Jing Fong, New York: The Last Great Dim Sum Cart in Chinatown

Hi, I'm Ino.

Dim sum used to be part of my regular routine back in Korea — the kind of restaurant where steel carts rolled between the tables and you pointed at whatever looked good when it passed. Then COVID happened, and every place I knew with carts switched to order sheets or tablets. The cart system, which was already declining before the pandemic, essentially disappeared. When I saw Jing Fong featured on a Korean travel series set in New York and recognized the exact format I'd been missing — bamboo steamers stacked on a rolling cart, steam rising from the gaps between lids — I put it on the list.

Siu mai at Jing Fong — pork and shrimp in an open-top yellow wrapper. One of the two dishes by which any Cantonese dim sum kitchen is judged.

What Dim Sum Actually Is

For anyone unfamiliar with the format: dim sum (點心) is a Cantonese tradition of small dishes — steamed, fried, or baked — served alongside tea. The phrase translates roughly as "touch the heart," and the meal is traditionally called yum cha (飲茶, "drink tea") to reflect that the tea is as important as the food. The dishes are small, designed to be shared and sampled rather than portioned individually, and the standard experience involves ordering many different items over the course of a long, unhurried meal.

The cart service format — where staff push loaded trolleys through the dining room and diners select dishes by pointing — originated in Hong Kong and became the standard presentation at Cantonese restaurants in New York's Chinatown. The format is appealing because it removes the need to navigate an unfamiliar menu: you see what's available, you pick what looks good, and the rest handles itself. It's also increasingly rare. Many restaurants abandoned the cart system during the pandemic and haven't brought it back, preferring the more controlled economics of table ordering. Finding a genuine cart-service dim sum restaurant in New York in 2024 requires knowing where to look.

Jing Fong — 1978 to Now

Jing Fong was founded in 1978, at the corner of Canal and Elizabeth Street in Chinatown, during a New York City recession. The restaurant nearly went bankrupt before Shui Ling Lam acquired controlling shares and rebuilt it into what became one of the city's most significant dim sum destinations. Over the decades, the operation grew to its most famous form at 20 Elizabeth Street: a 20,000-square-foot space with over 800 seats, reached by steep escalators, hosting dim sum brunches, wedding banquets, graduations, and community association events simultaneously on weekend mornings.

COVID ended that. In January 2021, the Elizabeth Street location closed permanently, triggering protests from workers and community members who tied the closure to Chinatown's broader gentrification pressures. The restaurant relocated in 2021 to a much smaller space at 202 Centre Street — approximately 125 seats, on the border of Chinatown and SoHo. The carts survived the move. The current location is quieter and more manageable than the legendary original, but the format remains intact.

Jing Fong's vertical sign — red background, yellow English lettering, gold Chinese characters in the center. The current location is at 202 Centre Street.

The Entrance

The building announces itself clearly — red background, gold raised Chinese characters above the entrance, and the English name in red lettering on the awning below. The interior is modest compared to what longtime visitors remember from Elizabeth Street. No escalators, no cavernous banquet hall. A properly sized neighborhood restaurant with red tablecloths, efficient service, and the sound of bamboo lids being lifted and replaced.

The entrance at 202 Centre Street — gold Chinese characters on red, English name in red on the awning. The current location since 2021.

The Cart

I arrived in the early afternoon, past the peak of the lunch service. The room was quiet — more empty tables than full ones. A staff member seated me and asked immediately whether I wanted dim sum. There was an edge of urgency in the question that I didn't fully register at the time. I said yes, ordered tea, and the first cart arrived within minutes.

The cart is a steel trolley with bamboo steamers stacked in multiple layers, each holding a different item. Steam rises from the gaps between the lids as the cart moves. You flag it down, the staff member opens whichever basket you indicate, and the steamer is placed directly on your table. It's a fast transaction, and the rhythm of it — cart arrives, you choose, cart moves on — creates a particular kind of meal that can't be replicated by ordering from a menu.

The dim sum cart — bamboo steamers stacked on a steel trolley, steam rising from the gaps. You point at what you want, and the steamer comes to the table.

Har Gow — The Benchmark

Har gow (蝦餃) is a steamed shrimp dumpling with a translucent rice flour wrapper — no wheat, no coloring, just a thin skin made from starch that turns semi-transparent when cooked. The quality of a dim sum kitchen is often judged primarily by its har gow: the wrapper should be thin enough to reveal the pink of the shrimp inside but sturdy enough not to tear when picked up with chopsticks, and the shrimp filling should be whole rather than minced, bouncing back when bitten rather than collapsing.

Jing Fong's har gow holds up to this standard. The wrappers are properly thin and slightly sticky on the outside, as they should be. The shrimp inside is chunky and fresh-tasting, with a clean sweetness that doesn't need sauce, though the table soy is there if you want it.

Har gow — translucent rice flour wrapper, whole shrimp inside. The benchmark dish for any Cantonese dim sum kitchen.

