Hakka Cuisine

The dishes are pretty expensive by NYC Chinatown standards, but they're yummy! The hakka blossom chicken is a feat of engineering. It is made by encasing taro and shrimp paste in a crisp chicken skin. The amount of effort blows my mind. However, I don't understand the need to chill the sweet and sour pork on ice. In fact, it made the breading soggy instead of crunchy. 1. Hakka Blossom Chicken (Half) $39.95 2. Chilled Sweet & Sour Pork $30.95 3. Assorted Fresh Mushrooms w. Egg Tofu $24.95

Went because of Pete Wells’s review like the next person. Wells recommends the sweet and sour pork over ice; it was interesting and the ice kind of works, but it wasn’t worth the price— tasted like any other sweet and sour pork. I don’t recommend it apart from its novelty value. Blossom chicken was interesting as well. Worth getting as it is this place’s signature dish and for the novelty of shrimp/taro contrasted with chicken skin, but as a food item it’s a bit too fatty. Focus the rest of the dishes ordered around this central dish. This might be obvious, but it’s also important to note that this place didn’t invent these two above dishes; they’re just the only ones serving them. Seafood & fish maw soup and pea shoots were average. I haven’t tried it at this place specifically, but I feel like the chicken ginseng soup would be better to balance out other dishes. It says “1 cup” (盅) but from images the cup is more like a small stock pot, and will be enough for 3-4 people. For a vegetable, the string beans might be better than pea shoots for balance. I might give this place a second chance and order better dishes, but it was just okay when I first visited.

This place is exceptional. You will find incredible, singular, ambitious, extremely delicious dishes here that you can't get anywhere else (DO NOT MISS the Hakka Blossom Chicken! Out of this world!! Wow), served in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. My husband and I ordered 2 main dishes, and 2 vegetable dishes, and we brought home enough leftover food to last us for days - every dish on the menu at this lovely restaurant can easily feed 6 people. Next time, and there will absolutely be a next time, we want to go with a big group of friends - even though we had a ball eating here, just us 2, this kind of regal, inventive cuisine begs to be shared with other folks. If you're hosting people from out of town, especially visitors without regular access to authentic Chinese food, Hakka Cuisine would be an ideal place to take them. Every single item we ordered here tasted like heaven, and there are so many more menu dishes we can't wait to try. We'll be back! Thank you Hakka Cuisine!

Thought Hakka was a great place for southern Chinese food. The portions were large and the price was right. The flavors are pretty authentic and the food was served quick and hot. It’s also a really nice place in general with a lot of spacious seating. The servers and staff were incredibly kind too. I’d definitely recommend if you enjoy southern chinese/hokkien food!

Solidly a 3.5 star place but since there are no half stars on Google maps, I would say the high pricing pushes it down to a 3. The ambiance is lovely with very high ceilings, airy and light while still staying true to traditional Chinese opulence. The servers are polite but unremarkable. Unfortunately, the food was just extremely mid for a higher end Chinese place. We tried the spiced beef in spicy oil dish, the Hakka tofu, and the mushroom noodles. The spiced beef isn't as soft and fragrant as your average Szechuan place which has a similar dish, and the tofu dish was gigantic and a bit tough / overcooked? A bit of a letdown from the NYT 100 recommended list.

100% Definitely the most recommended Hakka restaurant in Chinatown. Clean environment, luxurious decoration, delicious food, friendly service with reasonable prices. I had Order it lunch here before. And this time came with my colleague. “Pumpkin Oxtail Soup” Pumpkin is fragrant and soft Oxtail is delicious The two make it together Taste very good Next time I will order again. Also was a very good check-in point ( To take Picture with your friends and family). Definitely will come back to dine in and try their other dishes.

I normally don't write reviews for restaurants in Chinatown because the service is always meh. Not so for Hakka Cuisine. Family decided to try a new restaurant and we were so impressed with the service we got. From the moment we arrived they greeted us and made sure we were welcome. They staff changed our plates, poured tea for mom and dad, they stopped by often to check if needed anything. They have a good selection of beer and wine. The food was also very good! Not too salty and very delicious. We brought a cake and they played music when we it was being served. They also used so many plastic containers when we wanted to take the cake home. Other restaurants would have charged us. The bathoom was also clean and had proper grammatical correct signs haha. I would definitely go back. Hopefully service will remain the same.

Came for dinner with a couple friends last week after reading Pete Wells' review in the NYT. Overall, I had a great time and will be returning, though I'm not sure why he featured the sweet and sour pork so heavily. We ordered it and while it was really beautifully presented, I was ultimately disappointed. The real standout dish -- by leaps and bounds -- was the Hakka chicken. I'm an Asian food fanatic and I've truly never had anything like it. The chicken is stuffed with shrimp paste, so you essentially end up with uniformly-cut, bite-size pieces of beautifully fluffy shrimp paste sandwiched between crispy chicken meat and golden chicken skin. It was insane and I loved every minute of it. Besides the food, I have to say that the service is outstanding. Our waitress, Judy, was incredibly kind, attentive, and friendly. She got to know all our names and became our adopted Asian grandma for the duration of the meal. I would come again just for Judy. Lastly, I would note that the space lends itself well to big groups and there's ample seating upstairs at big circular tables. They also have multiple banquet rooms that can each fit 30 people and the restaurant does a very reasonable set lunch menu that Judy told us to come back for. They also have a great corkage price of $10 a bottle, so be sure to keep that in mind as well if you want to bring something nice to pair with your meal. I'll definitely be back.

