Jing Fong Restaurant

I came here for a fundraising event for a nonprofit organization this time but I’ve been here in the past for wedding banquets and dim sum. All of my experiences have been consistently mediocre. The tables are very jam packed close to each other and there’s no elbow room if you seat 10 people at the table and have to leave a small path for the server to bring the food. The servers just bring the food and leave it there for you to serve yourself. Only when they come around to collect the serving plate or bowl do they scoop up the remaining portion onto anyone whose plate is nearby. They have you use the same ladle and serving spoons for all courses of the entire meal without switching it out and don’t have you tongs (not everyone has the skills to transform two spoons into tongs). There is no lazy susan on the table and so it’s really hard to share food. Everyone basically has to get up and reach over to serve themselves or pour tea.
As far as the food goes, this is the only place I’ve seen that includes as an appetizer sweet and sour pork that still includes big chunks of bone in it. It’s just not something you expect and so biting into it can hurt. My non Asian coworkers commented that they weren’t a fan of the texture of the food; it’s very icky because they put a ton of corn starch in everything. For the lobster dish, it would’ve been nice if they cracked the shells a bit (since no cracker or lobster fork was provided) and so you couldn’t eat most of it. The noodle dish which is a filler was treated as such. It came out so flat looking as if they were stacking all of the serving bowls on top of each other. We had to fluff it up with the serving spoon to make it look more appetizing. The fried rice was very bland and so we mostly just picked out the shrimp to eat, poured some soy sauce in it ourselves or didn’t eat it at all.
The place could definitely use some renovations to make it look newer/​updated. It hasn’t changed much over the years and just keeps looking older and older.

This was a total letdown.
The place is pretty big. It has the atmosphere of a hotel ballroom. Be prepared to dine/​share a table with other customers.
The food was actually pretty good.
The only thing is that the dim sum carts are a few and far between.
It was almost an adventure trying to flag someone with the dishes you like.
And I know that this is in Chinatown… but the language barrier was another challenge.
It was hard enough trying to flag someone, but explaining what dish you want became almost comical with hand gestures and one word descriptions of meat.

When you first walk in, you’ll think that you’ve crashed a traditional Cantonese wedding. This place is huge! There are dozens of tables and grand chandeliers up above. The M.O. is unorthodox: You get a small card with Small, Medium, Large, Special, etc. on them and servers walking around with carts of enticing small plates with dim sums, rolls, chicken legs, snails, etc. As you choose and pick the ones you want to devour, the servers stamp your card, tallying your carnage. The big plus is that you can see you food before you order it, and that you get it immediately. This helps, since, despite the size of the place, there’s a huge line outside most times you go.
I’ve been here with many natives, and they swear that it’s an authentic experience. You probably need one, because it may be hard to communicate with the staff otherwise, but I would go anyway — and just pick whatever, because everything that I ordered (and I ordered a lot) was amazing.
Probably book a hotel room for an afternoon siesta afterwards too, to cope with the deep food coma you’ll be in.

Good spot
Everything I had from the dim sum cart was tasty and fresh.
Must try if u want dim sum

Dirty old chinatown in NYC… Walk across the streets full of trash and old ladies crossing the streets when you see a big sign above you reading JING FONG. Inside is a loooong escalator leading you to the most GINORMOUS room with large chandeliers and crazy number of seats/​tables that you could have ever imagined. The place is very clean and tidy, just extremely crowded. But that means it’s also extremely popular, meaning long waits.
I came here for dimsum with my husband around 10:45am on a Saturday. There was no wait then, and we immediately went upstairs and were seated. When we left around 11:30am, the line at the bottom of the escalator was crazy… I saw about 20 people waiting in line. So glad I came early! Heard Sunday is even crazier.
***IMPORTANT NOTE: If you go 2 – 4 parties, YOU WILL SHARE A TABLE. The table will seat about 8 people, so you will highly likely sit with another part who has 2 – 4 people. They still give you enough space between the parties, so it’s not really awkward than you imagine. I mean, NYCers share coffee tables all the time, so what’s the big deal? Don’t ask for private seat, the workers are busy enough and they’re super efficient so just let them do their jobs.
The food comes pretty fast and they won’t really miss your table. If they do, just wait patiently and another cart will come soon. They’re delicious too. I personally loved the shrimp har gow… soo soft and tasty. The egg custard dumpling was good too, especially the custard inside. The xiao long bao, which is usually my personal favorite of dimsum, was so-​so. The soup wasn’t there enough, and we didn’t get a sauce (had to ask for one). The dumpling itself it really thick too.
Overall, great dimsum if you’re craving it. Would definitely come back again :)

