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Tucked away on Mott Street, this small spot has been a quiet staple in Manhattan’s Chinatown for nearly five decades. 🥢✨...
09/29/2026

Tucked away on Mott Street, this small spot has been a quiet staple in Manhattan’s Chinatown for nearly five decades. 🥢✨

Originally opened by Lao Chen, who immigrated from Taishan with family recipes and the belief that a simple bowl of noodles can warm anyone’s heart, the restaurant is now lovingly carried on across generations. Their signature soup base is still simmered low and slow for over ten hours with fresh bones and seafood, producing a rich, deeply comforting broth that tastes like home.

✨ What we ordered
🍲 Plain Wonton Soup (Signature)
🍚 House Special Fried Rice
🐷 Salt & Pepper Pork Chops
🫛Stir-Fried String Beans
🍗 General Tso’s Chicken

Whether you’re stopping in for their classic wontons or sharing a bunch of plates family-style, it remains an authentic, you’ll feel right at home with these traditional Cantonese dishes.

Save this spot for your next casual lunch or dinner crawl through Chinatown! 👇

📍 Wonton Noodle 1978 | 56 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

👉🏻 Follow Brian ☆ ｎｙｃ｜ｎｊ for honest food reviews, fun things to do, and more! 😌

The newest Thai spot in midtown lives up to its name by bringing the true essence of Thailand to NYC with incredible dep...
09/08/2026

The newest Thai spot in midtown lives up to its name by bringing the true essence of Thailand to NYC with incredible depth and authenticity! Did you know Sawaan means “paradise” in Thai? 🇹🇭✨ Well that’s exactly what this is - a food paradise 🙂‍↕️

✨ What we ordered
🥩 Yum Jeaw Beef Brisket – Tender, braised beef brisket tossed with sliced shallots, scallions, sweet tomatoes, and an addictive, spicy-tangy chili tamarind dressing
🐟 Kamin Branzino – A show-stopping whole branzino fried to golden, crunchy perfection, coated in aromatic turmeric and a mountain of crispy fried garlic
🍜 Beef Shank Khao Soi – Chewy egg noodles swimming in a rich, velvety Northern-style coconut curry broth, topped with fork-tender braised beef shank, pickled mustard greens, shallots, and cilantro.
🦐 Seafood Pad Cha – A fiery, sizzling stir-fry loaded with plump shrimp, squid, and mussels tossed with fresh chili, garlic, rhizome, pungent Thai green peppercorns, and sweet basil
🍖 Pork Baby Back Ribs Panang Curry – Fall-off-the-bone braised ribs coated in a rich, nutty, and savory Panang curry brightened with aromatic kaffir lime leaves
🥢 Palo – Comfort in a bowl: succulent pork belly braised in a fragrant sweet-savory soy and cinnamon broth, finished with crispy shallots and fresh cilantro
🍹Mango sticky drink - mango and passion fruit blended with cream, smashed fresh mango, and toasted coconut

Also you know it’s authentic when the server tells you it’s Thai spicy and they don’t do adjustments! 🥵

Which of these dishes would you dig into first? Save this spot for your next dinner date in the city! 👇

📍 Sawaan Thai | 45 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018

📸 Fujifilm X-T4 with XF 23mm f/1.4R
🎥 4K at 30FPS

👉🏻 Follow Brian ☆ ｎｙｃ｜ｎｊ for honest food reviews, fun things to do, and more! 😌

If you love comforting noodles and hidden food gems, add Guksu Jip (국수집) in Flushing to your list! 🍜✨This casual neighbo...
08/18/2026

If you love comforting noodles and hidden food gems, add Guksu Jip (국수집) in Flushing to your list! 🍜✨

This casual neighborhood noodle shop specializes in fresh naengmyeon! A standout feature here is their self-service concept—which means no tipping wooooo

Their menu shines with Korean classics, especially their signature naengmyeon packed with generous, colorful toppings.

✨ What we ordered:
🧊 Signature Cold Noodles (시그니처 냉면 / 特色延边冷面) – Refreshing buckwheat noodles served in a tangy, chilled beef broth, loaded with sliced beef, savory meatballs, cabbage, cucumber, egg, pine nuts, and a spicy sauce blend.
🥞 Mung Bean Pancake (녹두 빈대떡 / 绿豆饼) – Freshly griddled, savory mung bean pancake with a delightfully crispy golden crust.
🥩 Mini Pork Cutlet (미니 돈까스) – Crispy panko-breaded fried pork cutlet that makes a great pairing with the cold noodles.

The cold broth has the right balance of tangy, savory, and spicy flavors to keep every bite refreshing, while the crunchy mung bean pancake and crispy pork cutlet round out the meal nicely. Oh and all the banchan is self-serve too. The mac salad here is legit! And the kimchi is on the fresher side as well.

Have you tried naengmyeon before? Save this spot for your next food run to Flushing! 👇

📍 Guksu Jip (국수집) | 160-28 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY 11358

📸 Fujifilm X-T4 with XF 23mm f/1.4R
🎥 4K at 30FPS

👉🏻 Follow Brian ☆ ｎｙｃ｜ｎｊ for honest food reviews, fun things to do, and more! 😌

Never did I expect to find one of the better fried chicken sandwiches I’ve had in recent memory from a coffee shop! This...
07/21/2026

Never did I expect to find one of the better fried chicken sandwiches I’ve had in recent memory from a coffee shop! This local family-owned, small-batch roaster is also serving up some serious eats.