I was here for a group dinner and didn't order any dishes except for the Hakka Fried Custard (because I'd never tried it before). While I learned I'm not a fan of fried custard, I did like other dishes such as the Sauteed String Beans. I personally also wasn't a fan of the tea. However, the service here was great, and this is a great spot for larger group dinners in a bright and modern space.

This place has a gorgeous interior and fantastic service. Eating here made me feel very fancy and important. If you are expecting the heavily salted, intensely flavored and deliciously greasy type of food available at other places nearby in Chinatown, you will likely be disappointed by your experience at Hakka Cuisine. The food here is subtle and elegant. I ordered the pumpkin with salted egg yolk and the Hakka Stuffed tofu. The pumpkin had a lovely, tempura-like crispyness to it. Some of the larger pieces of pumpkin were undercooked, and had an unpleasant chalkiness. However, the smaller pieces had a beautiful creamy interior. The flavor combination of pumpkin and salted egg yolk seems meant to be and the resulting dish has a lovely combination of creamy sweetness with a crisp savory coating. I have eaten Hakka stuffed tofu once in a restaurant, the now closed Hakbox (RIP) and attempted to prepare it at home. This version is not as intensely salty and seasoned as the Hakbox version, which I assume was some sort of fast food version of this dish. This version is an elegant, fine dining iteration of Hakka stuffed tofu which arrives in a bubbling skillet. The tofu was tender and the stuffing on top was intensely porky, like the filling of a great juicy dumpling. While I found both dishes to be slightly bland, I feel that perhaps this is the way they are supposed to be and I just have a salty palette. The textures in this food are incredible and fun to eat, and I loved the decor and servers.

Forgot to review one of the best dining experiences I had last year! Hakka Cuisine is great in all ways: it's got plenty of room for larger parties, friendly service and amazing food! The stand out dishes were lobster fried rice (delicious flavor that doesn't overwhelm the lobster plus a lovely crunch to the rice), sweet and sour pork in ice (just delightful! I'm sure it's even better in summer), Hakka Blossom chicken (basically meat that's been mixed up with shrimp paste and then reinserted back into the crispy chicken skin but yknow deliciously), and the braised noodles (just a fav of mine). Plus at the end of the meal they brought out some complimentary snow fungus dessert soup. Lovely place for a large group so you can try all of the specials. Can't wait to come back!

Came here for a family dinner and the restaurant was bright, nice, and comfortable. The place itself only has a couple of tables and then a few VIP rooms upstairs. The service was prompt and brought out our dishes quickly. The food was delicious! Special shoutouts to the Prawns with Salted Egg Yolk, which also came with some yummy fried pumpkin pieces, the Hakka Pan Fried Stuffed Tofu with Pork, and the Stir Fried Beef with Mushrooms. We had plenty of other dishes not pictured, but ones I'd SKIP would be the Hakka Blossom Chicken - no one on the table really touched it, and the Hakka Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables - nothing special and it was very fatty and oily. This was my first time dining here and I had a better experience than most Chinatown Chinese restaurants, so I was pleasantly surprised! Overall, I'd come back for a comfortable, yummy meal with great service.

Came on Christmas Eve with no reservation for six people around 7:30pm and were seated right away upstairs. The restaurant was packed but upstairs was way nosier than downstairs, so I'd recommend sitting downstairs if possible. - Hakka Blossom Chicken: most interesting dish as there is no actual chicken meat used, just the wings, head, and skin. The interior of the "chicken" is a paste made from shrimp, taro, and vermicelli. You get both a bouncy and crispy texture from the paste and skin. Wish there was some sort of dipping sauce for more flavor - Hakka Braised Pork Belly w/ Preserved Veg: pork belly is tender and pairs great with rice - Hakka Stuffed Tofu: ground pork is stuffed in the middle - Hakka Special Fried Rice: generous portion and flavorful - Scallop Steamed w/ Garlic & Vermicelli: scallop is tender. You choose how many to order and they charge you by the piece depending on market price - Sautéed Water Spinach: strong cooking wine flavor and garlic. Not too oily compared to other places First time here and delightfully surprised. Every dish was good, but nothing mind blowing (some resemblance to Cantonese food). This is also the first full blown Hakka cuisine spot in Chinatown so was curious to try it out. The decorations are modern and not tacky, and they have two private rooms upstairs for hosting events. Fast service even though it was quite busy. The prices are very reasonable for the portion sizes as well. Will definitely return to try more on the menu!

Stumbled upon this place while walking to a different restaurant. Really glad we changed our plans and came here. The food was delicious. The portions are definitely shareable, so we ended up with more food than we could eat, but happily took the leftovers home. We ordered the braised pork belly and the stuffed tofu. Both dishes were fantastic and the service here was wonderful.

