinatown very well. My father used to bring me here for fried dumplings before picking up our main meal at Wo Hop (17). I fiend after the Turnip Cakes and Fried Dumplings and there’s usually a few other good things as well. Sweet Potato Pancakes are chewy and gummy. A lot of cops in the area seem to pass through which is a good sign. Anytime I’m in the area I have to come by. They usually have a large variety of food and most is very cheap, a few pieces for a dollar or two depending on what you get. The food can be a little greasy but that’s part of it’s charm. Well worth a try!

I stumbled in this place desperate, hungry and overwhelmed at where I should eat. I knew wherever I ate in the immediate area it would be somewhere I’d never been before.
This is a little hole in the wall who actually serves some pretty diverse stuff for the size. The Pancake was a little stale but I should have expected that from a buffet. The other things I had were pretty good and I left spending less than 4 dollars for their lunch special. And as my mom would say «you can’t beat that with a stick».

It was a cold, snowy afternoon in Chinatown, and I was in search of dinner to take home. After walking around aimlessly, I saw this place from across the street. It was hard to see inside since there was steam on the glass, but from the outside, I could tell that this place was where I was going to find dinner. I walk inside, and its pretty small, basically a hole in the wall. In the front counter, there is a steam table with over 20+ choices. I glance at the menu, which for the most part is written in Chinese. It may be a bit hard to maneuver the menu in this place, but the lady was nice at the counter, so it was pretty easy to get what I wanted. This is what I ordered:
2 lunch trays (rice, 3 choices, and soup for $ 3.75!)
1 scallion pancake ($ 1.50)
So for the choices, I got braised pork belly, pig ears with peanuts, green leafy vegetables, chinese radish, fried pork ribs, and a dish that I don’t know the name of. Everything was cooked well but I wasn’t a big fan of the pork ears. I prefer it served cold.
This place is unassuming and likely caters to the Fujianese immigrant population, but, if you are in the area, and you’re hungry, I would venture inside and order by just pointing ;-) They also sell frozen dumplings by bulk. But I didn’t try any. Next time…
Just like love, food has no boundaries.