From China, With Love: 15 Chinese Chains in NYC

Why Not 100? Great value. Basic ice cream.

It started in 1997 as a single drinks kiosk run by a university student in Zhengzhou. Today it has more stores than McDonald’s, which makes it the biggest fast-food chain on the planet. In parts of Asia, the joke is that every empty shop eventually becomes a Mixue. Canal Street has been warned.

The fresh lemonade is the star: refreshing, and cheap enough that a soft serve on top barely counts as a second purchase.

The catch: the ice cream itself is basic. You come for the price, and the price delivers.

Vs. China: pretty much the same.

• 266 Canal St (Chinatown), 1271 Broadway (Herald Square), 805 8th Ave (Times Square) and 133 4th Ave (East Village)

Auntie Approved: fruit-heavy drinks with a creamy base.

In China it’s ChaPanda, a milk tea chain from Chengdu. In NYC it goes by TeaByDo, so look for that sign. Its first US shop is on Main Street in Flushing.

The mango pomelo sago comes loaded with fruit over a creamy coconut base. Also worth it: the oolong milk tea with soybean cheese foam, where a slightly salty topping sits against the tea.

• 38-03 Main St, Flushing

Auntie Approved: real fruit, and cheese foam that doesn’t bury the tea.

Heytea opened in 2012 in Jiangmen, Guangdong, as a small shop called Royal Tea, and it’s credited with inventing cheese tea: fresh tea under a whipped cheese foam. Its first US shop opened on Broadway, and New York now has 13.

The Grape Boom and the mango coconut drink have real fruit texture, and the foam adds richness without hiding the tea. Bring patience: the line runs long.

Vs. China: one friend’s current favorite, in China and in New York alike.

• 1407 Broadway (Midtown), 126 E 86th St (Teabar, Upper East Side), 863 Broadway (Gelato Lab+), 36-56 Main St and 38-02 Prince St (Flushing), 705 59th St (Sunset Park), 52 Willoughby St (Downtown Brooklyn) and 2120 86th St (Bensonhurst)

Auntie Approved: come for the pastry, stay for the drink.

Known in China as Nayuki, NaiSnow was founded in Shenzhen by a husband-and-wife team, and it’s more bakery than tea shop. It’s also the biggest shareholder in Lelecha, next on this list.

The caramel egg tart is the highlight, and with a drink it beats a standard bubble tea run. Counter service could be more attentive.

• 39-07 Prince St (Flushing), 27-53 Jackson Ave (Long Island City), 971 Amsterdam Ave (Upper West Side) and 241A W 42nd St (Times Square)

Why Not 100? An excellent tart. Forgettable drinks.

Born in Shanghai in 2016, Lelecha made its name with the dirty bun, a cocoa-dusted bun that went viral in China. NYC has one shop so far, in Midtown, with the pastries laid out on mirrored steel tables.

The oversized butter caramel tart has flaky pastry and enough custard to share.

The catch: the drinks. The tea flavor is faint, and the wait runs longer than expected. Get the tart and skip the tea.

• 1032 6th Ave, Midtown

Auntie Approved: not too sweet, which is the highest praise.

Bao Caisheng founded it in Beijing in 2004. The chain is famous for its Xiaobei floss cake and sold more than 200 million of them in a single year. Its first US shop is in Flushing, with an open kitchen so you can watch the bakers work.

The coffee floss cake is soft inside with a crisp coating, and the sweet-savory balance works. The egg tarts are worth a look too.

Vs. China: a friend who has eaten it in China and in Flushing called it “ok,” then admitted they have the “not too sweet” thing down. From an auntie, that’s a rave.

• 135-25 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing

Why Not 100? A good latte stuck behind an annoying app.

Founded in Beijing in 2017, Luckin is China’s biggest coffee chain, with more stores there than Starbucks. NYC has 22 shops and counting.

The coconut latte is creamy and coconut-forward, a treat with your caffeine. Once the app is set up, the discounts make a real difference.

The catch: ordering is app only, with no cashier. In China it takes a couple of taps. Here you download, sign up and add a card before your first sip, so do it before you get in line.

Vs. China: same look and vibe as Shanghai, a slightly different flavor, and harder to order.

• App-only ordering
• 22 Manhattan shops, from 102 Fulton St to 2799 Broadway (all on the map)

Why Not 100? Better coffee than Luckin. Tiny shops, sweet hand.

Cotti was started by former Luckin executives and has grown to more than 14,000 stores in 28 countries. It’s Luckin’s rival in every way, and on taste it holds up better: the coconut latte is thick and smooth, with plenty of coconut, and it costs less.