Hakka cuisine is generally non-existent in NYC, dwarfed by more popular regional cuisines like Hong Kong/Cantonese, Szechuan and even Shanghainese. You might find the occasional Hakka dish, but that's about it. The very boringly named Hakka Cuisine somewhat attempts to change that. I say "somewhat" because the menu is still predominantly Cantonese dishes, with some American-Chinese thrown in for good measure. But--as I've mentioned in other reviews--this is par for the course with Chinese restaurants in America, since few Americans even realize China has regional cuisines. But if you're seeking a true Hakka experience, here are the Hakka dishes you should order: - Braised Pork Belly: Not to be confused with the more popular "red-braised" meat dishes, the Hakka version is less sweet and generally comes with mustard greens/snow cabbage sandwiched in between the belly slices. HC's was succulent without being rich--exactly the way it should be - Crispy Stuffed Tofu: A popular staple of the cuisine and well done by HC. The tofu skin was the perfect texture, and the meat topping was delicious. - Salted Water Chicken: Not to be confused with Drunken Chicken, Hainan Chicken, or any of the other tasty white chicken dishes China has to offer. The Hakka version uses different seasonings and methods to keep the chicken moist. HC's was decent, but not too memorable. - Sauteed Osmanthus Clams & Shrimp in XO Sauce: This one's less Hakka and more just plain cool. Have you ever had osmanthus clams before? Probably not. They have nothing to do with the osmanthus flower, but they have a similar wet crunchy texture as jellyfish. I loved this dish. And speaking of jellyfish, here were the other non-Hakka, Cantonese-style dishes we tried: - Jellyfish with Sesame Oil: Because jellyfish rocks, and HC gives a lot of it. - Hakka Mei Fun: For all your carby needs. Not my favorite, but at least loaded with veggies and protein. - Hakka Style Fried Rice: For more of your carby needs. Also not my favorite, but I appreciate the generous portions of veggies and protein. - Pan-Fried Whole Grey Sole Fish: They serve the body of the fish in tender, bite-sized pieces on top of the fried-up skin, and the result is delicious crispiness in a delectable clear sauce. Throw in tons of crunchy veggies, and you've got a winning pescatarian dish. - Eggplant in Garlic Sauce: We mostly got this to appease one of our party who wanted eggplant. It was fine. Service was super attentive, but we were a large party of 8. Speaking of which, I noticed some reviews saying there was no complimentary dessert. Which is funny because we definitely got complimentary dessert: Taro Sago Dessert Soup--one of my favorite Chinese desserts of all time! Fun fact: Taro Sago Dessert Soup (西米露) in Mandarin is pronounced "shee-mee-loo"--which I jokingly kept mispronouncing Simu Liu. Let's just say, the Mando speakers in our group had a field day with that. Ah, linguistic humor.

I have been to Hakka Cuisine twice. The first time was during the their soft opening and i visited today. I do not remember much from what i ordered the first time. I remember the Hakkan pan fried tofu and Half chicken with gin. Both were disappointing. For my second visit, I ordered the following dishes: Hakka salt baked chicken (half), Braised Duck with Taro in Plum Sauce, Prawns with Honey Walnut in Mayonnaise, Stir Fry Chicken & Pine Nuts Wrapped with Lettuce, Snow Pea Leaf with Goji Berry in Supreme Broth and Steak Cube with Asparagus. Food was good but portions were small. They charged $25 for a cork fee.

The dishes are pretty expensive by NYC Chinatown standards, but they're yummy! The hakka blossom chicken is a feat of engineering. It is made by encasing taro and shrimp paste in a crisp chicken skin. The amount of effort blows my mind. However, I don't understand the need to chill the sweet and sour pork on ice. In fact, it made the breading soggy instead of crunchy. 1. Hakka Blossom Chicken (Half) $39.95 2. Chilled Sweet & Sour Pork $30.95 3. Assorted Fresh Mushrooms w. Egg Tofu $24.95

和我认知的客家菜天差地别，第二张照片是炸鲜奶，皮厚，里面还是冷的，无语了，那个客家鸡，半只$40，就是三层个鸡皮夹着虾滑配上底层芋头，不知道是什么，简直是这种水平能开餐馆，哪来的自信，千万别去，唐人街本来餐馆就不多，粥之家贵，但是人家一分价钱一分货，你这个客家菜，真是非常失望，吃的东西只能用极差来表达，如果可以0颗星，你保证0颗星，如果你和谁有仇，你必须让他去，还有几个菜就不拍照了，只想快点离开 I don't know where is the good reviews coming from, the food is totally worst and overpriced, if you want waste your money and time, please come. If yelp can give 0 star, I definitely will, I think 1 star is too much for restaurant.

Based on NYT, supposedly the only Hakka (客家, ke jia) restaurant in the city! Not everything felt Hakka, but they had some interesting takes on typical Chinese dishes. If you want to wander outside of your typical Szechuan/Shanghai/Dim Sums, and you're not familiar with Hakka cuisine, I think this is a place worth trying out. As a party of 4 we ordered 7 dishes (1 appetizer, 6 dishes) and we could barely fit 3 dishes on our table at a time. I highly recommend ordering based on person:entree ratio of 1 to 0.75 (you'll still have a lot of leftovers, the portions are huge). Out of everything we ordered...I think the single must-order is the Blossom chicken. If you're a party of less than 6, ask for the Blossom Chicken half portion (半分, ban fen)... they only show the 1 portion (一份，yi fen) on the menu. Ambiance/dress code is casual and decor is new and modern - this is a place where you can bring big groups and have the chinese restaurant lazy susan experience.