And they don’t skimp you on portions because this baby is thicc! From the brussel sprout coleslaw to the plum chipotle sauce to the Zataar fries they hit all the notes. Plus their other food items looked really good too. No wonder they’ve been a staple in Sunset Park for the last 25 years :)

📍Yafa Cafe | 4415 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11220

📸 Fujifilm X-T4 with XF 23mm f/1.4R
🎥 4K at 30FPS

👉🏻 Follow Brian ☆ ｎｙｃ｜ｎｊ for NYC food reviews and hidden gems ! 😌

There’s a new must try restaurant on Lower East Side! This spot specializes in northeastern Chinese cuisine, Dongbei! I’...
07/14/2026

There’s a new must try restaurant on Lower East Side! This spot specializes in northeastern Chinese cuisine, Dongbei! I’m not as familiar with this one but was excited to try new dishes.

The space itself is pretty big and the dishes are definitely better sharing family style amongst friends and family. So bring them all and let us know what you think!

📍Little Pine 小松家宴 | 125 Division St, New York, NY 10002

📸 Fujifilm X-T4 with XF 23mm f/1.4R
🎥 4K at 30FPS

👉🏻 Follow Brian ☆ ｎｙｃ｜ｎｊ for NYC food reviews and hidden gems ! 😌

My girlfriend and I FINALLY tried the viral bakery because like damn is it hard to find time to go with work…but let’s t...
06/30/2026

My girlfriend and I FINALLY tried the viral bakery because like damn is it hard to find time to go with work…but let’s talk about our haul and our honest review!

We arrived before their 10am late morning focaccia drop and decided to go with 4 items that ended up being about $45. We’ll definitely have to go back for the late morning focaccia at some point but now that you’ve read our thoughts, yay or nay?

📸 Fujifilm X-T4 with XF 23mm f/1.4R
🎥 4K at 30FPS

👉🏻 Follow Brian ☆ ｎｙｃ｜ｎｊ for NYC food reviews and hidden gems ! 😌

There’s a new Cambodian-Japanese izakaya in Greenpoint! That’s right Cambodian and Japanese. Brought to you by Chef Dan ...
06/23/2026

There’s a new Cambodian-Japanese izakaya in Greenpoint! That’s right Cambodian and Japanese. Brought to you by Chef Dan Sa, who is fusing the Khmer flavors his grandma taught him growing up with the Japanese techniques he’s refined over the years.

We got a sneak peek at some new menu items Dan San has been working on! Definitely perfect dishes for the summer to share with friends.

But wait there’s also a speakeasy hidden behind the doors down the hall The Hidden Pearl ! Don’t forget to check it out :)

📍Wanpaku | 621 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222

📸 Fujifilm X-T4 with XF 23mm f/1.4R
🎥 4K at 30FPS

👉🏻 Follow Brian ☆ ｎｙｃ｜ｎｊ for NYC food reviews and hidden gems ! 😌

Yeah yeah another Flushing food crawl…but here’s some of my personal favorite spots plus new ones!! And since it’s AAPI ...
05/19/2026

Yeah yeah another Flushing food crawl…but here’s some of my personal favorite spots plus new ones!! And since it’s AAPI Heritage Month don’t forget to support your AAPI local businesses 🙏🏻

What other Flushing spots should I check out?

📸 Fujifilm X-T4 with XF 23mm f/1.4R
🎥 4K at 30FPS

👉🏻 Follow  for NYC food reviews and hidden gems ! 😌

We recently went to on a spring day to try some treats! We’ve been looking forward to these ever since we saw their bak...
04/28/2026

We recently went to on a spring day to try some treats! We’ve been looking forward to these ever since we saw their baked goods :)

✨What we tried
🧀 Spinach & ricotta swirl
🥐 Black sesame tahini croissant
🫐 Blueberry cardamom bun
🌰 Pistachio lattice

If you’re looking to treat yourself, then it’s a yes from me! The pastries are good portions and fun spins on classics. They also have sandwiches and salads if you’re looking for something more substantial. Looking forward to trying their specials soon!

📍Somedays Bakery | Multiple locations in NYC

📸 Fujifilm X-T4 with XF 23mm f/1.4R
🎥 4K at 30FPS

👉🏻 Follow  for NYC food reviews and hidden gems ! 😌

It’s been a while since I’ve had Indian food but this spot on the Lower East Side is a must try! They have such a wide v...
04/16/2026

It’s been a while since I’ve had Indian food but this spot on the Lower East Side is a must try! They have such a wide variety of dishes from the classics to street snacks with a fun modern take.

✨What we ordered
🍗 Bhoot Jolokia Chicken Tikka
🌳 Gobi Munchurian
🥣 Puchka
🍖 Parsi Lamb Shank
🍚 Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani
🍛 Lauki Kofta Lababdaar
🫓 Garlic Naan

The lamb shank and chicken tikka were succulent but the real surprise was the lababdaar sauce from the kofta dish! It was amazing with some basmati rice and naan. Some of these dishes were new to me but the presentation and flavors really blew me away.

📍Gazab | 179 Essex St, New York, NY 10002

📸 Fujifilm X-T4 with XF 23mm f/1.4R
🎥 4K at 30FPS

👉🏻 Follow Brian ☆ ｎｙｃ｜ｎｊ for NYC food reviews and hidden gems ! 😌

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