Oldest Dim Sum Restaurant in NYC “Nom Wah Tea Parlor” Since 1920
Nom Wah Tea Parlor 13 Doyers St. ( b/w Bowery & Chatham Sq. in Chinatown, Civic Center ) NYC
Many tourists want to know where the best dim sum is in NYC’s Chinatown, right!? Golden Unicorn is one of the more popular dim sum places. I sometimes go to Oriental Garden on Elizabeth and Dim Sum Go Go on East Broadway. If you’re a vegetarian, then maybe Vegetarian Dim Sum on Pell Street is the place for you. My friend, Steve, told me about Nom Wah Tea Parlor a while ago and it was on my Chinatown checklist. So, last weekend my friend and I came here to patrol. This place was on my checklist was because it is the oldest dim sum place in Chinatown NY. Guess what… since 1920!!!!!!
| Overall | Food | Atmosphere | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| ♥♥♥ | ♥♥♥ |
♥♥ |
$$ |
They are located on one of the unique streets in Chinatown called Doyers St. It is kind of a hidden street and you can enter from Pell St. or Bowery St
When we got there, the place was pretty busy and the waiter told us there was a 10 minute wait. He then handed us a ticket. I thought the wait was not bad at all. He quickly called our number and we were seated at a table. Dim Sum is better if you come with more than four people so that you can try many different dishes. This time it was just me and a friend so, between the two of us, we shared six different dim sum plus dumpling soup. It was a perfect amount of food for the two of us. My favorite was the Shrimp Roll and Shrimp Dumpling. I always order Lotus Rice. Unfortunately, both of our rice was super stuck to the leaf and it was hard to eat, but it was still very tasty. My friend ordered egg rolls and I didn’t really care for them. Egg rolls are not my favorite. They are too oily for my taste.
It’s a little pricier here than other Dim Sum places in Chinatown. I’d give it one more $ for each dish.
I have no idea why, but the decor of place is American dinner style! haha! 🙂
Overall my friend and I were very happy with our visit. We paid $50 total. If you are looking for a dim sum place for the weekend, I suggest you try here. I won’t go back anytime soon, but I’m happy to have checked this place off my Dim Sum list.
PS– If you want to experience the cart that gets wheeled around you, then this is not the right place for you. This place takes your order and the food is all served by your waiter from the kitchen.
