Ho Foods

"What It Is: A 10-seat East Village spot specializing in Taiwanese beef noodle soup Perfect For: Dining Solo, Quick Eats After three previous attempts to get into Ho Foods and being quoted one to two hour waits early on weekday nights, we finally got into the 10-seat space after only 30 minutes (but were seated at a table sitting face-to-face with a stranger). The Taiwanese beef noodle soup is a 24-hour broth with wheat noodles and slices of beef, and we added tendon and extra marrow. If the crowds lessen a bit, this will be a solid addition to the quick and affordable dining options in the neighborhood, but until then, you don’t need to rush here and/or wait too long for this soup. The Verdict: This is very good soup, but it’s not worth an hours-long wait." - hannah albertine, bryan kim, katherine lewin, hillary reinsberg, chris stang, matt tervooren

"Opened in 2018, Ho Foods, along with the now defunct Baohaus, helped kick off the current Taiwanese-American restaurant wave, introducing many New Yorkers to refined, thoughtfully prepared takes on classic Taiwanese beef noodle soup, braised rice, and breakfast foods. Ho Foods continues to offer a signature noodle soup, but equally worthy are the other takes on hometown favorites like the egg-stuffed scallion pancake and the burrito-sized fan tuan, a homey rice roll stuffed with pork floss, sour pickles, and a fried savory cruller which provides a crunchy contrast to the soft, chewy shell of sticky rice." - John Tsung, Eater Staff

"Few things are more comforting than a bowl of slow-cooked, marrow-slicked bone broth with chewy noodles and braised beef. There used to be little else on the menu at Ho Foods, and that was fine because you didn’t need much more than Taiwanese beef noodles this good, but the small restaurant now has zha jiang noodles, sesame noodles, pork chops with rice, lu rou fan, and Taiwanese breakfast on weekends. Getting more than one of the 10 seats at peak times can be a challenge, making this ideal for an unaccompanied diner." - Eater Staff

"Finely cubed dry tofu is also sometimes used in zhajiangmian’s sauce. This is the version served at the New York City Taiwanese restaurant Ho Foods, whose owner Rich Ho describes his spin on the dish as “classic mom-style zha jiang noodles” (“mian” means wheat or wheat-based noodles). In addition to cucumber, Ho’s zhajiangmian is garnished with slivered tamagoyaki, or rolled egg, a choice that reflects the dish’s seemingly endless possibilities." - Cathy Erway

"Even if you get the Taiwanese beef noodle soup at Ho Foods with add-ons like extra marrow and double meat, you’ll only spend about $20. The soup and sides come out quickly, and there tend to be crowds of people looking through the storefront window waiting for any of the 10 seats, so don’t plan on spending much time here. Ask for your soup extra spicy along with a can of Taiwanese beer." - hannah albertine, matt tervooren