Two coconut lattes from two former colleagues. Cotti wins the cup.

The catch: even reduced sugar tastes more like dessert than an everyday coffee, and the shops are tiny. Plan on takeaway.

• 345 7th Ave (Penn Station), 79 Clinton St (Lower East Side), 482 3rd Ave, 912 7th Ave, 223 E 14th St, and 135-29 Roosevelt Ave and 41-28 Main St (Flushing)

Auntie Approved: a big, comforting bowl, served fast.

A rice noodle chain founded in China in 2018 that opened more than 400 stores there in five years. US franchisees can add their own dishes, so some menus also carry pho or ramen. It made our noodle shop list too.

The broth is comforting, with generous mushrooms and tofu skin. The noodles are on the soft side, but the bowl is a full lunch.

Vs. China: very close, if not the same.

• 38-10 Prince St (Flushing) and 42-26 Bell Blvd (Bayside)

Auntie Approved: fun to build, gentle heat. Watch the scale.

Malatang is a Sichuan street soup you build yourself: fill a bowl with meat, vegetables, tofu and noodles, pick a broth, and the kitchen cooks it. You pay by weight. The scale does the math.

YGF started in 2003 as a street stall in Harbin and is now the world’s largest malatang chain. Load up on tofu skin, mushrooms and noodles in beef bone broth, or try the sesame-peanut spicy mix. The heat is gentle, and the price climbs fast once you get carried away. It’s also a dollar a pound more than its rival, next on this list.

Vs. China: mostly a takeout counter there. Here, a sit-down upgrade.

• 92 3rd Ave, East Village (its only NYC shop)

Why Not 100? It tastes like China. The bill and the wait don’t.

YGF’s biggest rival back home, with more than 5,000 stores across Asia-Pacific and the same pick-your-ingredients setup.

The dry pot is the stronger choice here, with enough flavor to make a bowl of vegetables, meat and tofu properly satisfying.

The catch: at $15.99 a pound, a heavy hand adds up fast, and the peak-hour line doesn’t help. An occasional craving fix rather than a weekly habit.

Vs. China: the spicy hot pot tastes just like it does there.

• 66 Mott St, Manhattan Chinatown

Auntie Approved: the service is the show.

Founded in Sichuan in 1994, Haidilao is one of the world’s biggest hot pot chains, famous for its extras: snacks, games and free manicures while you wait for a table. Most restaurants apologize for the wait. This one does your nails.

Staff check in all meal long, and the noodle dance gives the table a show between rounds. Every friend at the table said the same thing: exactly like Haidilao in China.

Vs. China: simpler décor and less intense service. The noodle show and face-changing (变脸, the Sichuan opera mask-switching act) made the trip.

• 138-23 39th Ave, Flushing
• Book ahead

Auntie Approved: real Sichuan heat.

A Sichuan hot pot brand founded in 2014 that reached 1,000 locations worldwide in six years. Its North American flagship is at Tangram in Flushing: carved wood, lanterns, the works.

The broth has real depth and heat, a split pot makes sharing easy, and staff make ordering simple. The sauce bar is charged separately, on top of an already big bill.

Vs. China: the spice is almost Sichuan level.

• 133-36 37th Ave (Tangram), Flushing
• Sauce bar costs extra

Why Not 100? Strong stir-fries, but milder and wetter than home.

One of China’s best-known Hunan brands, founded in 2017, chose Flushing for its first US restaurant. A three-level flagship is coming to Restaurant Row in Manhattan.

The stir-fries are the best part of the menu. Stinky tofu is Changsha’s famous fermented street snack: funky to smell, and a rite of passage for Hunan food fans.

The catch: the spice is gentler than expected for Hunan, and some dishes come out slightly watery. Holding a kitchen’s standard on another continent is hard.

Vs. China: not quite there yet.

• 135-15 37th Ave, Flushing

Why Not 100? A famous name. Soggy steamed baskets.

The Hong Kong pick. Chef Mak Kwai Pui left a three-Michelin-star hotel kitchen in 2009 to open a tiny dim sum shop in Kowloon, and within a year it had a star of its own.

On this visit, many of the steamed dim sum came out over-steamed and soggy, and service was slow. Friends who know the Hong Kong and Singapore branches called it a disappointment next to home.

The catch: the steamed baskets. Stick to the baked pork buns, the one dish that held up in our dim sum guide too, and go local for a full dim sum spread.

Vs. Hong Kong: not close.

• 85 4th Ave, East Village