Best Dim Sum in New York City

With its lineup of traditional Chinese comfort food, including the best soup dumplings in town, this steamy joint kicks its competitors to the curb. Hand-pulled and hand-cut noodles are stir-fried with mouthwatering accompaniments, while the dumpling variety is so great it’s almost impossible to pick. Herb-spiked pork and shrimp wonton soup is well worth the 20-minute wait, allowing diners plenty of time to devour pan-fried Peking duck bundles, scallion pancakes stuffed with sliced beef or even steamed buns full of mushroom.

This cooking is accomplished, serious and high quality, but one could still make a very enjoyable meal by just focusing on appetizers and dumplings alone. Signatures, and fittingly so, include toothsome slices of pig’s ear seasoned with chili oil, peppercorns and cilantro for freshness. Also explore dim sum, featuring pork- and crab-soup dumplings or caramelized, juicy and puffy pork buns. The Chinese sausage fried rice is a fragrant and wholly delicious treat. The attractive interior is festooned with wood furniture, dark walls, cozy lighting and a small bar up front. 

The regional menu here offers dishes not often seen on American tables. The artsy, young, and vibrant ambience draws as many people in for authentic cooking as it does for afternoon tea. Spicy pickled cabbage is intriguing and intense—keep that napkin close since your nose will be running. A rich, savory broth bobbing with hand-pulled noodles, lamb, and carrots, is ever-so-sweetly satisfying, but have your chopsticks at the ready for the eight-spice crispy tofu.

This wildly popular joint is still packed to the gills most days, and for good reason: the Cantonese fare and dim sum served here is as good as the food you’ll find in those authentic places in far-flung Queens. If the price seems a bit higher than its competitors, you’ll find it’s worth it for dishes like sweet shrimp, rolled in rice paper and laced with dark soy sauce. Plump snow pea leaf dumplings are spiked with vibrant ginger and garlic and may be tailed by rich duck dumplings or an irresistibly flaky roast pork pie.

There's a reason why crowds flock to this hidden gem tucked away in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn on the weekends. As guests patiently wait outside for their number to be called, steaming carts roll by stocked with authentic bites and a mouthwatering aroma. Some Inspector favorites include siu mai, rice noodles wrapped around shrimp, and black bean spare ribs.