This longtime congee haunt will forever be what it is—a reliable source for creamy, bubbling-hot rice porridge flecked with everything from little strands of ginger and blue crab to abalone, that rarest of species. This has been the restaurant’s signature since it opened in 1996, and one senses that the dark interior probably hasn’t been renovated since. But, nobody is here for the décor; it's the menu that's the sole draw.
Finding the nearly 30 varieties of this soothing eponymous soup means flipping through a massive menu, past pictures of sizzling beef and giant crabs, to reach the back page. Beyond congee, go simple with dunkable sticks of puffy, deep-fried crullers for a satisfying contrast in texture, or sautéed snow pea leaves with minced garlic.