Mei Lai Wah | Wonton Noodle Garden

"In 2023, Mei Lai Wah took over Wonton Noodle Garden, rebranding it as Mei Lai Wah Wonton Noodle Bar at 23 Pell Street. It maintains a menu of pork wontons and pan-fried noodles, mostly priced around $10." - Melissa McCart

"Wonton Noodle Garden, which closed after four decades, was revived as an offshoot of Mei Lai Wah earlier this summer. The expanded menu has splendid wonton noodle soup with a wealth of big dumplings, Hong Kong-style wheat noodles, and the surprise addition of gluey pig feet, which fortify the broth immeasurably and make for some great chewing. Unusual for Chinatown, a bar serves draft beer in the back." - Robert Sietsema

"Wonton Noodle Garden, a restaurant anchored in Manhattan’s Chinatown for more than 40 years, closed at the start of the month: Its lease on Mott Street had expired and the landlord didn’t want to renew. It moved to a new storefront at 23 Pell Street, near Bayard Street, on June 3 and rebranded as Mei Lai Wah Wonton Noodle, a nod to another restaurant in the neighborhood from the same owners, Mei Lai Wah, which recently celebrated its 60-year anniversary and opened a Greenwich Village offshoot run by the owners’ children. The bakery became famous online during the pandemic for its $2.30 pineapple buns filled with barbecue pork. The menu at the takeover has stayed the same on Pell Street, where orders of pork wontons and pan-fried noodles, most priced around $10, are still served on disposable plates." - Emma Orlow

"Formerly Wonton Noodle Garden, this restaurant has relocated and rebranded, continuing its 40-year legacy in Manhattan’s Chinatown." - Emma Orlow