Good food. They have fried squab here where I do not find much anymore. #54 is very good with silver fish, squid, jicama and Chinese chives. They also have special lunch menus.

We had our early cny celebration dinner here. Quite tasty. Spicy is spicy so you've been warned! We tried fried spare ribs, noodles, fish. All yummy!

Very affordable and tasty restaurant that opened about a year ago. I am surprised about how good quality the food and service is. Food is very savory and ingredients are fresh. I enjoyed the steam spare ribs with black bean sauce, it pairs greatly with white rice. Definitely come here and try their lunch special menu. The service was attentive, the staff was quick and efficient. I definitely will come back to try more things on the menu.

Squab was crisp and cooked extremely well. The lamb chops were a tad too salty but otherwise flavorful. Tofu was firm and meaty while the noodles were easy to down. The pork intestine was interesting with its filling. Service was great.

My family wanted to try something new since I feel like we've been to every restaurant in Chinatown since we grew up here. This place is relatively new and more modern compared to its neighbors. The interior is bright and covered with marble. The service was great and attentive. We ordered the Pig Intestines with Pickled Vegetables, Lobster with Sticky Rice, Salt & Pepper Squid, Sticky Rice Stuffed Wings, and Sautéed Pea Shoot. Everything was quite authentic but I'll warn that most of these are made with celery so if you are not a fan, you can just let them know to remove it. Let's go through each one - the pig intestines were a good surprise. There was a crunchy exterior that contrasted well with the pickled vegetables. The sticky rice here is pretty interesting, there is a bit of crunch as they fry their purple rice that is mixed in with their sticky rice. The lobsters were so meaty and tasted great. The squid was fried lightly so it wasn't too oily. I think the stuffed wings and pea shoots were pretty average and could've used a bit more flavor. All in all, this was a great experience and I hope that they continue to get better. This place is great for larger groups as they have tables with lazy susans in the back. Honestly, the food was so good I didn't take any photos which was a cardinal sin!

Very clean, modern (in comparison to most other Chinatown restos which is totally fine!) and delicious food. Serves complimentary soup too. Service was good and takes ressies. Lots of veggie options too!

I was here with one of my usual groups a few weeks ago having both passed by this place before and also having seen the semi-recent video by the Fung Bros. They have a nicer inside compared to a lot of the other restaurants around here. We ordered mostly food from their regular menu but also ordered two dishes off the menu ordered by that group. From the "Appetizer" section, the Pumpkin With Salted Egg Yolk ($13.95) was solid and well portioned. The pumpkin was tender and hot and generously coated with the salted duck egg. It reminded me of the version at Xing Shun Da and it's nice to see that there's a spot outside of flushing which makes a good version of this. From the video we ordered something off the menu early which was the Fried Chicken Skin With Taro Paste which I think was around $60 mostly I presume because of how long it takes to the make the dish. It looks like a normal cut up pieces of chicken on the outside but once you turn it around, there is a layer with said taro paste. The paste included some shrimp and the flavor was an interesting mix of savory, salty, and fishy (as there is shrimp in said paste.) I personally liked it though I found it very rich and filling. We ordered a bunch of dishes from the "Special Dishes" section. The best dish from that section and probably the best dish of the night was the Hakka Braised Pork Belly With Pickled Vegetables ($23.95) which is apparently on their lunch menu for a cheaper price. While someone might not like the amount of fat, I found the pork very tender and rich and savory with a bit of saltiness from the sauce. The pickled vegetables also included a layer of cabbage on the bottom which soaked up some of the fat and was quite flavorful. The Honey Glazed Lamb Chops ($35.95) consisted of six very meaty pieces. The lamb chops had a semi-sweet sauce (star anise at least along with the honey but likely something with five-spice powder) and they were very tender. While I liked the dish, I was surprised that it was on top of broccoli which didn't exactly cook as much or retain the delicious sauce. Also on the sweeter end was the Curry Beef Brisket & Tendon ($26.95.) similarly well portioned, the tendon was unfortunately a bit too chewy but the brisket pieces were very tender. The sauce likely made with curry powder was sweet as noted and was thickened in some way. Least successful were was the Hakka Mei Fun ($18.95) and the Pan-Fried Tofu With Soy Sauce ($15.95.) The mix inside the mei fun was nice and would have been successful if the noodles didn't lack wok hei which made the entire dish a bit bland. Side note that I personally couldn't have much as there was chopped up pieces of squid so I'm mostly going with the consensus outside of the small amount of noodles I had. The latter which also had some mushrooms was just on the bland end. The tofu didn't absorb the sauce well but the mushrooms were good at least. They gave us a dessert soup at the end which was nice which I believe was Bubur Cha Cha. This is a dessert soup consisting of coconut milk with various starches, sago, and other things inside. I personally like this soup a lot though others might find it a bit bland. The soup was served hot and was a satisfying end to the meal. They also gave us some sliced oranges which were tasty. The food overall here was tasting outside of the two dishes noted above. The pork belly in particular was outstanding and in general I would order from their Special Dishes section again with the notable excellent exception being the salted egg yolk pumpkin. Friendly service and very very well portioned food which makes sense for the high prices. Come here with an appetite and share a bunch of things. Keeping a higher rating as it's newer but around a 4-4.5 average on here is accurate.

