Ping’s Dried Beef

I grew up eating beef jerky from here and my mom only prefers to get jerky from here. Yes, the jerky is delicious, but I can’t justify the price. It is now $ 30 a pound and you really don’t get that much in the bag. Probably last time I will be here unless they decide to decrease the price to one that is affordable. Thanks, but no thanks.

I came here about 2 weeks ago when I was in New York. I really wanted beef jerky and I couldn’t remember the name of the other place I used to go to so I looked on Unilocal and stumbled upon this place. When I opened the door, I saw 4 people playing mahjong in the middle of the room and there were about 5 or 6 big glass jars on the right. I thought there would be more variety but there was only 2 kinds of jerky, beef and pork. The sign they had says that they have spicy versions of both but I didn’t see any and didn’t bother to ask because it seemed like the girl who came to help me was eager to go back to her game. I got a pound of beef jerky and ½ pound of the pork. The beef jerky was really good but the pork had a weird taste to it. I probably wont be going back and will try to find the one that I used to go to.

This place is a hidden gem in Chinatown! My parents visit this place whenever they travel to New York because the beef jerky is like no other. It is much softer and juicier than packaged beef jerky. The owner is also extremely friendly and can speak both Cantonese and English. I came here on a Tuesday at around 6 pm and bought 1 lb of the Sweet Mooo for $ 30. My friend, after trying mine, ran back into the store to buy ½ of a lb for $ 15. Unfortunately there were limited flavors (probably because we arrived there at around 6 pm).

Ping’s/Jung’s Dried Beef is like that elusive crush that you’ve had forever, but she doesn’t seem to care about your existence. If they have regular business hours, you wouldn’t know it. Don’t rely on the one on the door that says they’ll be back at a certain time since they don’t hold to it. Don’t expect someone to pick up the phone, either. I learned from my dad that he was able to get them to open the door by knocking (since the owners live there), but they told him that they were going to be closed for the day (before noon) since product was sold out.
On my latest trip to NYC, they were finally open on the 3^rd attempt in the late morning (even though no one had picked up our call a few minutes before). We walked into the «shop» to find an older lady eating lunch with a younger man in the back. Only the tall glass jars holding different types of pork and beef jerky gave any indication that we didn’t walk into someone’s house. The beef jerky is thinly sliced and stands out from the competition due to uncompromised beef flavor. You could taste that this product was fresh. I thought the texture was more tough than what I remembered, but the taste was very good — well balanced sweet and savory flavor. If you’re already in the area, definitely give it a try, but I would recommend Ling Kee as an backup alternative.

Probably the most torn I’ve been trying to write a Unilocal review.
Disclaimer: this was the jerky place my family has always been going to, so my history with Ping’s/Jung’s goes back probably twenty years or more. The jerky for this extended period of time is just as I remember from back then, and has never changed. Likewise, the appearance of buying jerky out of someone’s living room has also never changed. «Ambiance» is clearly not their priority and I’ve accepted that that’s just how they roll.
Now, I’m not sure this was always the case, but it’s impossible to be sure you can get to this place and get your supply. It’s not just because they’ll run out of stuff. It’s because they don’t answer their phone (in some trips past, it was possible to phone in and reserve your order before they got cleaned out for the day), and they have no hours posted, nor seem to follow any real schedule at all, really. So, we burned a trip over there on a Monday to find out that they aren’t open at all on Mondays, then we stopped in on a Tuesday at 10/10:30ish and found them closed, only to stop by at 11:30 to find them suddenly open for business.
Exasperating. And also costly, as someone else pointed out: the classic sweet beef jerky is $ 30/​lb, which is a bit more expensive compared to Malaysian Beef Jerky and Ling Kee, not sure about New Beef King. But hey, I believe this is a piece of history right here, and honestly I feel that at any time I could come back to NYC and find this place closed up for good — we’ve tried the other places and they aren’t like Ping’s at all.
That said, if you’re lucky to find them open and still stocked, give it a try. You don’t have to go in for a pound, but do make sure you’ve got some cash ready.

They were out of all of the jerky except for one. How does this happen when that is your only product? The jerky seemed a bit odd. The place was also run-​down.

The best jerkies in town. They have been around for a long long long time. I have watched their kids grow up. My only compliant is their prices also is going up up up. It now costs $ 30 a pound. My family in California request this each time I visit. I will shell out almost $ 200 tonight to pick up some to take with me. I had never thought I would EVER spend $ 200 on jerkies. But they are they bomb.

HOLY CROW!
This is the best jerky you can possibly can get… IF YOU CAN GET IT.
Consider yourself lucky if the jars are full when you walk in cause sometimes it never even makes it to the jars with all the phone orders.
Old style business with a recipe that remains unchanged. My kids will kill for this stuff. I usually bring home a couple pounds for thanksgiving and christmas as a treat.
They love the pork and hot beef style. I find it very difficult making it back into the subway without eating at least a ¼ lb. haha.
Keep it refrigerated when not eating and i recommend heating it up just enough so its a tad warm when eating. ITS SOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOD.
Make sure you have some dental floss handy too!

Definitely by far the best jerky place in NYC. Its authenticate and fresh, they make it in the back. The owner is super sweet. Try to call them in advance to check stock but they don’t always pick up nor check their voicemail. If you see what you want definitely get it right there right then, or else it won’t be there when you get back.

Tried th beef jerky. Very thin slices. Taste wise was good. But very chewy. The man was a bit rude and almost seemed annoyed. I had asked the difference between this and another item and he just said its the same thing. Clearly it wasn’t since the other looked like shredded meat. $ 7 for ¼ lb.

