Dim sum at Chinatown Brasserie

Dim sum at Chinatown Brasserie
Originally uploaded by goyumcha


Fried- shrimp swans a swimming. Pretty and yummy!

In search of ...

"Hole in the walls"

Hole in the walls are grungy places that barely pass DOH inspections but provide the most delicious and most wallet-friendly meals.

The old Mei Lai Wah was inarguably the best hole in the wall. It had the best char siu baos (pork buns) and cheong funs (beef/shrimp noodles). The word got around somehow. Non-chinese/cantonese speaking die-hards and adventurers (myself included, sort of) would frequent. On many occasions, customers would buy char siu baos by the dozens to go. However, it didn't take a genius to realize that the tattered condition of this treasure trove would lend itself to DOH shut-down, amongst other reasons according to foodie blogs.

Soon afterwards, a new Mei Li Wah emerged. To my disappointment, I've step foot once only to leave without a nai cha (milk tea) because it was overcrowded and to realize that the old 1950s coffee house ambiance had been replaced by a more [still looking for the right adjective] atmosphere surrounded by brilliant colors.

The next best place is perhaps the nearby Chatham Square Restaurant‎ at 9 Chatham Square (which is the old-school place with a red awning, not to be confused with the restaurant next door at 6 Chatham Square which has the same name). Agreed or disagreed?

Best Places in Brooklyn & Queens

Compiling a list of good places in the outer boroughs was a bit tougher than I anticipated because there isn't a "top 10" type list for Brooklyn or Queens at my favorite food sites. I've only been to some of these places (noted below). This list will be in the works and here's a start:

Brooklyn

World Tong Seafood (Best Dim Sum in Brooklyn according to Best of Asian America)
6202 18th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11204

Pacificana (4 stars based on 18 reviews at Yelp)
813 55th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11230


Queens

New Broadway Seafood Restaurant (my favorite dim sum restaurant in Queens)
8317 Broadway, Elmhurst, NY 11373

Ping’s (one of my favorites)
8302 Queens Blvd, Elmhurst, NY 11373

East Ocean Palace (formerly Golden Pond Seafood) (one of my favorites)
113-15 Queens Blvd, Forest Hills

Gala Manor (best dim sum in Flushing as per About.com)
37-02 Main St, Flushing, NY 11354

Ocean Jewels Seafood Restaurant (3rd best dim sum in Flushing as per About.com)
133-30 39th Ave, Flushing

East Lake Dim Sum (Best Economical Dim Sum in Flushing according to Best of Asian America)
42-33 Main St, Flushing

Top Dim Sum Restaurants in NYC

Although reasonable prudent foodies will differ, here are some worthy places to spoil yourself silly in Manhattan.

Best of Citysearch: Dim Sum
http://newyork.citysearch.com/bestof/winners/dim_sum

Hop Shing
9 Chatham Sq , New York , NY , 10038-1027

New Green Bo
66 Bayard St , New York , NY , 10013-4940

Jing Fong Restaurant
20 Elizabeth St 2nd Fl , New York , NY , 10013-4802

Ruby Foo's Times Square
1626 Broadway , New York , NY , 10019-7408

Our Place Shanghai Tea Garden
141 E 55th St , New York , NY , 10022-4030

MetroCafe & Wine Bar
32 East 21st Street , New York , NY , 10010-7201

Dim Sum Go Go
5 E Broadway , New York , NY , 10038

Ollie's Sichuan Restaurant
411 West 42nd St , New York , NY , 10036

Forbidden City
212 Avenue A , New York , NY , 10009


Here's About.com's list of top places:
http://gonyc.about.com/od/restaurants/tp/topdimsum.htm
(some of which are also recommended by the Citysearch audience)

Ping's Seafood
22 Mott St.

Jing Fong Restaurant (also a Citysearch favorite)
20 Elizabeth Street

Dim Sum Go Go (also a Citysearch favorite)
5 E. Broadway

Golden Unicorn
18 East Broadway

Oriental Pearl
103-105 Mott Street

Oriental Garden
14 Elizabeth St

Vegetarian Dim Sum House
24 Pell Street


Brooklyn and Queens Dim Sum restaurants to come.