Eat in Chinatown (chinatown), New York City

Wu's Wonton King ★ 4.4

Wu's Wonton King on East Broadway carves a $58 Peking duck table-side in New York City. Big rooms, Lazy Susan service, two-bird minimum on busy nights.

Signature: Peking duck, Wonton soup

Order: Peking duck, three courses; wonton soup to start.

Tip: Order the duck when you book; same-day requests are routinely refused. BYOB with a small corkage.

Hwa Yuan Szechuan ★ 4.3

Hwa Yuan on East Broadway brought Sichuan cooking to New York City Chinatown in 1968, closed in 1992, and was rebuilt by the founder's family in 2017.

Signature: Cold sesame noodles, General Tso's chicken, Peking duck

Order: Cold sesame noodles to start, General Tso's chicken in the founder's original sweet-and-savoury glaze.

Tip: The cold sesame noodles claim to be the original American version; whether or not you buy that, order them.

Joe's Shanghai ★ 4.2

Joe's Shanghai on Bowery has popularised the soup dumpling in Manhattan's Chinatown in New York City since 1997. Cash-friendly, big rooms, family-style sharing.

Signature: Soup dumplings, Drunken crab

Order: Pork-and-crab xiao long bao, eight per basket.

Tip: No reservations; expect 30 minutes at peak weekend lunch. Bring cash to speed up the tab.

Xi'an Famous Foods ★ 4.5

Jason Wang's Xi'an Famous Foods has slung hand-pulled biang biang noodles in New York City since 2005. The St Marks counter is the original Manhattan shop; eight stools.

Try: Spicy cumin lamb biang biang noodles

Tip: Order the spicy cumin lamb biang biang noodles. The liang pi cold-skin noodles in summer are the secondary order.

Vanessa's Dumpling House ★ 4.2

Vanessa's on Eldridge Street has sold four dumplings for $1.50 in Manhattan's Chinatown, New York City since 1999. Pan-fried, steamed or boiled, chive-and-pork the staple.

Try: Pork chive dumplings, four for $1.50

Tip: The sesame pancake stuffed with beef is the off-the-menu cult order. Cash speeds up the line at lunch.

Wu's Wonton King ★ 4.4

Why locals love it: Locals book the back room for whole roast duck two days ahead; the front room counter draws walk-ins for noodles and dim sum without the long lines tourists hit elsewhere.

Tip: Call to pre-order Peking duck; same-day requests are routinely refused. BYOB with a small corkage fee per bottle.

Great N.Y. Noodletown ★ 4.3

Great N.Y. Noodletown on Bowery has poured roast-meat congee until 04:00 in Manhattan Chinatown New York City since 1981. Salt-baked shrimp, BBQ duck, hand-pulled noodles.

Try: Salt-baked seafood, BBQ duck

Tip: The duck noodle soup at 02:00 is the order. Cash speeds the bill; counter and floor service both move fast.