Heading out and I don't find anything promising in zagat's. Can anyone suggest? I was spoiled in Honolulu last month but I would like to find something great here in Chinatown.

I have never been to the following restaurant, but this place was recommended by a long-time NYC food critic. It is listed under the category "Fabulous Dumps", so don't expect anything as beautiful as Honolulu. The site is foodmaven.com.
NEW YORK NOODLE TOWN
28 1/2 Bowery (at Bayard St.), Manhattan; (212) 349-0923.

There is a Dim Sum place on Mott St right before Wo Hop. I don't eat dim sum, but they are always busy so must be good!

There are alot of good Dim Sum places in Chinatown. We go down almost every weekend. We have several favorites. The Golden Unicorn, is very large and you might have to wait for a while but the food is very good.

On Mott St. there is a small one at the corner of Moscoe, it's always full, but the food is good and very inexpensive.

If you feel like a bit of a walk, try Canal St. to the Bowery and turn right, there is another very good Dim Sum place a few doors down, HF, it's much prettier than alot of the Dim Sum places and a bit more expensive, but a much bigger selection.

If you are looking for us, we are a couple blocks further down, across from the the square and the place is large, not much atmosphere, but the best Dim Sum in town. Oh and MAKE SURE you ask for the "sweet soy sauce", it is much better with Dim Sum.

IF you know when you are going to be here, if it's on a weekend, we can meet you there.

Hop Shing Restaurant Inc
Address: 9 Chatham Sq
New York, NY 10038
212) 267-0220
I've been going to this resto for over 20 years. great dim sum, even better cantonese and sczechwan dishes. Get the wonton soup -- i know i know, just try it, you won't have had better -- and the chicken lo min. best, most consistent chinatown resto IMHO.

Some great suggestions up there, especially Golden Unicorn. Another good one is Jing Fong on Elizabeth, south of Canal I believe.

FYI, NY Noodletown, while a great meal for a great price, is not a Dim Sum restaurant.

My all-time favorite dim sum place is Mandarin Court on Mott St. just below Canal St. Great variety of dishes at very reasonable prices. Hold out for the fabulous crispy shrimp (with shells), clams in black bean sauce, and red pork chops. Also great are the shrimp filled green peppers, taro cake, sticky rice, steamed shrimp dumplings . . . actually everything is great.

In terms of non-dim-sum places to eat in Chinatown, by far the best place is NY Noodle Town. Absolutely incredible salt-baked squid, soft-shell crab, and squid. Also terrific are the veggie dumplings and any of the bbq meats that hang in the window.

Enjoy!!!!

WELL WHERE WERE YOU PEOPLE AT 11:43!!!!

I hoped off line and was out the door at 12:50pm. I guess I did not give you much time to post. I ended up going to Oriental Garden. It was the highest rated (Zagat) restaurant in Chinatown. It was good but not great. The friend I met thought it was the best Dim Sum she had in a while. JUST WAS NOT Legends Seafood in HONOLULU!!!!!!!!!!I found the variety poor at Oriental Garden by comparison.

Thanks everyone who posted I will certainly follow your leads, this journey is not over! So nice to be able to come online and find out about restaurants at home! Gotta go to that Golden Unicorn.

PS Can anyone suggest a place to buy fresh fish in Chinatown. If a shop has worked for you, let me know..... THANKS!

Funny you should ask about buying seafood. We were just talking a second ago, about going tomorrow for Dim Sum and then getting some seafood for a dinner party on Sat night.

The place we go to is on Canal St, 2 blocks west of Mott. There are actually a couple of good ones there.

Let me know when you feel like Dim Sum again, lol.

thanks wantsomesun. I will check out those shops.

hope this doesn't sound stupid, but is Dim Sum little bits of all sorts (if you know what I mean) we love Chinese food but have never been to a dim sum restaurant.

TTT

Topping for cheap eat options