I genuinely do not understand where these overinflated ratings are coming from. The food at Hakka Cuisine merits a 2 at best, and the only reason why I have decided on 3 stars is because they have really great and attentive service, and honestly respect and listen to feedback. I wanted to love this place so badly, because NYC lacks good Hakka cuisine and the restaurant looked inviting and promising. I came in with a party of 4 on a Saturday evening around 5:30 and we were seated immediately. Our server didn't really seem to know much about the menu as we asked for recommendations and were pushed the expensive seafood options and when we asked for what ingredients some of the other menu items contained, were told one-word answers. We decided on the Hakka braised duck ($29.95), the Hakka pan-fried tofu ($19.95), the sweet and sour pork on ice ($23.95), sautéed water spinach ($20.95), and eggplant in garlic sauce ($18.95). The good: -The Hakka tofu came stuffed with a pork and salted fish mixture that was pretty tasty. The tofu itself was firm, but silky and sweet. My only issue with this dish is that the gravy sauce that was poured on top was too thick and globs of the corn-starch based slurry congealed on top of the pork filling so I had to scrape it off before eating. -The sautéed water spinach was super garlicky which I really liked. It wasn't overly saucy either so the taste of the greens were front and center. But, the water spinach itself was tough and old. For a simple dish where the ingredient is the star of the show, you would expect better quality, more tender greens but sadly this was not the case. The bad: -The eggplant in garlic sauce was cooked well. The eggplants were bite-sized and juicy from being flash-fried and the dish had slivers of red onions and green bell peppers and crunchy wood ear mushrooms too (a suprisingly delicious and texturally fun addition). However, the garlic sauce was way too tart and tasted so strongly of vinegar that it was difficult to taste anything else, much less the nuances of the garlic sauce. Was there even garlic? I guess I'll never know. -The Hakka braised duck was a difficult dish to place as it did have some redeeming qualities, mainly the tender, succulent texture of the meat. However, the texture of the duck was also the reason why I decided to place it on the bad because the texture of fresh and frozen duck are very noticeable, and the braised duck belonged to the latter. The ugly: -The sweet and sour pork on ice was definitely the greatest disappointment of the night. The idea of placing fried pork on ice is so that the temperature of the ice helps to seal the crispiness of the fried batter. Unfortunately, the batter on the pork was too thick and soggy for any semblance of crispiness. The sweet and sour sauce was good, but a touch too tart and sticky. But, the greatest transgression that put this dish in the ugly category is that the little fried balls of pork tasted so strongly of freezer burn that we left the dish virtually untouched. Hakka cuisine itself is supposed to be umami-rich and comforting, both of which Hakka Cuisine failed to deliver on during my visit. Our server did come and ask how the food was and was respectful of our opinions (especially of the pork). The waitstaff are really nice and attentive and changed our plates SEVERAL times, which wasn't totally necessary but a polite gesture. The manager came over at the end and thanked us for our feedback and offered to give us a 10% discount and a container of their house dessert (a coconut milk dessert soup with snow fungus and peach resin) as well, which I thought was very kind and I appreciated. However, I don't envision myself revisiting in the near future unless the execution and taste of their food improves.

We stumbled upon this place for Valentine's Day and it was very worth it. It's not too popular so we were able to walk in around 6pm and they had available seating. The food is pretty good though, and the portions are meant to share between 2-4 people! We ordered the salt water chicken, egg tofu with mushrooms, and Hakka fried rice. The tofu was soft on the inside but didn't break apart too easily, which I liked. The chicken was also pretty good, lots of meat with a nice umami flavor. The fried rice was definitely on the saltier side, but maybe that's because the main dishes we ordered were already pretty salty. Nevertheless, it was pretty decent, and was quite aromatic and was full of eggs and salted fish. Our order came with a free warm sago dessert at the end, which I thought was way too sweet. But it was free, so I can't complain! The interior is also very bright, airy, and clean. Overall, a great place to grab a meal with a larger group.

I have mixed feelings about this place. As far as Chinatown establishments go, Hakka Cuisine is a fairly new restaurant. We have been enjoying their lunch specials with takeout. This is our first dine in experience. We had a reservation but they told us our table was on the second floor. We told them we needed to be on the ground floor as someone in our party cannot navigate the stairs. A party already seated graciously gave up their table for us. The person taking the reservation over the phone should have asked the question. The design of the menus is nicely executed. However, I cannot say the same for some of the dishes we ordered. The maitre d' / waiter can be overheard stating something with attitude that he did not want us seated at that particular table. I did not understand the words out of his mouth, but tone was everything. The pork belly we had was delicious. He initially told us they did not have any, but somehow, it reached our table. We have had the stuffed tofu for takeout, and it was very good. The special "chicken" dish did not taste like chicken at all. It appeared to be wrapped in a chicken-like thin skin that is hard for me to describe. I was told it cost $67. The bitter melon with beef was ok. This is a simple enough dish that is found at most Chinatown eateries. The scallop and conch dish was a treasure hunt. Basically about four pieces covered in onions and vegetables. The steak dish was good if it was not covered in the sweet honey sauce. The dish came wthout a steak knife, showing more inexperience on the part of the servers. At the end of our meal they cleared about half our dishes. There was no dessert. Other restaurants would typically finish with cut fresh fruit, oranges, melon, sweet bean soup or other. I think the staff needs to be trained. It is a beautifully appointed dining area.