In Hong Kong it is common to be sharing a table with random strangers to gobble down delicious dim sum. At Jing Fong it was no different. My friend and I were a measly party of two so they sat us at a bigger table and put another party of two across from us. Also they charge tea per person. (1 $ for any tea but chrysanthemum is 1.25 $/​person)
Jing Fong is a super big dining place so the carts hardly get to our table, but when they do its almost always missing the key dim sum items. Theres also a back area where they cook the turnip cakes and dumplings and you just pick it up. I love that dim sum brings many cultures together as everyone cannot resist those cute little bamboo trays that keep your food in one place.
The food was good, I loved all my dim sum dishes and the chrysanthemum tea didn’t disappoint. Reb and I also ordered the singapore noodles but we ordered way too much food we had to take most to go. Tea+ food + tip = ~20 $/​person. It was a tad expensive for dim sum but I wouldn’t stop coming here!
Mondays-​Fridays their dim sum is sold at a special price — 2.75 $ any size dish which beats their regular prices of 5 $ a dim sum dish.
Definitely try to come and experience this way of eating if in need of new ideas.

I have been here many times when I was young. This is a very popular place to host wedding banquets among Fujianese people. The dishes are always delicious. What I don’t like are the waiters. Their kinda of rude as how they want the banquet to be in and out asap! They are just there to get the job done quick as possible. At times I’ve felt rushed to eat because there are numerous dishes coming out 1 after another.

The crème de la crème of Chinese dim sum. You seriously can’t get any bigger or classier than Jing Fong. First of all, this place is YUUUGE. :)
You first ascend an escalator which takes you up to the restaurant. Thankfully, since today was a Tuesday there was no wait time at all, and the hostess guided me to a table right away. This restaurant is more like a giant ballroom. There are crystal chandeliers on the ceiling, and even the tables are huge and round, like what you would expect for a wedding reception.
You simply sit at your table and wait for the push cart girls to make their rounds until they get near your table. You can order as much dim sum as you want, its pretty much the Chinese version of a tapas bar. After you order the girls draw a little circle on your ticket, noting which dim sum you just ordered. Don’t lose that ticket… its the only way to know how much you need to pay!
Today, I started off with the pork shu mai. I thought I’ve had good shu mai before, but I wasn’t prepared for how savory the shu mai was here! Everything was just on point!
I then ordered the fried turnip cakes. They were pan fried just perfectly… the outside had this nice crispy skin to it. Served with a side of oyster sauce, they are a must have.
And I also ordered the fried taro turnip cakes. They are just like turnip cakes but with taro chunks included into the turnip mixture. They were also pan fried beautifully. :)
If you can, try to come here on an less busy day like on Tuesday. The early part of the week is always slower, so there’s little to no wait time. If you come on in a Saturday or Sunday, be prepared to wait a LOOOOONG TIME, it always get crowded on the weekends.

3.5 stars. Been here a few times and our experience has been consistent. Here’s my breakdown:
Service: I’m giving service 2 stars because well, there really isn’t any. We were seated on the stage because of how crowded it was. Even though we were seated right away, our seats made no sense whatsoever. There was no way for the food carts to get to us. Everyone seated on the stage had to fetch their own food, which was annoying. Our waiter was also very lazy. He never offered water and when we tried to order something from the menu, he apparently decided to not put in the order. He basically just sat around the whole time. The bartender who came around was nice enough to get us water.
Food: 4.5 stars for food. Everything we got was delicious and satisfied our dim sum cravings. Compared to other dim sum restaurants, the food here isn’t as oily, which is a plus.

