![]() This has been a long stand-by in Chinese restaurants, placing the more “exotic” foods off-menu or untranslated to prevent a mishap. Also, Hop Kee features a “secret menu,” filled with dishes not available to the average American. The consistency of taste is hard to match and worth the extra cost (~$8 Hop, ~14 Kee). Once you add up all the factors and run them through a rather complex algorithm you’ll see that Hop Kee emerges the winner. Anthony Bourdain and Chris Cheung ate here on “No Reservations” and said it was the last bastion of old school Cantonese cuisine: name-drop+2.Servers were friendly, but ignored many requests/sometimes forget my existence: service-1.Very large portions, so much that if you had to eat one plate by yourself you would get sick: family-style+2, solitary-2.We’re talking about fortune cookies and they made do a double-take: surprise+2 Fortune cookies at the end were remarkably good.Servers were quick and polite: service+1, authenticity-1.Crispy noodle crackers: yum+1, authenticity-2.The other items were lackluster and merely served to fill up my gullet. At one point I was questioned if I was trying to get the marrow out (I wasn’t). I went to work, sucking all the meat off the bone, pausing for nothing let alone a little dinner (supper?) conversation. This was the traditional roast duck, covered with the skin and fat, just the way I love it. Now I have to say that I’m a huge sucker for roast duck. A delightful combination, but beware of sharp shell shards.Īt Wo Hop I’ve had a more conservative number of dishes: pork wonton soup with egg, chicken chow fun, and roast duck (server’s recommendation). The best way to eat these is to use the shell as your bowl, mix in rice and the sauce, and dig in. The crabs don’t come fully loaded, but are filled with a modest portion of crab roe. The crab comes with hard shells intact, swimming in a sauce made of chili, egg, and soy sauce. The shrimp, while not cooked to perfection, are jumbo-sized and the nuts add a nice crunch and texture. The twist from normal mayo comes in the form of sweet and tangy. The shrimp come in this white, creamy sauce akin to “Asian mayo”. The two dishes that I enjoyed most were the Shrimp with walnuts and Cantonese crab. At Hop Kee I’ve tasted a handful of dishes: shrimp with walnuts, shrimp with cashews, Cantonese crab, black bean snails, and some others (I eat a healthy amount). Comfort and authenticity advantage: Hop Kee. Exclusivity and hipness advantage: Wo Hop. Hop Kee is lightly decorated, giving off a homey feel, whereas Wo Hop has bright lights and a wall covered with celebrity photos, reminding me more of a diner. I don’t know what kind of delinquent decides to go eat at 3:30, but I was forced to wait a good 20 minutes at that odd hour. Thus, when I went to Wo Hop at 3:30 PM one Saturday afternoon, there was a line coming up the stairs ( signal tourist trap). Hop Kee is much larger and accessible, while Wo Hop has a small dining room fitting maybe 25 people. To give you the physical description, both dining areas are located underground, giving you that authentic-grungy feel. Both restaurants have near cult like followings, with debates over which is the better (whose cuisine will reign supreme?) so I had to try them both out to get my own opinion. ![]() ![]() from Canal and you will find yourself staring at both of them, side by side, large signs standing out from the buildings. Wo Hop and Hop Kee are two titans located in the heart of Chinatown, Manhattan. ![]() It is a long and arduous debate to figure out which Chinese restaurant is the best and most authentic in any Chinatown area. ![]()
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