This is one of the newer and more modern looking restaurants in Chinatown but it still has the same kind of affordable lunch specials you can only find in Chinatown. I am a big fan of their salt and pepper eggplant, and their fish filet and eggplant. It's not because I'm so super crazy for eggplant. I was just so pleasantly surprised by how well eggplant was done at Hakka Cuisine. I thought the servers were nice too.

The restaurant is very clean and the customer service is really good. Definitely worth a visit if you have never tried Hakka cuisine.

The portions are huge! The food is fresh as the produce all had a decent crunch and texture. Very clean restaurant and bathrooms, not something typically seen in Chinatown. The veggies really stood out in terms of quality of ingredients and taste. The traditional Hakka style steamed pork belly is a must. Some have commented that it was too fatty, but ours seemed like it had an appropriate amount of fat (see photos). Really happy to discover this new restaurant and would definitely come back if in the neighborhood.

According to some aunties, this place has improved since a couple years ago and the proof is in the food and the renovations done at the restaurant! I haven't actually seen Hakka food in the city and so I'm very happy to have finally tried it in an authentic restaurant. Unfortunately I don't have all the names of these dishes as they were ordered ahead of time and I was so busy eating it all happily that I couldn't remember to note them down. Regardless, the food was amazing and I am definitely planning on returning to try more as well as get some of the same dishes here. One of my favorites was the sweet and sour spare ribs. There was another dish (pictures below with red and yellow fruits and meat over ice) that had a similar flavor profile and also tasted great. I was a bit confused on the plating presentation however, I do not think the ice or fruits were necessary, and it just didn't really make sense to me. I also do wish that since I had a big party with me that we had been seated at a larger table instead of being cramped into one corner. That corner was also right next to the restrooms which isn't my favorite seating but luckily there was still some separation between. The decor itself is also very modern and clean. I hope more people will come here and try it out as this seems to be one of the few (if not only to my knowledge) Hakka cuisine restaurants in the city. If you like Chinese food, then there's a high chance you'll like Hakka food as well (Hakka is a subgroup of Chinese people). Come check it out!

Interesting place. Not many like it in Chinatown, and overall, it's a good option. There were some really great things from our experience, and some weird things. First, it was really easy to secure a reservation, and reschedule it as needed. They didn't seem very busy, though they seem to be popular. There were 10 of us in our party, with 4 young kids. When we ordered, the waitress insisted that our original order of 7 dishes wasn't going to be enough. But the weird thing was how she said it -- it came across as ordering 7 was superstitious. We relented and added an 8th dish. She still gave off strong vibes that we wouldn't have enough, but 'agreed' to let us eat first and then we could order more if we needed to. Spoiler alert - we ate almost exactly the amount we would've had if we'd ordered 7 dishes, with leftovers cumulatively making up a dish's worth of food. I just found it really weird that she pushed us so hard to order more food even though she could see nearly half of our party were small kids. On the plus side, they were VERY attentive. I've never eaten at a Chinese restaurant that checked/filled up our tea kettles as often as they did. And yet, I don't know if I'd rank this place up there in terms of service. We kept getting questions about whether or not our full party was going to be there soon (we got there early while my sister and her family was parking down the street), even though the restaurant was 3/4 empty. Also, when we were leaving, we literally walked past 3 managers/high level staffers, and none of them said bye/thanks for coming. I promise we weren't difficult diners -- if we were, I would've understood the lack of farewell. I mean, at the end of the day, it's no big deal, but for a place that is trying to position itself as upscale as they do, you'd expect better. Ultimately, though, if you want a change of pace in Chinatown that's still pretty good, and think spending ~$350 on 8 dishes is worthwhile, then go for it.

I was once walking through Toronto, and saw a Hakka restaurant. I was on my way to a Nepali restaurant to try yak butter tea, but made a mental note to read up on Hakka. What I found is that the Hakka people are a distinct group in China with their own culture and cuisine. I made a commitment that the next time I would see a Hakka restaurant, I would check it out. Well, five years later, I passed a Hakka restaurant, this time in NYC. Not knowing what to expect, and arriving at an odd time, half way between lunch and dinner, we walked into an empty restaurant with three servers waiting for us. It looked fancy, with white table cloths, and we were immediately served tea and roasted, salted, peanuts. We ordered the pork belly and stuffed tofu, as both were listed as traditional Hakka specialties, and the food arrived on family style platters without any rice. We then realized that rice needs to be ordered separately, and ordered some rice. Our two platters could have fed six people, if served with some rice and a side salad, so you definitely get your money's worth here. I've had pork belly in many cuisines, and this was the most generous one. Both dishes were amazing, and I would have a hard time picking a favorite. The flavors and textures were sublime, and the presentation striking. If I lived here, this would be a regular restaurant of mine, as it's one of the best meals that I've had. Top notch service and reasonable prices really rounded out the tasty meal. I can't wait to come back here.

