Poon Kee

This is closed for good… I didn’t get to even try their yummy noddles with sauces or fish balls.;(…was so disappointed walking all the way there for nothing… sighhh…life…

Out of the way, but my favorite thing was their fish balls, which I’d ordered without the rice rolls or noodles. They serve other items like congee or beef & daikon or flat fried noodles, but I never made it beyond the fish balls. Decent rice rolls, but I prefer the shop on Henry for them — it’s right next to the children’s nursery.
I passed by on July 10, and there’s a sign outside that reads like they’re closed «for good» but has a number you can call for orders. (See pic.) Not sure if they mean to say they’re on vacation or gone for summer. There’s a Poon Kee storefront on Market St, but it was also closed the same day.

They have a contemptuous attitude towards those whom they may think of as ABCs (I don’t think of myself with that term). They will throw some Cantonese at me and scoff when I politely say in Mandarin that I don’t understand. I don’t know how to say rice flour rolls in any type of Chinese, so I ordered in English and they didn’t understand. They only serve about eight dishes here– you’d think they would learn this handful of words. So I ordered by number and by gesture. Other times I’ve ordered by pointing, as they lift up the covers. Needless to say, the communication skills here are severely lacking. More importantly, the contempt towards ABCs is pretty misguided– ABCs are the people who are most able to give them a clue now and again.
Anyway, that attitude is fairly common in Chinatown. Some sort of Dunning Kruger effect. I only go there because it is nearby and I enjoy sitting at the skate park. You can get a bit of food for just $ 2 – 3, which is enough if you’re just sitting around all day.

If you’re worried about the cleanliness of the street carts, you need to stop by Poon Kee… It’s an actual store located on a quiet street… Clean, nice and friendly service. Fishball and cherng fun. Yummm. Next time I have to try their tripe. Price is very decent. Less than $ 6 and I’m out the door happy =)

The first 2 decades of my life pretty much took place within a 1 — 2 block radius from Poon Kee, from being raised and attending Pre-​K on Madison Street to attending JHS and living on Monroe Street. To sum it up, I grew up eating Poon Kee … from the age of 2 to 20. I had Poon Kee for breakfast because they were situated right across the street. I bought Poon Kee after school for lunch because it was ²⁄₃ blocks away from my school. I’ve made one of the dumbest decisions to move to Brooklyn and am now miles away from my favorite «churng fun» or «rice noodle» spot, but whenever I am in Chinatown, I stop by for nostalgic flavors. Nothing has changed much, other than their drastic price jump from $ 1 to … is it $ 1.50 or $ 1.75 now (yes, that was sarcasm). The quality of their food (rice noodles, congee, lo mein, fish balls, beef tripe with daikon radish, etc. etc) is still perfect and the prices are still dirt cheap. My only complaint is: it is no longer easily accessible to me. They are THE BEST spot for rice noodles. Even if they decide to rack up their prices to $ 3 one day, I would pay for it. It is that good.
I heart you Poon Kee.

Nothing beats comfort foods. Even the world’s most obnoxiously delicious & rarest foods do not phase me. If I had 24 hours to live, and I had to choose 1 out of the 2 food options: 1) a gold leaf flaked bagel w/​the world’s best lox & cream cheese & a bonus dessert (dominique amsel’s cronut), or 2) my mother’s cooking (i.e chicken w/​vegetable mai fun noodle dish). Without a doubt, I would die happy just eating my mother’s dish than that obnoxious bagel & that obnoxious cronut. I am sorry if you do not feel the same, but my mama’s foods rock! Nonetheless, comfort foods are what we connect to the most. No matter how obnoxious or expensive of a food you consume, you still feel the most happiest when you eat your most favorite comfort food (even if it was a fried chicken).
Regarding Poon Kee, the cantonese styled comfort foods that I tried were the: 1) chern fun (steamed flat noodle) w/​fish balls that comes with this delicious sauce, and 2) beef brisket w/​tendons & daikon radish. Both were truly amazing. The chern fun was my most favorite, as it tasted like the ones sold in Hong Kong. The portions were decent, and the quality of those two foods were of good quality. I wish I would have found out about Poon Kee earlier.

I drove by to get something for pick up. And don’t think of Poon Kee as a place where you can go with a group of friends to enjoy an authentic Chinese meal, because it isn’t. You pick up your order, you leave, and enjoy the fatty goodness at the luxury of your own home. (And even if you wanted to enjoy it hot and warm at the restaurant, you wouldn’t be able to since there aren’t any seating.)
They have a tiny selection of Chinese dishes–
1. Congee
2. Chang Fun (flat rice noodle)
3. Lo mein
4. Pork fried rice
5. Fish balls
6. They also have milk black tea, coffee, and soda.
From what I can tell, Poon Kee’s signature dish is their flat rice noodle drizzled in hoisen sauce, hot sauce, and peanut sauce aka Chang Fun. It’s so good. It’s become my go-​to Chinese comfort food. On the bottom of the noodles, they lay a giant ladle full of fish balls. Yum, fish balls.
Their congee is a-​okay, but not the best I’ve had. I was going to save it for lunch, but an hour after I bought it, it became very watery. The consistency did not hold as well as it should have. They mix in small slices of fish ball, scrambled egg, green scallions, and a few raw peanuts. I much preferred the congee at Noodle Village and Congee Village.
And please beware, don’t go for their excellent customer service. But, I was shocked at how clean the «restaurant» was– the ordering/​serving area takes up ¹⁄₃ of the small space, and the rest of the space is taken up by a stainless steel commercial kitchen. It is an eye sore, but locals that live near by still line up to get their dose of Chang Fun.
PS– A few Unilocalers have mentioned that there are Poon Kee carts scattered throughout lower Manhattan but THAT IS NOT TRUE. SO BE CAREFUL! MANY CART VENDORS MAY USE IT AS A BUSINESS SCHEME TO BRING IN BUSINESS.
Just last week, my boyfriend asked them if they still had their food carts, and they said no!

You can fill yourself up with less than $ 4. Not an easy feat if you’re dealing with the likes of me.
Adding quality to the quantity too!!! Now you’re just messing with me Poon Kee… almost as much as giving me two forks to eat the shrimp rice noodles & CONGEE. I forgive you Poon Kee, I actually thought it was pretty funny.
Place is tiny (take out only pretty much) and it is a bit out of the way. But hey, keep the rent cheap, the food criminally under-​priced, and now I have an excuse to bike to that part of town.

Cheap hole in the wall. This place opens early and closes early.
nothing is over $ 3
coffee $ 1
shrimp rice noodle $ 1.75
fishball $ 1.50 (I think)
stir fried noodles/​beef ho fan $ 1.75
congee is less than $ 2
they also have horlick and ovaltine!
it’s a little cramped and steamy, good way to open and wake some pores up to start off your good morning.