"Originally opened in the 1960s, Hwa Yuan was one of Chinatown’s most popular restaurants until it closed in the 1980s, and is credited with introducing New York to cold sesame noodles. They reopened in the original space in 2017, and the noodles are still top-notch—but the real reason to come here is the peking duck. It’s carved tableside, and if you do a little digging in the pile of sliced meat, you’ll find stray crispy bits of skin. The restaurant is massive, so you can bring a big group last-minute, sit at a sizable round table, and order food until you can no longer see that table." - neha talreja, bryan kim, will hartman, sonal shah, willa moore
Teddy Wolff