Manhattan Chinatown

Manhattan Chinatown Food Crawl: 4 Stops Under $20

A Manhattan Chinatown food crawl with rice rolls, pineapple buns, roast meats, and dumplings: two meals for under $20, plus optional stops for a whole day.

By J. Jiang · Food crawl · How we review

This Manhattan Chinatown food crawl is a takeout route with one true street food cart. The four-stop core route covers a rice roll, a pineapple bun from a bakery founded in 1968, Cantonese roast meats, and Fujianese dumplings. That’s breakfast and lunch for under $20, and for most people, a full half day.

Want to make a whole day of it? Three optional stops add tofu pudding from a family business with roots dating to 1933, hand-pulled noodles, and ice cream. Selected swaps along the way cover different tastes, no pork, no seafood, vegetarian diets, and dessert-free days. New to town? Start with how New York built its Chinatowns.

Prices and hours change, so confirm before you go.

The plan

Core route	Stops 1 to 4. $17.80 for one of each listed order. Breakfast and lunch. Easy to do solo.
Full route	All 7 stops. About $48 for one of each listed order. Split between two people: about $24 each.
Not included	Drinks, add-ons, card surcharges, and swaps, which can cost more
Walking	Estimated from maps, excluding queues, breaks, and detours: about 20 minutes for the core route, about 35 minutes for the full route in the order below
Time	About half a day for the core route. Most of a day for all 7, depending on queues and breaks.
Days	Tuesday to Sunday. Wah Fung No. 1 and Fong On are closed Mondays.

Four stops sounds like a warm-up. It’s breakfast and lunch: a rice roll and a bun in the morning, then roast meats and dumplings. For most people, that’s plenty.

Want the whole day? Keep going in order: tofu pudding in the afternoon (Fong On closes at 7 PM), noodles at Tasty for dinner, and ice cream to finish. Do it with a friend and split every order, or your stomach will give up before the route does.

Start whenever you like. Only the cart is a morning stop. Starting later? Begin at Tonii’s instead (see stop 1).

The Manhattan Chinatown food crawl route

1. Cheong Fun Cart, 159 Hester St at Elizabeth St (core)
2. Mei Lai Wah, 41 Mott St (core)
3. Wah Fung No. 1, 79 Chrystie St (core)
4. Shu Jiao Fu Zhou, 295 Grand St (core)
5. Fong On, 81 Division St
6. Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles, 1 Doyers St
7. Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, 65 Bayard St

1. Cheong Fun Cart · Core route

Hester St and Elizabeth St, in front of Hong Kong Supermarket · No seating

Cash only · Sells out · Queue

Order: a small dried shrimp rice roll (cheung fun), $3.50. You can add an egg if you like.

A street cart that steams rice rolls to order and tops them with soy sauce, scallions, and hot sauce. It works best as a morning stop. Hours and availability vary, and reviewers report it closes when it sells out.

Swaps:

• Not into shrimp, or no seafood: order the beef or pork roll, or a plain rice roll with egg.
• Starting later, or the cart isn’t there: Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodle, 83 Bayard St, about 7 minutes’ walk. Listed as open daily from 7:30 AM and as taking cards. Online menu price for rice rolls: about $8.75.
• Vegetarian: Tonii’s lists a mixed vegetable rice noodle roll. Ask whether the sauce contains fish, shrimp, oyster sauce, or other animal ingredients.

2. Mei Lai Wah · Core route

41 Mott St · Opens 8:30 AM daily · Cards accepted with a 3% surcharge

Sells out · Queue

Order: pineapple bun with roast pork (char siu bo lo bao), $3.30 before tax.

A sweet bun with a crackly sugar top and roast pork inside. There’s no pineapple in it. The name refers to the crust. The bakery started on Bayard St in 1968 and is now at 41 Mott St. Reviews often warn that the roast pork buns sell out.

Swaps:

• Less sweet: the steamed roast pork bun, $2.75.
• No pork filling: the custard pineapple bun, $3.30.

3. Wah Fung No. 1 · Core route

79 Chrystie St · Tuesday to Sunday, 9 AM to 7 PM · Closed Mondays · Takeout only

Cash only · Queue

Order: the small three-meat combo over rice, with roast pork, roast duck, and chicken, $7.

Roast meats chopped to order, served over rice and cabbage. I went for the three-meat combo. It’s only $1 more than roast pork over rice ($6), and a two-meat box of your choice costs $6.50. Three meats for one extra dollar. The math does itself.

Lines can go out the door at lunch, and the small is easy to split between two people.

Swaps:

• No pork: a two-meat box of roast duck and chicken, $6.50.

4. Shu Jiao Fu Zhou · Core route

295 Grand St · A few seats

Cash only · Queue

Order: 6 pork and chive dumplings, boiled, $4. By stop four, six is plenty. Still hungry? 10 for $5.50.

Shu Jiao serves Fujianese food from Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province. It’s a different cooking tradition from the Cantonese buns and roast meats earlier on the route. Reviews say it’s packed at weekday lunch.

