This past week my husband and I went on a trip to NYC. I know I keep saying this on Twitter, but I really have a bunch of stuff to share with you all and will post them soon. Come back these next few weeks as I share some of what we ate within just a few days in the Big Apple.
The first meal for this series could not be more appropriate. As soon as we dropped off our luggage we headed to the BEST Chinese place in China Town. WO HOP
Picture this – my husband and I come up from the subway into China Town in the POURING RAIN. We had to buy a pair of umbrellas at the first shop we passed. I was wearing my Sperry’s and so my feet were SOAKED!! Finally we see it – we race down the steps to get out of the rain.
We were both relieved and excited. My husband had been here before, but it was my first time. Luckily we got there just a little after 11 a.m. and so there wasn’t a line of people waiting outside to eat (the inside doesn’t seem to be large enough for more than 40-60 customers at a time).
It was really like we traveled back in time to a restaurant that didn’t care it was 2012. The walls were covered with photos – There isn’t a way to know what color the paint is in the room. The people in the pictures taped/hung were a mix of actors, musicians, random television personalities and “regular” people. Many were autographed. By the booth we sat in I saw a couple high school student IDs. Anyone who wanted to leave their mark basically had the option to in any way they wanted. It was very different, and made the room seem even smaller.
There’s an image on Obsession Confession (a blog) if you’d like to see what it’s like – here’s the link
As we waited for our food (about 10 minutes or less for the entrees), we got to see a couple tables full of men working… apparently the kitchen is too small to prep back there. A couple (senior members of the kitchen) cleaned fresh snap peas and 3 or 4 others were working on prepping dumplings. It was really cool to witness them doing this – really made the experience feel that much more authentic.
Before our entrees were served I had wonton soup (about $2) just because I love it and wanted to know if they had the goods… Their fried wonton are 75 cents (do not come with the soup). They tasted as if they were fried on the spot because they were still warm.
I was not disappointed, but found it surprising they did not put chives in the broth. Still very good.
As an entree I ordered BBQ spare ribs, which I’d rate a 7 out of 10 – the smaller cuts of meat were a little tough from being overcooked. The larger ribs were juicy and tasty. Ruben ordered Honey Crispy Beef which to be completely honest did not look appealing to me at first (and is NOT crispy). It’s a breaded steak, which is then bathed in a sweet syrupy sauce and served. I tried it and did really like it. Unfortunately I was too full to have a real serving of it. My husband really liked it.
We also ordered Beef Fried Rice to share. It was very good.
Something to make note of is the fact that they do not serve soft drinks or a variety of beverages at all actually! Water or Tea – that is all.
Overall Wo Hop lived up and exceeded my expectations. I look forward to eating there again whenever we visit next. The portions are very big and can easily be shared between 3-4 hungry people. This is probably why everyone loves it. You don’t have to take my word for it though – it has hundreds of positive reviews. I haven’t found a negative one yet!
Google Search (see the positive notes just in the results!)
Google Plus page (Rated a 22 in Zagat)
NY Mag profile page
Wo Hop Chinese Restaurant’s Official Site (the simplicity of the site shows they’d rather be serving food than making it sound and look good. They KNOW their stuff is good!)
After our lunch my husband and I continued with sightseeing – luckily we had cooperative weather for the rest of the day.
As always, thanks for reading – please come back for my continuation of this series from my NYC trip.
Zulaika H.