Wow. this place already has 1400+ reviews BUT as a dim sum lover I still feel somewhat obligated to share my two cents. To keep it short, I’ll get straight to the noms!
Yum:
HAR GAU (shrimp dumpling)! Jing Fong’s har gau comes close to the kind one would expect to find in HK. The wrapper isn’t too thick and the shrimp is plump and juicy. I regret not ordering more of these!
Meh/​OK:
— Siu mai: Very watery. Not sure if it was the filling or the wrapper but I’ve definitely had better.
— Chicken feet: Not bad, just not the most flavorful.
— Char siu (pork) bun: The filling was too mushy and there was little to no meat. I’d pass on this one.
Wish I could give this place 4 stars but nothing stood out besides the har gau.
PS– If you see the egg custard buns, snag em! I didn’t get the chance to try them when I was there (probably because it was later in the afternoon) but the girls sitting across from me had ordered them and said that they were really good!

When I came here as a child, this place might have been the first place I ever had dim sum. It was before a time when I even heard the words dim sum. I just thought it was a new and fun way of ordering food. Little did I know back then that this way of eating had an actual phrase.
Coming from the suburbs of Rockland County, going to NYC to eat at Jing Fong was magical when I was child. Now as an adult living in NYC, it is just another delicious way to gorge on food. I always prefer coming here versus other places just because of the sheer size of this place. Sixty tables could be ahead of you but the wait can be as quick as 15 minutes.
Even though this place is as long as an avenue, they have plenty of cart pushers to ensure you get all the food that you are looking for. I am not Cantonese so I know nothing of what the plates are called in Chinese. I just point and nod most of the time to get what I want. My favorite go-​to plates are spare ribs with taro, taro cakes, fried crunchy thing with meat and taro in the middle, shrimp wrapped in noodles as well as in those clear dumpling wrappers, Chinese broccoli, tripe, sticky rice, congee and fried dough wrapped in noodle, just to name a few things. Given the turnover of tables and amount of people, the food comes out, for the most part, hot and fresh right off the steamers as it gets snatched up as quickly as it comes out. They also provide tea for the table. My friends and I usually do jasmine and chrysanthemum tea.
Although it is slightly more expensive compare to some other dim sum places, it won’t disappoint. I mean, it still isn’t really that expensive all together, equivalent to what one would pay in a simple NYC brunch place. Overall, it is always a pleasure to come and eat dim sum here! I noticed that they also started serving brunch drinks like mimosas! Hooray for alcohol!

I’d like to say I had the rare bad experience. Although, solely based on this experience, I’ll explore the endless other options.
We arrived around 2 on a Sunday. We were seated with two other girls, around our age, that had been here before. They explained how we order, however said that limited carts had been coming around. They said most people were ambushing the staff as soon as they left the kitchen. I sat confused for a few minutes. The waiter brought us tea, silverware and a plate. He didn’t ask if either of us wanted anything to drink. I flagged him down later to order a soda. As the women pushed around the carts, I tried to ask them what they had. Due to a language barrier, the girls we were seated with explained the items to us. After an hour of about two carts passing by, then there were none. The Asian girls we were seated with tried to flag down a waiter and he said very clearly to leave him alone. So I stood up to ask for assistance and was told to sit down. Um, no thanks. Eventually (about 20 minutes later) we were «allowed» to order dumplings from the menu. Buyer beware, it costs more ordering off the menu. However, where did the carts go??! The two dumplings order took about 40 minutes to come out.
Would we go back? Nope. Would we recommend it? Absolutely not. Way to make a first impression, Jing.

One of my top go to places for dimsum in Chinatown. I tried branching out to more dimsum places in Chinatown — but Jing Fong offers such a variety that I always find myself wanting to go back here.
Although the space is large, still expect a wait on weekends and the possibility of sitting with strangers at the same table. The wait can be long if you come after noon (over an hour wait), especially every Sunday. The restaurant is large so the dim sum carts may take a while to come back around.
They have a nice selection food on the carts and there’s even more food at the buffet (clams, bok choy/​vegetables, etc). I really enjoy their pan fried turnip cake, bamboo leaf wrapped around sticky rice and pork, shrimp shumai, chicken feet, and shrimp and chive pan friend dumplings. There’s plenty of food, and the prices are reasonable. I always leave happy and full.
Service is brisk and efficient. You may have to flag down waiters yourself to get their attention. But that’s part of the experience.