The hakka dishes are great -- the mei cai pork has great flavor and my husband loved the hakka stuffed tofu (stuffed with pork). We also got lobster over yee fu noodles (an off-menu order - it was a big lobster and only $50!) and both lobster and noodles were delicious. Lastly, the clams in the vegetables with mushrooms and clams were cooked really well (super tender, not rubbery). It was supposed to come with cabbage but they were out so we subbed in bok choy. The wine and beer menu is limited. I enjoyed the red sparkling wine I had, which was interesting. The pour was VERY generous. They also have a $25 corkage fee if you want to bring your own. I didn't see any cocktails but maybe I just missed it. They give you complimentary hot tea, which I appreciated. The dishes are pretty large, so we left super stuffed and still had another full dinner worth of food. They gave us a complimentary dessert (I forget the name of it but it was a soup dessert I grew up with as a child - see photos), which was a nice way to end the meal. So excited to have found this place. Cant wait to come back and try the other dishes - highly recommend!

Huge portions. We over ordered by a lot but everything was delicious. My favorite was actually the fish two ways which is unfortunately the one dish we forgot to take a pic of

Family booked a private room to celebrate some milestones and TLDR, this place is good. The decor is modern and clean and the menu here is pretty familiar for those who eat Cantonese banquet fare. The big time dishes are all there (steamed fish, noodles, pork chops etc.) but I was a bit surprised as to how much of our favorites were in fact Hakka in origin. Best dishes were the lobster sticky rice and the garlic king crab. The lobster sticky rice was amazing - crunchy and perfectly seasoned along with lobster that was done just right. The king crab was a splurge at $60/lb but it was a big day so we went for it. Super fresh and most definitely the highlight of our meal. Other dishes that rounded out our dinner were also pretty good (walnut shrimp, fried milk, mushroom e fu noodles, fish maw soup). The one dish that was kind of meh was their braised duck (too tough). Service here is very good, its friendly and fast and most of the servers do speak some English in case your Chinese needs brushing up. Prices are pretty standard for the type of food and quality is up there. Most definitely better than a lot of the other restaurants still serving this type of cuisine in the area. Thumbs up.

Hakka Cuisine is my favorite Chinese restaurant in Manhattan. Amazing ambiance, service, and flavors. The staff here is always incredibly attentive and the food and tea are always superb.

Food was pretty good esp the fried rice! I wouldn't say it was special though Prawns with honey walnut in mayo 4.5/5: very fresh, meaty, tasty and had a nice crisp Dried scallop & egg white fried rice 5/5: rice was individual pieces - amazing quality fried rice Snow pea 4.5/5: fresh and tasty - can never go wrong with this dish Hakka trio 2/5: this is not for every one because it has bitter melon!! Also comes with eggplant and stuffed tofu Steak cube with gai lan 4.5/5: steak was cooked just right (medium rare) so it was tasty and juicy

To preface this review: the one star is purely for my experience and not for the food. The food, in my opinion, is a solid 4 star review. My mom had made reservations for dinner on the 21st at 6:30pm, which was New Years Eve for the Lunar New Year. She made this reservation a month in advance and confirmed it a week before. 4 of us arrived at roughly 6:15pm and I checked in with two ladies at the bar, since no one was at the hostess stand. Here's how that convo went - Employee 1: They've got a reservation, they're table 9 Employee 2: We just sat someone at 9 Employee 3: 10 is paying now, we can put them there Employee 1: Ok, put them at 10. Employee 1 to me: It's going to be a few minutes, they've got to clean the table Me: Ok, no problem. At around 6:25pm, my mom thinks it's weird it's taking so long, so she goes to ask them. They tell us they "called our table" but no one answered, so they gave our table away. At 6:25pm. 5 minutes before our reservation time. Several employees instantly went on the offensive, tried telling us that they "called you at the front" and that we were late for our reservation so they had to give our table away. It was not even 6:30pm yet at this point. Kudos to one of the waitresses who was really trying to help us out and was very apologetic. But seriously SHAME on management because they refused to take any accountability for giving away our table and blatantly lying to our faces about calling us. How can you give away someone's table 5 minutes BEFORE their reservation time? When they were standing in the front the entire time? No apologies, just accusations that WE were not there. Eventually, they get us a table. It's now 6:45pm, we've been here for 30 minutes. No apologies as we're seated, nothing sent to the table. I get that is New Years Eve, but this seriously left a BAD taste in all of our mouths. Honestly, the food is good. Their Walnut Shrimp was very good and the Preserved Veggies + Braised Pork Belly was also excellent. But man, this is not how you do customer service at all. Honestly, had they handled it any differently - just straight up apologized for the mix-up, offered to send a few beers to the table, it would've been completely fine. We get it, it's the busiest day of the year. I am, in general, an easy-going person. You can tell just how many 1/2 star reviews I give verses my 4/5 star reviews. But no, all they did was accuse us of missing our reservation, at 6:25pm, for our 6:30pm reservation. Sure.

Recently tried this restaurant. It is high end cantonese food. The service is good, and good presentation. But the taste is just not good enough to justify the price. There are much better alternatives nearby

Came here for a friends birthday under a reservation for six. The party was seated promptly and given menus to browse; the waiter gave suggestions for dishes within different price ranges, with great results! Favorite dishes of the night were the Hakka stir fried rice noodles and the fried pork chops, but honestly every dish was good to great. The restaurant also serves large parties well as there are many large tables as well as a few private rooms, all spread across two floors. Highly recommended for any gatherings!