Swaps:

• Want crunch: get them pan-fried, like the ones in the photo, 7 for $5.
• No pork: chicken and chive or chicken and mushroom dumplings, same counter.
• Vegetarian: Vanessa’s Dumpling House, 118A Eldridge St, about 2 minutes’ walk, for vegetable dumplings, online menu price $9.75. If you’re vegan, confirm the whole order is vegan: filling, wrapper, and sauce. Card payment is listed, but bring cash for a small order.

5. Fong On · Optional

81 Division St · 11 AM to 7 PM · Closed Mondays · Cards accepted · A couple of tables

Order: the small Can’t Go Wrong sweet tofu pudding (douhua), which comes with taro balls, grass jelly, and red beans, from $9.

The Eng family’s tofu business dates to 1933. Its earlier shop closed in 2017, and Fong On reopened on Division St in 2019. The tofu, soy milk, and pudding are made in the shop.

Get the small. There’s more to eat.

Swaps:

• Fewer toppings: plain tofu pudding with syrup, $6 to $8.
• No dessert: the savory tofu pudding, topped with dried shrimp and pickled radish. It contains seafood.

6. Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles · Optional

1 Doyers St · Opens 10:30 AM daily · Small dining room and outdoor tables, roughly 20 to 30 seats

Cash only · Queue

Order: beef noodle soup with hand-pulled noodles, $12.50.

You choose the noodle shape: regular, wide, or thick hand-pulled, or knife-cut. Reviewers mention watching the noodles being made from the dining room. Doyers St itself is worth the stop. It’s the short, bent street at the old center of the neighborhood.

Swaps:

• Not a soup person: order your noodles pan-fried.
• No pork or vegetarian: the menu labels these vegetarian: soft tofu and vegetable noodle soup ($13), vegetable and egg noodle soup ($9), and pan-fried vegetable noodles (from $12.50).
• Prefer Cantonese noodles: Great N.Y. Noodletown, 28 Bowery, about 3 minutes’ walk, for shrimp wonton noodle soup. Open Sunday to Thursday 9 AM to 10 PM, Friday and Saturday 9 AM to 11 PM. Cash only. If you avoid pork, ask what else goes into the wontons.

7. Chinatown Ice Cream Factory · Optional

65 Bayard St · Listed hours 11 AM to 10 PM daily · Standing room

Cash only

Order: one scoop of black sesame, $9.

Family-run since 1978. Plan to eat outside.

Swaps:

• Not into sesame: pandan or almond cookie.
• No dessert: end the crawl with noodles at Tasty.

Where to sit or pause

• Columbus Park, near Mei Lai Wah, is known for its morning card and Chinese chess games.
• Sara D. Roosevelt Park, a block from Wah Fung No. 1 and Shu Jiao Fu Zhou, is the easiest place to sit with takeout.
• Manhattan Bridge walkway, a few minutes from Fong On. Walk the first stretch for skyline views.
• Mahayana Buddhist Temple, 133 Canal St, open daily 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM.

Guess How Much? The food crawl budget

#	Order	Route	Price basis	Amount
1	Small dried shrimp rice roll	Core	Counter price	$3.50
2	Pineapple bun with roast pork	Core	Menu price	$3.30
3	Small three-meat combo over rice	Core	Counter price	$7.00
4	6 boiled pork and chive dumplings	Core	Counter price	$4.00
5	Small Can’t Go Wrong tofu pudding	Optional	Counter price, from	$9.00
6	Beef noodle soup, hand-pulled	Optional	Counter price	$12.50
7	One scoop	Optional	Counter price	$9.00
	Core route, one of each			$17.80
	Full route, one of each			About $48

All amounts are before tax. Drinks, add-ons, card surcharges, and swaps can add more.

Save more, or add more

Change	Cost
Roast pork only at Wah Fung instead of the combo	Save $1. Core route: $16.80
Pay cash at Mei Lai Wah	Skip the 3% card surcharge
Share the full route with a friend	About half each
Add the tofu pudding combo at Fong On	+$9, or +$6 to $8 for plain tofu pudding
Add hand-pulled noodles at Tasty	+$12.50, or +$9 for vegetable and egg noodle soup
Add a scoop at the Ice Cream Factory	+$9

Practical box

Subway	Canal St (J, Z, N, Q, R, W, 6) for stop 1. Grand St (B, D) for stops 3 and 4.
Cash only	Cheong Fun Cart, Wah Fung No. 1, Shu Jiao Fu Zhou, Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, Great N.Y. Noodletown. Core route: bring $20 in small bills. Full route: about $40.
Closed Mondays	Wah Fung No. 1 and Fong On
Allergies	We couldn’t confirm any of these kitchens as free of peanuts, shellfish, or other allergens. Ask about ingredients and shared equipment at every stop.

Bring small bills and start with the cart if you’re up early. Still choosing a neighborhood? Read Manhattan vs Flushing vs Sunset Park.