Decided to try the infamous Jing Fong dim sum restaurant. We came on a Friday afternoon, I’m assuming they have more carts on the weekend.
Environment was okay, it’s huge inside. We didn’t have to wait for a table. Everything we ordered was good, the problem was there were so few carts going around, we didn’t get to try a lot. We got the typical dumplings and sticky rice, also the spare ribs. The item we didn’t like was the duck which was really oily and fatty, kind of gross. The bbq pork that came w it was good though. :-)
Should I come in town next time, will go on a weekend, always believe in second chances.

I go here with my out of town friends to this dim sum place because it is the largest one I’ve been too and their dim sum is pretty good too and for the amount we get, price is great as well. On weekends, just like everyone else says GO EARLY OR BEFORE 11am! After 11 am we ended up waiting for about an hour since we got there at 12 and didn’t get seated until a little after 1pm. During the week it’s not so bad.
They serve all of your main dim sum foods here and there are carts always walking around. So if you’re looking for a certain item, it’s bound to come sooner or later. They also have other unique items on their carts so keep your eyes opened because you might see something new that you don’t normally see at other dim sum places. On the weekend there was also a girl who made mixed drinks like your regular mimosas, but different flavors. So if you want to turn your dim sum experience into a little boozy dim sum, go here.
If you have out of town friends or want to try a new dim sum place, definitely check this place out. It’ll be an experience !

Tried out Jing Fong for the first time with some friends for one of their special Peking Duck dinners. We had a great time! They carved the duck right at the table — typical process at any Peking duck dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Their dim sum items are available for dinner too, along with a menu of other southeastern Chinese cuisine staples. We ordered pork buns, 2 kinds of shrimp dumplings, a chicken and corn soup, and green beans with chili sauce to go along with out duck. Depending on what regional cuisine you’re accustomed to (and for those who care), the Peking duck at Jing Fong is served with buns rather than wraps.
While being seated, we were welcomed by their marketing director, which was a nice touch! Though known for dim-​sum, where wait times easily go over an hour, the dinner situation at Jing Fong is nearly polar-​opposite. Totally easy to get a table and can stay for as long as you like without being rushed. Service is quick and prompt too.

This is the freshest dim sum restaurant I’ve been to in New York City, that is if you can get your hands on some. Going on the weekends? Be ready for the 30min. to an hour wait. The best time is to go during the weekdays. And when you go be sure to ask for a table in the middle area where the carts frequently pass by. There have been many occasions the host seated us in the corner of the ballroom or the areas where the carts rarely pass by and we ended up waiting 5 minutes for a cart.
Once super fresh and hot dimsum is placed on the table, you will forget about the long wait you endured and will concentrate on your active taste buds. The shumai, haggow, cheung fun, pai gwut, and other dimsum are very fresh. You will taste the difference and that is why Jing Fong is my to go spot for dimsum, on the weekdays.

The wait is long, but worth it. Usually about 30 – 45 minutes on weekends. I recommend going early around 10 – 1030 in which there was no wait.
This is one of the biggest dim sum restaurants I’ve been to in Chinatown and has the most delicious variety of Taiwanese food. They have a buffet styled station where dumplings, clams are made fresh. The dim sum is fresh, warm and tasty!
They do sit you with other guests to fill the table so dining with strangers may be a bit ackward but it’s fine.
If you’re looking for good dim sum, come here!

Good service and great food! I went on a Tuesday afternoon around noon so we luckily didn’t have to wait. The venue is huge! So I saw in some reviews that people usually have a long wait for the weekends and I think that’s crazy!
But during the week, the dishes are all one price I believe, which is awesome! The food was very well done; not salty, not greasy, and tasty overall!
I would definitely be back to satisfy my dim sum cravings!

Best Dim Sum in NYC. This place has the ultimate experience. I always bring all my visitors here. Going up the gateway to heaven escalators you suddenly feel like you made it in China.
Dim sum never disappoints. Very cheap and everything is consistent.
I recommend Sio Mai, chicken feet, congee, Har Gow, sesame balls, tripe, and beef noodles.

