Any recommendation for Cantonese Dim Sum restaurants at NY Manhattan Chinatown? Also how difficult it is to park vs just taking the MTA subway? Thanks.
My last dim sum meal was on Valentine’s Day, at Joy Luck Palace on Mott St. I recommend it. Here’s my Chowhound post (and there’s plenty of other good info in that thread).
I can’t help you with parking advice since I don’t drive in the city very often.
No dim sum recommendations (we usually go to Flushing for that), but I can unequivocally state that I would rather gouge out my own eyes with a dull spoon than try to drive to/through or park in Chinatown. There are a handful of garages, but just getting through the streets in a car will be an absolute nightmare. Take the subway!
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I can’t imagine driving…!
I really like dim sum gogo, but no cart ladies there if that’s what you want. with a big group or visitors jing fong for the cart ladies
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Got it. I have been to Flushing more than a few times, and I got there 50:50 by driving vs train+subway.
Good to hear that driving is a horrible experience. I will try to avoid it.
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Just myself. Also thanks for voting against driving.
Driving in Flushing can be a pain too, but NOTHING like Manhattan Chinatown. Especially this time of year, when tourists are out in force.
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We had a good meal at Dim Sum Go Go last year.
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Oh then dim sum gogo is great because they have a dimsum assortment platter, so you can try a bunch of stuff even as a solo diner. I get the veg dimsum assortment and end up with a few leftovers.
I almost went today, even took my backpack… but then during driving I decided that I will make it there a bit too late, so I am doing local shopping today. Hopefully, I will go there next week.
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We go to Golden Unicorn. We were just there last Sunday. We get there by 10, or 10:15 at the latest, to beat the crowds. We live in Westchester and therefore drive in. Not sure what the big deal is on driving in the area. Perhaps today, when there is the pride parade going on downtown, but generally speaking, it’s fine if you are there early. Street parking is difficult to find so we park in a garage on Mulberry Street, just south of Bayard. Costs about $20ish for 2 hours.
This will come in very handy when I do drive to Manhattan Chinatown. Would you say that is the best parking lot?
It might be a little more like $25 according to my husband who is the one who always pays. We go for dim sum in Chinatown about 3-4 times a year, and the cost of the parking is what it is. I can’t say it’s the best parking lot, not sure what would make it the best, but it’s convenient to Golden Unicorn or Dim Sum Go Go.
I guess for me. A parking spot which is close to Manhattan Chinatown (which your suggestion is) with reasonable fee (<$30). I probably want to play more than 2 hours… possibly 3-4 hours. 
I may still go there using the public transportation the first time (just to know where everything is including parking lot) and then I could give driving a try the next time.
Yes, it definitely depends on what your agenda is for the day and if you want to be stuck with a car. To us, that would be more of an issue than traffic.
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Hi Chem,
I’ve driven to that area, it’s not so bad. The first time was mid week and there was one hour metered parking in the street which meant all I had to do was wait there for a couple of minutes before someone left (although that also meant that I had to be done in an hour.) I’m not entirely sure, but for some reason, I think I remember that they may have gotten rid of the one hour parking when I was there last time. Last time I drove there was a Saturday morning and I got stuck on one of the streets for a bit of time. It appears as if there were a couple of churches there with funerals going on. I had to wait for both funeral processions to leave the churches before I could get through.
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When we go to Chinatown, we often meet a cousin who drives in from Westchester. Our cousin is much too cheap to pay $25-30 for parking. He always finds street parking, but sometimes it’s a 20-minute walk from where we are meeting. Sometimes he finds a space on Walker Street. Last year he was close to City Hall. So there is parking available.
Yeah… $25-30 is a lot, but… excessive walking is not fun neither, especially if I plan on shopping quiet a bit and need to go back to unload things into the car. Just not worth the time and energy (unless exercise is the point).
Ouch.
In my experience, traffic & parking in Flushing is as bad, if not worse than Manhattan’s Chinatown. Saturday & weekdays are very difficult, but on a Sunday, I would choose to drive.
One alternative strategy that may be suitable for some - Drive your passenger(s) to the restaurant, park the car wherever you can and take a CitiBike back to the restaurant. Reverse the process after your meal. The Citibike stations are ubiquitous and I believe it’s $10 per day (I have a yearly pass) for as many rides as you like, but limited to 30 min. per ride. You can download the app which shows you the nearest location of the stations.
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