New Li Yuan
“comfort food for ABCs who grew up eating Canto/Toishan cuisine in Chinatown and other satellite Chinatowns around the city.”
“I quickly ordered my three primary choices which were all available in the pineapple bun, plain bun, and raisin twist bun.”
“This bakery is open pretty early and on the way to times square from Penn Station along 8th avenue so it's pretty convenient.”
New Li Yuan
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
7 reviews
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Deborah L does a great job of outlining the basic characteristics of a Cantonese style cafeteria, including the fast paced griminess, the lack of English, and the strong preference towards cash only. This place is the old Ying Du Chinese place, and I highly doubt ownership or patrons have changed much since then. (yelp.com/biz/ying-du-new…)
I only had time to grab a bubble tea (only basic milk tea here) and a couple paper wrapped sponge cakes to go. It's definitely hard to find bubble tea anywhere around here (a.k.a. are you taking a Boltbus and need to be near this side of town, yes, get your bubble tea here), so I'm happy to report that it was fairly decent with squeaky perfectly cooked bubbles. Obviously, not a lot of flavor choices, but tapioca consistency and a solid milk tea flavor is all I care about.
My kind of place. Walked by a couple of times and there were several people on line. Told myself to remember to try it.
Finally did today and I'm so glad this place is on my way to work every day. Like most Chinese bakeries, you need to arrive early for the best selection. I got there around 8:45 am. Still plenty of buns to choose from. I had no idea what was inside any of them but thats what makes it so fun!
I randomly selected two different buns and a large coffee. This place is VERY cheap. Everything came to about $3!
One bun was filled with a lemon flavored gel/custard. The other had roast pork! Both delicious.
I'm devoted!
I work in the craphole that is the west side of Penn Station, and it upsets me when I forget my lunch/have to buy lunch because my options suck. The only spot that's both decently priced and consistently delicious every time has been New Li Yuan. It's clean, it's efficient, and the food brings back all kinds of nostalgia. It's a piece of Chinatown without having to go to Chinatown.
I usually opt for the "point to what you want" lunch for $6-7 (depending on what you get). The food has a high turnover, so it usually tastes pretty fresh. I've tried to switch up my choices every time I go, and I haven't been disappointed with anything. I have called in an order of wonton noodle soup a few times too. The wontons are legit – even better than some wontons I've had in Chinatown. And with the hot chili oil, A+
The service may seem brusque at times, but that's just Chinatown-like efficiency 🙂 The ladies behind the counter have always been super nice to me – though I have seen them get annoyed with customers who don't choose their items quickly enough.
Also in Chinatown-like fashion, cash only!
I went on Friday October 16 at 5PM, and this place was (temporarily?) closed. They were sanitizing the place with some sort of chemical, so my guess would be some sort of health violation.
Five block radius and took me 20 mins in total of walking time. Plus side its right next to Go Go Curry which has been on my bookmarks. The woman hands you a poker chip…not sure what's the meaning of it. Holy moly too much food and it weights so heavy. I choose one of three sides badly as I didn't get any MEAT but the sauce is delicious over the white rice. I wasn't able to browse at their baked goods as there were a line out of the door. Not bad 6 bucks.
Walking into New Li Yuan, the looks and smells gave me flashbacks of childhood weekend trips to NYC Chinatown and Flushing to buy groceries where my parents would grab a quick bite of lunch from hybrid bakery/restaurants like New Li Yuan that serve old-school Cantonese-style Chinese food.
Unfortunately, many of these Cantonese establishments have closed as much of the Cantonese clientele have moved away (or passed on) leading to the next influx of Chinese from other regions who, in turn, bring along with them their own respective foods.
Arriving just past 4:00PM en route to the Port Authority Bus Terminal to catch a bus back home to New Jersey, I was happy to see that most of the buns looked very fresh, so fresh that I could see little puffs of steam as if they just came out of the oven.
I quickly ordered my three primary choices which were all available in the pineapple bun, plain bun, and raisin twist bun.
Adorned with a yellow pineapple flavored crumbly streusel-like topping the pineapple bun was like a taste of childhood where my parents would buy these buys for a quick bite. for me from the myriad of vendors adorned throughout NYC Chinatown or Flushing. The pineapple crumble was nice and lightly crunchy and just sweet enough.
For people like me who grew up eating these, the pineapple bun was spot on.
Though I could see where others who have never eaten one could possibly say that the pineapple flavor is lacking.
Plain bun was delicious in it's simplicity of flavor which was just bread with a ever so slightly sweet glaze on top of the bun imparting a gradient of shiny brown on top. For those who have never tried one before, I can compare it to a less buttery brioche bread in texture and flavor.
The raisin twist bread was yummy in it's own right. Tasting quite similar to the plain bun (I'm probably sure they use the same dough), the addition of raisins produced an overall additional level of sweetness that was pleasant and fresh.
Tip: These buns tend to go best with either Cantonese style coffee (light roast with a lot of milk), or tea with milk.
This place will probably never wow you with ambiance or service, as it just boils down to a nice tasty bite of food.
Now I'm dying to try out New Li Yuan's savory dishes to see if I can get some food deja vu childhood flashbacks!
5 Stars. Yes, FIVE STARS!
Is it for the service? No
Is it for the ambiance? No.
Is it for the price?… Well ok, maybe.
What I am getting at is that walking into New Li Yuan is like stepping into a time capsule. This is old New York; a simpler, but grittier time. This was the Midtown Chinese restaurant that catered to the mainly first generation immigrant, garment district, sweat shop workers and seemingly not much has changed since.
I had been looking for a traditional Chinese lunch spot for awhile since Fuji Bakery closed and I finally was able to venture up to New Li Yuan. Everything is $7 including the 3 items over rice lunch platter other than their pastries and smaller items. This was exactly what I was looking for. However, they were already out of many items when I got there at 12:30pm. Next time, I will go early. All the choices were delicious, meat was moist, stewed to perfection, and my fried chicken leg was still nice and crispy.
When approaching the counter, a lady will hand you a plastic poker chip with a number on it. I had no idea what it was so I didn't take it… Now the curiosity is killing me… I just started to rattle off my choices in Cantonese and she scooped it on the fried rice I requested instead of the default white rice. She even complimented me on my choice of pork belly and gave me some extra pieces of stewed bitter melon from a different tray to go with it. Then when the tray is completed filled, you move down to the register. There, I paid cash, asked for it to go with a little house-made chili oil and was quickly on my way.
So what the 5 stars are for is that it's just perfect for what it is and what it is supposed to be. All its flaws and imperfections adds to its authenticity and charm and was exactly what I was searching for.