"The energy at Four Kings is infectious—it’s easy to give yourself over to the always-full oblong dining room with old-school Canto-pop blasting through the speakers, shochu cocktail in hand. It helps that the wok-flamed Cantonese classics with twists are also fantastic, from mapo spaghetti and crackly fried squab to the saucy XO escargot. It takes some effort to get a table, but it’s worth it for a couple of hours here. Four Kings takes walk-ins at the 10-seat counter all night, and it's easier to snag one of those seats on the later end (after 9pm). Reservations are released on OpenTable three weeks ahead at midnight." - julia chen 1, lani conway, patrick wong