I’d give 3.5 stars, because I’ve had better beef jerky. Although I like the juiciness of their jerky here, I can taste a grease oil flavor which I don’t like. Also it’s a bit too chewy to separate and pieces always get stuck in teeth. The good kind of jerky won’t do that. It is still best in the area for home made though, if you are a fan of beef jerky is still worth a try.

I did not know jerky could taste like this.
Go here now.

Love this place! Beef jerky you would think it’s dry but not this place it’s so juicy! It’s spicy & sweet! Totally recommend this place if you haven’t had it yet!

I used to not like beef jerky. It’s usually dry and not very tasty. But these guys have the best beef jerky I’ve ever had. It’s a little sweet, tender and spicy (optional). SO GOOD. A Chinatown staple and a must try.

I’ve never personally been here… but my family always orders me a bag of their sweet beef jerky and brings it to Florida when they visit a few times a year. From what I hear, they’re always sold out and calling ahead is recommended. I can’t wait to make my way up to NY and actually try it extra fresh, but even a day or two old, it is by far the best beef jerky I’ve ever had.

For years whenever we visited nyc for a day trip with family and friends, this is a mandatory stop!!! We MUST buy beef jerky and a lot of it. My husband and everyone I know always orders the spicy version because it’s more flavorful than the non-​spicy and it isn’t even spicy but it’s good.

As a teenager I went to ping’s with my mom, they used to be on Bayard St, than they moved to Mulberry St, now I go there from Brooklyn my Italian husband loves the beef jerky, he always ask me when are you going to ping’s? Lol… my son loves them too and my 14 year old grandson is crazy about them, the other day he said nana can you get me some beef jerky? lol
in the morning the beef jerky are still warm that’s how fresh they are, if you wanted buy a few pounds better order in advance!

Don’t want to date myself… let’s just say my family has been coming here since I was a kid (and it’s been a long time). This was always one of the pit stops whenever we’re in NY. Though, I no longer eat pork/​beef — it is one of the must pick up item for someone in the family.
Tried calling throughout the day to pre-​order before it sells out but no answer. Decided to stop by and noticed the place was closed on Mondays. Fortunately, as we were walking away — Ping’s daughter was dropping something off at the store. She welcomed us into the store and sold us whatever was available so we wouldn’t leave empty handed.
Lovely family… happy to know Ping’s son is continuing the family business. They offer the best jerky in town. Note — the store is trapped in a time warp (interior barely updated) and is not what I call an appealing storefront. Just remember you’re there for the jerky.

For my 200^th Unilocal review, I wanted to write about something that I’ve always taken for granted, to be there when I want it. Ping’s Beef Jerky is a place my family would go to, to get fresh beef jerky and it seems they have been in Chinatown forever. There are only 2 other fresh beef jerky places in Chinatown. One is a Malaysian jerky place and the other is King’s Beef Jerky on Bayard St.
Is there a thing as fresh jerky? Yes. There is. Ping’s is not prepackaged. Ping’s has been around for a long, long time and so far back that I can’t even remember how long ago. Family own and run, these are the little, interesting shops that haven’t changed much and the jerky still tastes about the same as I remember it, even though some of the flavorings have gone.
Unlike American jerky, Ping’s is sticky, meaty and not ultra dry, tough or overly salty. The term finger-​lickin’ good should apply here. I remember there was an oyster sauce based sauce and one that is fruity and of course the spicy one. The pieces are uniformly cut rectangles, unless you get the nuggets. When we were kids we used to always complain about granny, who would give you a thick, heavy-​duty plastic bag that must already weigh an ounce, and then fill it up exactly to a pound, no more, no less. Hey, how about deducting some weight from that heavy plastic bag? But nope, she was exact on the scale, hitting the mark every time and she has taught generations of others to be the same… except for today.
I haven’t been to Ping’s in years and this time I ordered only ½ lb of jerky. Holy… what??? To my disbelief the scale was off by .01. I would say that is the weight of that hefty plastic bag which they still use. The price per pound is now $ 26 and they will sell the jerky in ½ pound as well and the flavors are sweet or hot in slices or mixed bits and there is also pork jerky.
I do like the sturdiness of the bags as it has endured some happy cat teeth marks, as in my family, humans as well as cats alike have been able to sniff out the fragrant aroma that is Ping’s beef jerky. Many a cat and humans have licked their chops at pieces of protein goodness.
Don’t be frightened by the messy background apartment– like setting you’ll see along with the jerky stored in large, clear glass jars like candy but instead it’s meat candy. Just think of it as a family who make jerky and sells it from their home.

Passing by this old looking store front, I was told by friend that they sell the best tasting beef Jerky in NYC.
I finally got the chance to walk into this no frills establishment on Sunday at 1:30pm. The place seemed very cluttered with random stuff. It reminded me of an episode from the TV show HOARDERS, but I didn’t come here for the environment, I came for some beef jerky. When I walked in, all I saw were empty jars in the front. I thought maybe the guy was supposed to get the jerky from the back. But upon asking for some meat, the guy said sold out… come back later. WTF? Damn, I thought to myself… that’s how good this jerky is?
After walking around, I managed to walk back here at 4:00pm the same day and he had 2 jars filled with jerky. Asked for ½ lbs of the spicy beef for $ 12.
Right when I exited, I took a strip, shoved it in my mouth and tried it. Tasted really good! It was spicy but not too overwhelming to take over the natural beef flavor. It does not compare to the beef jerky you buy in grocery stores. The consistency of it was very soft and a little moist from the spicy glaze/​flavoring that coated the jerky. Best jerky I ever had.