Siu Mai — The Other Benchmark

Siu mai (燒賣) is the second standard by which dim sum kitchens are assessed. An open-top dumpling in a yellow wonton wrapper, filled with ground pork and shrimp, topped with a small piece of shrimp or fish roe for color. The filling should be dense and springy — not loose or pasty — and the flavors of pork and shrimp should balance rather than one dominating the other.

The siu mai here is substantial: the filling is tightly packed, the texture bounces back when you press it gently, and the ratio of pork to shrimp is well-calibrated. Each piece is a full mouthful, and the four in a basket disappear faster than seems reasonable.

Siu mai — dense pork and shrimp filling in a yellow wonton wrapper, open at the top. Four per basket, gone quickly.

Char Siu Bao — BBQ Pork Buns

Char siu bao (叉燒包) — steamed BBQ pork buns — are the most visually distinctive item on any dim sum cart: white, pillowy, and split slightly open at the top from the steam pressure during cooking. The dough is soft and slightly sweet, the filling is a mixture of roasted pork in a thick, sweet dark sauce. They're filling in a way the other dumplings aren't, and the sweetness of the sauce tends to linger. One or two per person is usually the right amount unless you're building toward a very full table.

Char siu bao — steamed BBQ pork buns, split open at the top by steam pressure. Sweet, filling, and one of the most familiar items on a dim sum cart.

Wu Gok — Fried Taro Dumplings

Wu gok (芋角) are fried taro dumplings — the outer shell is made from taro root, which creates a distinctive honeycomb texture when deep-fried, lacy and crispy on the surface with a chewy layer underneath. The filling is typically ground pork and shrimp, similar to siu mai but enclosed. These are less well-known than har gow or siu mai, and the taro wrapper is a flavor that takes some getting used to — earthy, slightly sweet, and denser than wheat flour. Worth trying if they're on the cart, particularly for anyone who hasn't had taro in this form before.

Wu gok — fried taro dumplings with a lacy, honeycomb-textured shell. Earthy, slightly sweet, and worth trying if they appear on the cart.

Ham Sui Gok — Fried Glutinous Rice Dumplings

Ham sui gok (咸水角) are oval-shaped dumplings with a shell made from glutinous rice flour, deep-fried until the outside crisps and the inside stays chewy in the way that glutinous rice characteristically does. The filling is ground pork and mushroom, seasoned with a salt-forward blend that contrasts with the mild sweetness of the glutinous shell. The texture combination — crispy exterior, sticky interior, savory filling — is one of the more interesting in the dim sum repertoire, and these tend to disappear quickly when they're on the cart.

Ham sui gok — fried glutinous rice dumplings, oval and crispy outside, chewy inside. Savory pork and mushroom filling, one of the better texture combinations on the cart.

The Cart Stops — and What Happens Next

After the first round, I waited for another cart. The ones that came by were increasingly sparse — fewer baskets, more gaps. I flagged down a staff member and asked what was happening. The cart service had ended for the day. I understood then why the server had asked so urgently whether I wanted dim sum when I sat down: the kitchen was already in the final stages of cart service, and the window was closing.

When the carts stop, the regular menu takes over. The same dishes are available — but the prices shift noticeably upward. Identical items that came from the cart at lunch pricing are listed at dinner menu prices that run one to three dollars higher per basket. For a table ordering multiple items, this adds up. I ordered a few more dishes from the menu anyway, and the quality was consistent — the items that came directly from the kitchen were noticeably hotter than the cart versions had been, which is the trade-off. Freshness versus timing.

Tip: The dim sum cart operates roughly from 10:30am to 3pm. Arriving after 1:30pm risks finding the carts already winding down, with the best selection gone and cart service ending before you're finished. For the full experience — carts moving, steamers stacked, full variety available — come before noon on a weekend, or by 12:30pm on weekdays. After 3pm, the menu is available but at dinner prices, and the cart is gone.

Practical Tips

Location
202 Centre Street, on the border of Chinatown and SoHo. Subway: Canal Street (6, J, N, Q, R, W, Z lines). A second location exists at 380 Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side, but that location operates without carts — menu ordering only. If the cart experience is the reason you're going, the Centre Street location is the one.

Hours
Open daily 10:30am to 9pm. Dim sum cart service runs approximately 10:30am to 3pm. Arrive by noon for the best selection and a full cart-service experience.

How to order from the cart
No menu knowledge required. When a cart passes, make eye contact with the staff member pushing it — they'll stop. Point at whatever steamer you want, they'll open it for you to see, and if you want it, they'll put it on your table and mark your check card. You can also decline and wait for the next cart. The system is intuitive once you see it in motion.

What to order
Har gow and siu mai are the essential starting points. Char siu bao for something more filling. Wu gok and ham sui gok for variety and texture contrast. If cheung fun (rice noodle rolls) come by, they're worth taking — silky rice noodle sheets wrapped around shrimp or pork, with sweet soy sauce. Egg tarts toward the end if you want something sweet.

Pricing
Cart dim sum is priced by the basket, typically in tiers — small, medium, large — based on the ingredients. Expect roughly $5 to $9 per basket depending on the item. Tea is charged separately per person. The total for two people ordering a reasonable variety runs between $35 and $50 including tea.