S Wan Cafe
Chinese restaurant · Chinatown ·
Cantonese cafe with rice noodles, congee, HK milk tea
Cantonese cafe with rice noodles, congee, HK milk tea
"Named after its proprietor, S Wan is a low-key walk-down space on Eldridge just south of Grand, one of a handful of new cha chaan tengs (tea restaurants) that appeal to a broad range of diners. The room has a row of small tables along each wall and its principal feature is a giant menu printed in Chinese and English, listing among dozens of dishes a series of Hong Kong-style breakfasts designated with capital letters. In one order, the eggs were cooked over easy, diner-style, so the yolks flowed yellow when cut into. The biggest surprise were the waffles, which were Eggo-sized, spread with peanut butter, and sprinkled with white sugar. Note: The restaurant is cash-only." - Melissa McCart
"The Lower East Side is home to many Hong Kong-styles cafes serving the hybrid Chinese-English cuisine called cha chaan tengs. S Wan is a charming walk-down spot offering a full range of breakfasts designated by letters that might includes fried eggs, waffles smeared with peanut butter, Spam, toast with butter and honey, and pork chops, in addition to lots of noodle soups and stir fries." - Robert Sietsema
"Nowadays I find cha chaan tengs such as S Wan serving the familiar staples — milk teas, dumplings, and French toast." - Robert Sietsema
"I found S Wan to be a low-key walk-down space named after its proprietor on Eldridge just south of Grand, with a row of small tables along each wall and a giant Chinese-and-English menu listing dozens of dishes and Hong Kong–style breakfasts designated with capital letters. Posters celebrate Chinese boy bands like Mirror and a soundtrack runs in the background while customers dash in for carryout and diners — both single and in groups — eat in a businesslike fashion and then leave; there are no laptops and people don't linger. When I arrived around 2:00 p.m. I ordered milk tea, handed to me in a paper cup with a discreet amount of sugar, and my breakfast "D" (upgraded with a pork chop and waffles) arrived: a slightly glazed, sweet thin pork chop; eggs cooked over easy so the yolks flowed when cut; and Eggo-sized waffles spread with peanut butter and sprinkled with white sugar. The $8 meal had an undeniable homey quality, as if assembled in one's own kitchen in a hungover blur, and made me want to explore the menu further (a tipster recommended the ho fun for its Fujianese influences)." - Robert Sietsema
"Sunrise Restaurant 88 (50 Eldridge St., Lower East Side) is a more formal Fujianese restaurant with an emphasis on seafood; don’t miss the razor clams, sweet and sour fish with pine nuts, or seafood fried rice." - Robert Sietsema