Hop Kee Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

I wasn't very impressed the first time I went. My dad said this place was around when he was working in the city some 20 years ago and wanted to compare how much it changed. I was much more happy this time with the food we ordered. Probably because we ordered from the all Chinese menu and my parents had a better idea of what to order than the random ABC's I went with last time.

We were served complimentary soup made with pork ribs and filled with this vegetable I've never had before. My parents had no idea either. The soup was delicious though. I saw at all the other tables who were non-Chinese were served those crispy noodle things instead. They taste so good, but so unhealthy. Ask for the soup instead.

We ordered four dishes from the all Chinese menu. I'm not sure what they are listed as on the English menu, but here is a translation.

Fried Oysters (酥炸生蠔) (21.95) - Fried oysters in America are huge! These come with lemon and a white pepper/salt mixture to dip the oysters in. The breading was very crispy and not too thick either. I ate 4 of these huge oysters. If you're not watching your cholesterol level, definitely order this dish. ($21.95)

Black Bean Pepper Tripe (豉椒牛百葉) - The tripe was stir-fried with a lot of peppers in a black bean sauce. It seemed like there were a lot more peppers and onions than tripe, but there was actually a decent amount hidden in the peppers. The sauce is slightly spicy. ($14.95)

Salted Fish Steamed Pork Patty (鹹魚肉餅) - One of my dad's favorite dishes to order and one of my not as favorite dishes. It turned out to be my favorite dish too. The meat is steamed in this delicious broth and filled with water chestnuts. I loved the crunchy texture. This dish is on the saltier end, especially with the salted fish, but I loved this dish. ($17.95)

Shrimp, mushrooms, and mixed vegetables (鮮菇蝦球) - Not a particularly special dish, but the shrimps were large and tasty. They used a lot of canned straw mushrooms, canned bamboo, snow peas, and carrots. Very safe dish to order. ($23.50)

To get the better dishes, order family style off the all Chinese menu. Those dishes are more expensive, but tastier in my opinion. They also have a cheaper soup, dumpling, noodles, and rice menu. I'm glad after 20 years, my dad was pretty satisfied with the meal here. I guess I'll no longer be avoiding this place and come back...

I'M NEVER COMING BACK HERE! TLDR: RUDE WAITER, BAD SERVICE, AND BLAND FOOD

I've never had to leave a bad review but this was beyond terrible. I've been here a handful of times, mostly prepandemic. But I am NEVER coming back because of the way I was treated yesterday. I have never had to raise my voice at a waiter ever in my life. I have worked in the restaurant industry over 10 years. I ordered the chicken and broccoli, beef fried rice, and the eggrolls. The chicken was dry, and the rice was bland. The eggroll was NOT EDIBLE because it had 3 layers of wrapper and the inside was NOT COOKED. I tried waving down a waiter because I was unsure if we even had a singular waiter for our table. A couple of them saw me but just ignored me. No one came to check on us (maybe because we were shoved into a corner and no one could even pass to get to us), no water refills, no asking if we needed anything else. So much time passed I was just waiting to pay the bill so we could leave. Ended up walking towards the waiters since they weren't coming to me. I told them there was something wrong with the eggroll and that we didn't eat it so to take it off the bill. Before even looking at said eggroll the waiter says "It's good, its good, you don't know how to eat!" I then go back to my table to grab the plate of eggroll to show him that it is raw. HE DOESN'T EVEN LOOK AT IT! I try to show him the raw dough inside. He says that its cooked noodle. Why would there be cooked noodle in an eggroll?! He then says, " We have been open for over 50 years, you don't know how to eat!" It is wild that he did not even look at it to see if something was off which could possibly happen even by accident. I paid for the other items reluctantly and left in a rage. For being open since 1938, you would think they would have this place running smoothly by now. The food and service has gone down tremendously while the prices have gone up. If you want terrible service, rude waiters, and bland food this is the...

Being Anthony Bourdain fans and knowing his down to earth love of all things food, we had to try one of his top five restaurants in New York, Hop-Kee. It’s located in a basement, and efficiently run by a crew of elderly Chinese gentleman.

For years we have hungered for the Chinese food of our youth, as it disappeared under the wave of Kung pao this and Szechuan that. Well, it’s been here all along, carefully preserved by this wonderful Taiwanese restaurant!

Taking his cues, we ordered from the dishes Anthony specifically mentioned. After all, we couldn’t disappoint him, because he was looking down on us from the 30 or 40 photos of his visits there. 

Wonton egg drop soup to start, which was absolutely amazing with a semi gelatinous broth, bits of yummy veg, and a surprising amount of wontons.

We followed this with egg rolls, which were the size of a small burritos and stuffed with pork, tiny shrimp,  cabbage, and yummy goodness that is imported from some mythical location, and probably kept in a safe in the back of the walk-in.

For our main dish,  it was the sweet and pungent pork (in the 60s and 70s in California would’ve called it sweet and sour pork.) What a delight! The pork was tender and breaded then fried to perfection then slathered with that tangy sauce. Bits of pineapple and pickle slices added just the right amount of bite to the mix. Stunningly delicious!  The portion was so generous that we took leftovers with us, and had it for breakfast the next day.

As our waiter brought us yet another pot of free tea, I shared with him that I felt like I was sitting in Pasadena with my grandmother and parents in 1969. It delighted him to no end 🙂 If you’re in New York and like old-school Chinese food, you absolutely have to go to this place. 

It is a cash only place, our dinner with tip,...