Sunday morning lunch - party of 3. Seated right away. Pumpkin with salted egg yolk 10/10 Beef chow fun 9/10 Dumplings 9/10 Newly renovated Hakka restaurant with 2 levels that makes you feel like you're not even in Chinatown. Would def come back to try other items in the menu.

We came to this restaurant with a reservation as they opened for the day. Starting with service, we were greeted upon entry, HOWEVER when it came to ordering food, this specific waitress kept ignoring my mom and I since we spoke chinese and kept asking my non chinese speaking relative and our non-asian friend what they wanted. We kept trying to tell her what we wanted and the waitress was VERY RUDE and actually pushed my moms arm away amd saying to let the Americans order. Not only was she ignoring us, she kept trying to sell us a $69 chicken dish which everyone had said no to multiple times. We also ordered one dish to begin, then changed our minds to a different one and she refused to listen to us and kept at it trying to see what my English speaking relative and friend wanted. This was a huge turnoff. Moving onto food, we ordered the crispy garlic chicken, lobster fried rice, pig intestines stuffed shrimp paste, water spinach with bean curd, braised pork belly with preserved vegetables, and salt and pepper pork chops. Everything here was either too salty or extremely fat. The garlic chicken was too salty, the lobster fried rice used a black grain compared to other places and the rice didn't even seem to be like the sticky rice. The pig intestine was decent, however nothing too wow. The braised pork belly was soft yes, but that's because 80% of it was mostly fat. The male server did bring out free longevity buns at the end after finding out we were celebrating a birthday. However, with what the waitress had done earlier, I would not be coming back. And if you're looking for a more quiet place to eat, this isn't it.

Hate being a hater, but this was surprisingly disappointing. We are constantly trying the new and highly-rated Chinese restaurants, both in Chinatown and elsewhere. We kept asking ourselves if just one dish was off tonight, but all of the dishes we had were relatively flavorless. Worse, some dishes when delivered barely resembled the photographs from the menu, and the amount of food on showcased Hakka Blossom Chicken put on the table was a fraction of what the photographs showed. Happy to pay premium prices for superior Chinese food! If it had been delicious, we would not have cared.

An excellent dinner with friends and it didn't break the bank. Came here to celebrate a friend's birthday. We preordered their poon choi dish and the Hakka Blossom chicken amongst other dishes. The poon Choi dish was a feast in itself and an amazing experience. The blossom chicken is a must order. I couldn't eat enough. The service was exceptional. They even gave us a special red bean dessert for the birthday celebration.

I made a reservation on google thinking it wouldn't go through, but it surprisingly did! The ladies up front at the counter were super nice and approachable. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, around 1:45pm, and waited for a very short period before getting seated. A crowd came in right after us, but the restaurant cleared up around 2:30pm. They served us soup first and the dishes came out 20 minutes later. It was delicious, though a bit on the saltier side. Bathrooms were clean downstairs and I like how the sink is communal. Definitely recommend and I can't wait to come back.

Attentive service, clean, and modern dining room. Ordered a few dishes. Staff kept the soup bowls and tea cups full. Decent beer and wine selection. Beer from France. The steak with asparagus was good. Marinated a bit different than other places and recommend. Ate at this place in person before seeing the one star takeout reviews. Food was what I expected, what I wanted and a little more. Fresh ingredients and no complaints. Other than the excellent dumplings at Joe's Shanghai around the corner, I thought the dishes were better than some of the other comparable dishes at Joe's Shanghai. I would eat here again. Not an expensive Michelin star, but a good value proposition and don't get the one star complaints.

Pork Belly Belly with preserve vegetable.. OMG as a hakkanese fam background myself this is Not even close to my comfort food. This literally was alllllll FAT.. There were probably only 2pcs that was edible. And for the white rice that comes with it.. I believe they gave me rice from night before and it was 1/2 of the pint ... not even a full pint of rice‍ absolutely disappointed with this place .... but I must say the decor looks fab.... not sure if I'd give this place another go

Food was good their blossom chicken was great a whole fried butterflied chicken with taro was ordered ginal

Really good for large groups. I was invited here by a friend for a group dinner and we were able to order 7-8 dishes to get a solid sampling of what the restaurant had to offer. Meat-heavy for sure but you can certainly order some veggie-only dishes to even out the mix.

Yikes, my mom makes better braised pork with preserved veggies than this place. Food was just ok...some stuff lacking flavor. Came here for a banquet and don't really find a dish that I'm particularly fond about. For an upscale looking restaurant I expected more.

Not bad food. Only thing is this chicken dish that costs $60 isn't even chicken! It is a mixture of other things. Don't order it.

This place had some amazing cuisine that was authentic, addicting and tasty. The service was great and is definitely a great place to gather friends and family for a great meal.

First time visit was with family of 5 for dinner. Friendly wait staff. Pleasantly surprise with their menu. Dinner was 4+ stars. Came back a week for lunch with friend and had three dishes. Only one dish was a miss. the crab meat noodles was undersalted/sauced and the noodle they use lacked any hint of eggy taste. Will still come back for dinner/lunch to try other items on their menu.

Not going back for second time. Newly furnished restaurant but not worthy it to try. Don't ever order this spicy beef, taste horrible u can only taste the spicy flavor nothing else and I found a hair in the entree, waitress used her hand to take it out and asked if I wanted to replace it I refused and no refund.