Hop Won Restaurant
“This restaurant is owned by Cantonese/Toisanese people, whose cuisine I consider one the best in China, having experienced a diverse range of cuisines in the country.”
“Service is fast, the kitchen is open and clean, and the hanging roasted animals add authenticity and credibility to the freshness of the meats.”
“For being in midtown near grand central, this is a diamond in the rough if you are looking for some China town goodness without going to canal street.”
Hop Won Restaurant
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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I ordered lunch here through seamless looking forward to a yummy Chinese food lunch. However waited TWO HOURS for my "lunch." When I called to inquire they said they're very busy at the moment and said they're remaking it. What liars!!! I finally got my food after waiting two hours and my food is cold! The wontons are soggy! Really?! Completely ruined my day! Never again!!!
Please don't bother ordering food from here during actual meal times…unless you want cold food.
Somedays, I honestly don't feel like trekking over to Grand Sichuan, but I want some good Chinese food. I yelped and I found this little gem, being that it's cheap, quick, and close – I was down for it. And like all Chinese restaurants in this area, or ever, they have a lunch special which includes an entree, an egg roll, and fried rice. Now let me just say – this place is the most confusing place ever. It is so confusing that to this day, I am still absolutely confused while writing this for y'all.
So, when you first go in there's just a whole bunch of people. You'll find yourself asking everyone if they've ordered, if they're on line, blah blah. So then you wait on some random line and finally you're at the counter. You tell them what you want, and they'll either direct you over to the buffet-looking place (whaaaaa?) or just take your order. Once you have established what you want, you will pay. If you got on the buffet line, you're good to go. Enjoy! If you've taken the counter route, you'll wait for your order to be called out and then you're good to go!
I think there's different lines depending on whether you want soup or rice, or something like that. I feel like Hop Won tries too hard to extend its menu to include too many things instead of specializing in a few good things. How do I know this? Because I'm almost sure I ordered shrimp lo mein, which came with no lo mein, just veggies and shrimp. Which is kind of okay, I could have seriously done with the lo mein, but if you really love lo mein, you may not want to miss out.
Fried rice was pretty good, so was the egg roll. They have huge portions. You know that rectangular take out container they usually give you when buy chicken or something? That whole box is packed with fried rice if that's what you choose to get. Extremely generous portions.
This place is textbook American Chinese Corner. Cheap Quick and Tasty.
A coworker and I decided to grab a bite to eat- we both were craving some Chinese food, luckily another coworker of ours new this spot and recommended it to us.
It is semi-hidden next to other asian cuisine. It's super busy and speedy fast. I found out upon arrival that they actually in fact deliver.
Now, inside its clean, crowded, and smells delicious. The customer service sucks, they are a bit rude.
Other than that the food is delicious and I would order in advance.
Hop Won is Midtown Manhattan's answer to Chinatown cravings. Not the most authentic but close enough. The hanging roasted meats by the window gives them a little more credibility and gives me a little more confidence in them. Whether you are in the mood for roasted chicken, duck, and/ or pork; they got it. The menu is mostly Cantonese style like wonton noodle soup and a few other items are fast food Chinese style like chicken and broccoli over rice. Time to time I really crave for Cantonese rice noodle soups that my grandma usually makes for me when I was a kid. Although it does not taste home made here but very acceptable.
Shredded pork with pickled cabbage rice noodle soup is what I always opt in for on chilly days. The amount of meat, pickled cabbage, and rice noodles are generous. The soup base is very weak but the combination of flavors of the ingredients make up for it.
Roasted Duck in Rice Noodle Soup. This bowl usually comes with the yellow egg noodles that everyone knows but I am a big fan of the thinner rice noodles so I ask to substitute it. Roasted Duck has crispy skin and it adds flavor to the rice noodle soup. Yes, it's greasy but that's the point! It doesn't come with enough duck meat nor taste authentic like restaurants in Chinatown but does an alright job to satisfy.
It is unfortunate that Midtown is known for mediocre food especially for lunch but Hop Won is one of the better choices.
I finally tried out Hop Won after my coworkers recommended it to me several times. The exterior is lost in the sea of shops nearby but if you can find the entrance make your way in. The ladies who work the counter are very nice and attentive. It can get busy but they keep the lines moving fast.
I ordered the duck and roast pork over rice. The wait was around 10 minutes. I wish they had a number system instead of calling out the orders because everyone had similar orders which can get confusing. Although they do a decent job at keeping the orders flowing out, having the hear them yell a bunch of times is annoying.
I thought the duck was too fatty and not crispy enough. The pork was decent but was too tough. Quantity was also on the smaller side, I got a huge pile of rice which some pieces of meat. For the price I was expecting more, as it's almost double what you pay in chinatown. The quality and quantity fell short.
It's good if you are craving duck or roast pork and can't make it down to chinatown. If you are able to make it downtown, I would hold off.
Sometimes I do believe that there is some sort of foodie god or goddess who answers my prayers/ cravings. I was talking to a co-worker about Chinese food and all the restaurants she tried in Chinatown (think Big Wong, all the Hops, etc). That conversation got me super hangry because not only did I have to listen to her describe all the delicious food she tried, she even showed me pictures of them. By the time we ended our conversation, it was 12 pm. Woohoo yes lunch time! But then I remember I had already brought in my leftovers from last night, which was pineapple fried rice from a Thai restaurant. It definitely wasn't as appealing as some authentic pan fried noodle or roast pork over rice. Long story short, I wanted (needed) Chinese food.
Unfortunately, authentic Chinese food in Midtown is hard to come by. As I was debating whether to make an extended lunch break trip to Chinatown, I walked by 45th street (where the once seemingly authentic Oriental Noodle Shop used to be) and found this place called Hop Won. Not sure if they are the same owners as Oriental Noodle shop but my ears perked in delight when I started to hear people speak in Cantonese. It wasn't Mandarin, Fujianese, or other dialect but pure authentic Cantonese/Toisanese dialect that you don't hear often up in this part of the neighborhood. Yes, they speak in loud and sometimes barbaric-sounding Cantonese. Definitely feels like home. The fact that they have siew lap (roasted whole chicken and duck) hanging by a window is a clear indicator that this place is no joke.
The number of things they offer on the menu is a bit overwhelming. But I went straight for the roast duck over rice and a side of fried dumplings. To be honest, I didn't have high expectations in terms of food quality but they are a better alternative to fake Chinese food in the area. The roast duck was delicious but a bit too fatty for me. The skin is the best part and that's where you get most of the flavor from. The fried dumplings were quite a disappointment. They were half fried. It was mostly dough and looks like used way too much flour. I only ordered take-out so I can't vouch for the quality of the sit-down restaurant experience. But it's certainly nothing fancy. Quite frankly, it's definitely not the best Chinese food I've had but for Midtown standard, it's tolerable. I will need to come back and try their noodles next time.
Don't expect high-quality Chinese cuisine here. But I like this place! It's a great lunch with lots of options for under $9 in Midtown. Add soup or a drink ad you're still under $10, no waiting!
When you enter, the first like is for the "buffet," but don't be afraid. It's not a bunch of strangers getting their cooties on everything. You point to what you want and the guys who work there dish it out. You can get white, brown or fried rice as a base, or sub in lo mien for an extra $1. Then choose two entrees – and they don't skimp on portions! i love their boneless ribs, but everything is pretty good. Veggie options, bourbon chicken, chicken and string beans, all quite good.
Salt-sensitive people: avoid the lo mien and egg drop soup. It was almost too much salt for me, and that's saying a LOT. I loved it, which means you won't be able to eat it.