Un des meilleurs Dim Sum que je connaisse.
Personne n’y parle très bien anglais, donc il vaut mieux reconnaître les plats à la vue.
On vous assoie sans possibilité de choisir à une table de 10 dans une salle immense avec des lustres kitchissimes.
Vous partagez donc votre repas avec des inconnus, la grande majorité né parlant que chinois. Immersion totale.
Les mets tournent sur de grands chariots et le choix est immense.
La note par contre est douce :)
Amazing, fantastic, don’t miss. For the food but also the Chinese atmosphere, decoration and language

DIM SUM!!!
C’est le restaurant où je fonce dès que je suis à New York pour manger mes dim sum adorés!
Dans une immense salle le serveur passé avec un chariot et c’est à vous de choisir.
Enormément de choix donc ca permet d’en essayer plein et on se régale pour vraiment pas cher, l’addition est ridicule (comme dans la plupart des restaurants à Chinatown).
Bön après il y a énormément de dim sum, certains sont meilleurs que d’autres selon les goûts donc il faut bien choisir.
La salle est très grande donc c’est très très bruyant en raison du monde ce qui est assez désagréable.
Mais bon j’ai mangé mes dim sum pour une somme ridicule je suis heureuse!!!

kann mich den beiden anderen nur anschließen, Jing Fong ist ein Geheimtipp, den man unbedingt machen sollte. Besonders Sonntags wird alles aufgefahren was möglich ist.
Preis/​Leistung unschlagbar, an den Lärm und die fehlende Atmosphäre kann man hinweggehen.
Auf jeden Fall rechtzeitig dahin gehen! 13 Uhr ist manchmal schon kein Einlass mehr.

Mehr als ein Schritt hinein ins Jing Fong ist zunächst gar nicht möglich, denn an der Rezeption warten dutzende Hungrige auf einen freien Platz im Restaurant. Wartenummern werden verteilt und später über eine knarzige Mikrofonanlage ausgerufen.
Spontaner Jubel bricht aus, sobald die richtige Nummer ausgerufen wird. Irrtümlich könnte man meinen, auf einer Lotterieveranstaltung gelandet zu sein. Der frohe Glücksnummernbesitzer gewinnt auch tatsächlich, nämlich eine Freifahrt auf der hauseigenen Rolltreppe, die direkt in das Restaurant im Obergeschoss führt.
Es werden die diversen Dim-​Sum Gerichte auf Servierwägelchen herumgefahren damit die Gäste spontan auswählen.
Gedämpft, gebraten, frittiert, gebacken, in Lotusblätter gewickelte Rollen, Kuchen, Teigtaschen und etliches mehr. Süße Happen sind ebenfalls im Angebot.
Die Preise sind günstig: Selbst wirklich hungrige Gerneesser werden die $ 20 Grenze (pro Person) nur mit Mühe knacken.
Hier die ganze Geschichte mit Bildern… (
)

Am Eingang wird angesagt, zu wievielt man speist, dann bekommt man eine Wartenummer. 10 Nummern müssen wir warten. Wie lange dauert das wohl? Keine 5 Minuten! Wir dürfen hoch. Wir stehen auf der Rolltreppe und wissen nicht was uns oben erwartet
Ein riesiger Saal voller Menschen. Es ist laut, fleißige Frauen schieben Wagen vor sich her mit leckeren Dim Sums. Wem es zu lang dauert, bis die Wagen an seinem Tisch vorbei geschoben wird, holt sich selber die Dim Sums ab.
Wenn man nur zu zweit oder eine kleine Gruppe ist, wird man mit anderen an einem Tisch gesetzt. Am Tisch bekommt man eine Kanne Tee, die kostenlos ist. Ist sie leer, so wird einfach der Deckel umgedreht und man bekommt eine neue hingestellt. Am Tisch hat man zudem eine weiße Karte, auf der dann alle bestellten Dim Sums notiert werden. Hat man fertig gespeist, so wird mit der weißen Karte gewunken und ein Angestellter kommt herbei und rechnet den Betrag aus, den man vorne an der Kasse zu bezahlen hat. Trinkgeld wird dabei auf dem Tisch gelassen.
Bis 14 Uhr werden die Wagen mit den Dim Sums herumgefahren. Danach werden sie nur noch auf Bestellung gebracht.
Abgesehen von der Massenabfertigung ist das ein feiner Laden. Zu dritt mit großem Hunger haben wir knapp 40 Dollar gelassen und würden jederzeit noch einmal hin.
Vielen Dank an 2 Freunde, die im Oktober da waren und uns es empfohlen hatten.