Joe's Ginger — Restaurant in New York

The worst food experience of my life. The only reason why they can get one star is because they eventually gave me my 13 dollars back for the 8 pieces of “Joe's Famous Pork With Crab Meat Soup Dumplings” (which were basically salty grease bombs of highly processed unidentifiable sponge balls with no sign of crab meat or flavor) ONLY after dealing with a rude disposition from the only waiter available, biting into a spoiled soup dumpling, and 15 minutes of back and fourth with the woman at the register.

I happened upon this place in Chinatown that had Zagat ratings for their soup dumplings plastered all across their windows. I figured I’d give it a try. This absolutely became one of the worst decisions I have made to date. The place was almost completely deserted, outside and inside, which was odd at first but now I understand clearly. I came in and was met by a 40+yo. male waiter who basically gave no greeting until I said something. Yet, I nicely asked for their specialty soup dumplings, the waiter confirmed, told me the price, and pointed me toward the older woman at the register to pay. I handed her my money then she gave me change and immediately told me to wait outside. I noticed a clear lack of hospitality but let it go. Regardless, I waited in the outdoor seating area. The order took didn’t take long. The waiter brought the food out as a sat there and since they were not pressed for dining space, I decided to check the food out before leaving. As I began opening the bag, I realized the waiter chose to remain present. He watched as I observed the condiments they gave me, so I inquired about what they were and he hastily responded that they were sauces for the dumplings. I just didn’t think I needed sauce for a SOUP dumpling. I said ok and just as I started to take the lid off the container he said “Don’t eat here.” I was taken back and calmly said “Excuse me, what was that?” He repeated that I do not eat there. So I briefly explained to him that I would like to make sure the order is mine and that I’d like to do as I wish with the food I just bought to be sure it was actually worth the money. He got quite but remained present. I opened up the container to no aroma even as I put my face closer in. I separate the chopsticks to have a taste and as I did the waiter slowly began walking back inside. I was extremely disappointed at that point and verbalized the dumplings aren’t even that good. The waiter completely ignored me. But I was willing to deal and eat what I payed for simply because I was hungry and had to go. I took the food and went toward Canal street. I ran a couple errands, sat down and attempted to eat on. The dumplings had a thick outer layer especially toward the closed top, which made it difficult to eat. The “soup” in the dumplings were akin to salty meat water. There was no sign of the crab pieces they advertised in the “pork” which looked more like grey Porifera. Biting into the third one brought a disgusting surprise. When the taste of the souring contents from the dumpling flooded my mouth, I had no choice but to spit it right back out. At this point I felt like they set me up and this was the reason he didn’t want me to eat there or even open the container. I went straight back with the food and told them all of what happened. The woman tried to make it seem like I’m not used to the taste and that they make everything fresh. While I was begging to differ on all counts, she put her hand in my half eaten food and ripped open one of the dumplings left in my container and exposed the grey matter on the inside. I asked her to show me the crab while she was there and she kept rambling on about what SHE felt like. She went back and forth failing to validate her points, moving in and out of the kitchen until she finally offered a full refund. I took it and told her I will never be coming back.

For anyone planning to eat here, I strongly advise otherwise. Save your money or go somewhere...

I came here with my friend for lunch and they took a while to seat us and the service was kind of slow. I get it, many customers, so not the main point of my review. My friend and I ordered two dishes and it came out quickly.

Regarding the soup dumplings: I’m not too much of a fan of Joe’s Shanghai, so I mainly chose this place on a whim to compare it with Shanghai. Anyway, Joe’s skin is too thick for me but at least the dumplings are intact, the service is nice, and the broth is flavorful, most flavorful in the city in my opinion. Not necessarily a good thing, but that’s another story.

Anyway, Joe’s Ginger was like Joe’s Shanghai but without any of the redeeming qualities. When we received the soup dumplings, they were nicely plated on lettuce, but some were broken and although the skin was thinner than Joe’s Shanghai’s, it wasn’t delicate either. The service wasn’t great, too. I can excuse subpar food, maybe other people like it; but the service got me.

When we finished, the bill came out to $40.15. My friend and I were a bit shocked since we only ordered two dishes but it’s mostly our fault, the prices were listed. We only had $40 and were scrambling in our bags for any other bills while the waiter was over our shoulder and when he handed us the bill, he also said, “$46”. What’s with the mandatory 15% gratuity?! Despite planning on going to an ATM and tipping 20% anyway, I protested, “isn’t it just $40??” The waiter responded with, “it’s $6 more for service, are you not from here?”. It was kind of inappropriate to question our nationality. Before all of this, we managed to get out $5 already so the waiter was doing all of that for just $1. He ended up excusing the $5 tip. I should’ve revoked the tip right then and there but before I had time to react, the waiter already took our bill and swiftly cleaned the table. I’m Asian American—Vietnamese to be specific, but Chinese passing and I can also speak some Chinese. 我是越南人、可以说有点儿汉语—so I’ve dined at a fair amount of authentic Chinese and Viet restaurants, so it’s not about being used to non-American service; I rarely experience bad service at East Asian restaurants, even those with waiters that speak little English, and never as bad...

This place should be shuttered. Don't fall for the Zagat stickers on the door as I did. The only thing worse than the tasteless food was the terrible service. Anyone who thinks that this food is delicious lacks taste buds. Problems started before we even entered the restaurant: a senior in my party was standing in the vestibule and an employee rudely snapped: "In or out!!" Too bad we didn't leave right then and there. Next, the waiter rolled his eyes when we ordered four dim sum dishes to get started and asked him to check back with us for additional selections. We gestured that we would hang on to the two menus until he returned and he exclaimed "Keep one menu only!" He grabbed the second menu and left. The place wasn't even that crowded. The food arrived, the four dishes. Every dish was tasteless. They didn't even had basic dim sum dishes. The sticky rice in lotus leaf was a joke. It was smaller than I've ever seen and it looked like it was drenched in soy sauce or something to the extent that it looked dark brown. I've never seen sticky rice look like that. They never offered us tea and we had to ask for water halfway through the meal when it was clear that they were going to leave some of us with no beverage. The glasses of water arrived and we didn't even drink them because the water didn't look clear, perhaps due to the glasses. Things are bad when drinking water doesn't look appealing. The waiter came and dropped the check when we didn't order additional dishes, and then picked it up before we even got up from our table to leave. So rude. (We left without ordering a second set of dishes and went across the street to House of Joy to finish our meal and get proper dim sum). We should never have patronized this restaurant, Joe's Ginger, or Joe's Shanghai, whatever name it's using now at this Pell street location. I'll never return there. It is taking up valuable space in Chinatown. They should just do everyone a favor by selling it to someone who would make better use...