Hi there! In today’s post I will be sharing my guide to amazing places in eat in Chinatown, NYC. You can think of this as a customizable, DIY food tour – where you can pick and choose some wonderful places to eat from this list! Chinatown has so many incredible bakeries, cafes and restaurants; and you’re sure to find something you love!
Drinks
Alimama
For some of the most beautiful tea drinks you’ll ever see, head over to Alimama! They have incredible options like Yuzu Detox Lemonade and a Lychee Rose drink. Alimama also serves mochi donuts + cream puffs; and both are worth a try.
Sweet Moment
For the cutest coffee and tea drinks be sure to check out Sweet Moment! They serve adorable, colorful coffee and tea drinks with little animal faces on them. These drinks come in many unique flavors (like taro + red velvet,) and you definitely need to try one! Sweet Moment also serves tons of yummy and unique desserts that are certainly worth trying as well.
Savory
Mei Li Wah
This little restaurant is super well known for their buns, specifically their pork buns! At only $1.35 each, they are affordable and delicious. I also recommend trying their vegetable rice paper noodle rolls – they are the perfect vegetarian option!
Note: As I continue to visit more restaurants in Chinatown, I will update the savory section with more options!
Desserts
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
The Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is a must visit! They have tons of amazing ( + unique) flavors, and it’s so hard to choose which to get. My favorite is the blueberry, but I recommend trying a bunch!
Taiyaki
If soft-serve ice cream in a fish shaped cone sounds good to you, definitely check out Taiyaki! Not only is their ice cream super cute, it’s so good!
The Dough Club
Mochi donuts and ruby hot chocolate anyone? Check out The Dough Club for delicious donuts in a variety of flavors. I loved the berry lovely flavor, but you can’t go wrong with any of them! These are definitely a lovely treat to share with friends, or to give as a gift!
Kam Hing Coffee Shop
For delicious Chinese-style sponge cakes you have to check this place out! They come in a ton of amazing flavors (lemon, ube, green tea, etc), and are the perfect snack or breakfast with a cup of coffee. Although Kam Hing Coffee Shop is super well known for their sponge cakes, I couldn’t find them on the menu. Ask at the counter and they’ll let you know what flavors they have available. They are less than $1 each, so definitely try a bunch of flavors!
Keki Modern Cakes
Keki Modern Cakes is home to the original “bouncy” cheesecake! They come in a variety of flavors, but you should definitely start by trying the original – it’s amazing. At Keki Modern Cakes, you can only buy full cakes (not slices), but at $14 a piece they’re a reasonable price. Each cake serves 3-4 people, and is the perfect treat to share!
Bibble and Sip
Bibble and Sip is a fantastic spot for beautiful pastries and desserts. Each dessert was so cute, and it was really difficult to decide what to get! The cafe is subtly llama themed, and I personally really loved that! Bibble and Sip definitely is a great place to visit with friends to enjoy a coffee and a pastry.
Thanks so much for reading my guide to some of the most amazing places to eat in Chinatown, NYC! I definitely recommend visiting Chinatown and trying a bunch of different restaurants and bakeries. There are so many amazing options, and there is sure to be something for everyone! Let me know your favorite restaurants in Chinatown in the comments so I can check them out!
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Omg! That is the cutest coffee I have ever come across. Everything in this list looks so quirky and mouthwatering. Can’t wait to go to all of these places 😀 Thanks for such amazing suggestions.
Wow NYC’s Chinatown is definitely feel with food that IS THE BOMB! Those drinks from Alimama look INCREDIBLE! We have like a thousand bubble tea shops where I’m from but none serves up anything close to that!
The food is so aesthetic and I bet it tastes just as good as it looks! Chinatown Ice Cream Factory would be my first stop.
The drinks at Alimama look so colorful and tasty! I’d also love to try the sponge cakes – yum! Thanks for sharing this awesome post!
These are some very interesting food options. I think the one that caught my eye the most is the Alimama. I’ve never heard of it but it looks like something good to try.
How fun was it to do your research!? I can’t wait to go to NYC again and check these out!
Until reading your post, I hadn’t seen Chinatown as a place for desserts. On each visit to NYC I’ve gone to Chinatown for savoury foods and now I have a place to add to my list for pork buns, coffee, and Taiyaki. Thank you.
In my times in NYC I actually never spent that much time eating around Chinatown unfortunately so I definitely think I need to go back now. Love those coffees…how cute!
Yummy blog! Love that Yuzu Detox Lemonade from Alimama and teas with animal faces from Sweet moments. The bouncy cheesecake sounds delicious. Must visit the Chinatown in NYC soon! 🙂
ok seriously next time in NYC I am pulling this list up because I need to hit all of these for sure!
Wow, I love this! I want that Chinatown Flavor poster! The coffee with the face is also adorable. Hoping to get back into the city in a few weeks, may check some of these out!
Wow! All of these spots look so amazing. I truly need to explore Chinatown because there really is so many hidden gems there. You have me excited to check it out more this summer. 🙂
Oh yum. I can hardly wait to break loose and to visit Chinatown (any Chinatown anywhere). You girls arw lovely
This area has been hit so hard by the pandemic. Everyone please support them if you can!
I haven’t been to Chinatown in a while . This looks like a great day trip in the summer. I would love to explore the food and culture. Definitely have to try the coffee as well.
I missed too many of these when I was in NYC. Will not make the same mistake when I come there again. Thanks
I have never actually ate in Chinatown on the many visits to NYC. I will definitely check some of these out later this year. Thanks for a great post!