Hop Lee

"Along with spots like Wo Hop and Hop Kee, Hop Lee is a Cantonese-American Chinatown classic. Of the three, Hop Lee has the least destination-worthy food, but there’s plenty to love about this cash-only place. The complimentary fried wonton strips, for example, and candy-apple-red blazers on the no-nonsense servers. Open since 1973, Hop Lee works for anything from a casual group dinner to a birthday celebration that involves a huge round table covered in bowls of wonton soup and plates of steaming honey walnut shrimp. Avoid the Sichuan dishes—the mapo tofu doesn't taste like much—and focus on seafood, like the whole steamed bass in salty, oily black bean sauce. photo credit: Bryan Kim Food Rundown Walnut Shrimp You love mayo, right? Good. There’s lots of it here. These plump fried shrimp are doused in a thick, sweet mayo-heavy sauce. Always a solid choice. photo credit: Bryan Kim Roast Duck The roast pork at Hop Lee is not our favorite. It’s a little too dry and chewy. The duck, on the other hand, is great. Gnaw on the bones until you get all the tender, juicy meat." - Bryan Kim

"Given the size of the menu here, Eng suggests dining with a group of 8-10 for dinner. The order? “Lobster Cantonese style, young chow fried rice, clams with black bean sauce, fried squid, steamed fish, and shrimp and walnuts.”" - anna rahmanan

"In June we had a little mini banquet at Hop Lee of Peking duck, lobster Cantonese, crispy fried chicken with garlic sauce, yi mien, stuffed triple treasure, steamed sea bass with scallions and ginger, stir-fried snow pea shoots with garlic." - Eater Staff

"Across the street from Chinatown’s well-known Wo Hop is Hop Lee, a neighborhood source American-Chinese dishes and Cantonese-style seafood. The restaurant’s holiday takeout menu — available through January 2 — includes General Tso’s chicken, Singapore noodles, and stir-fried baby bok choy, which can be portioned for two or four ($20 to $40). Cash only." - Luke Fortney, Eater Staff