August 22, 2011
It’s request night tonight at MAD. MAD commenter and former co-pilot of the 365 Bars blog, Al Rizzo, suggested I check out Wo Hop’s Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Al never led me wrong at 365, so let’s go check it out for Sunday dinner!
Welcome to Chinatown! Okay, let's go find Wo Hop's. I'm starving!
I love this Chinese neon sign.
Even in Chinatown there's no escape!
It's a rainy night out tonight, but luckily for once I know where I'm going. Just a few blocks to...
Mott Street and we're almost there.
And here we are at 17 Mott Street, Wo Hop Restaurant.
Let's go down the stairs and check it out.
Wow, it's packed, but I've been told a table will open up momentarily for me.
And here it is. A table for two. Myself and...
Gumby!
And an ice cold Tsingtao beer is served up. I think Al made a good choice, let's take a little tour.
Here's the table directly behind mine. Hi, Wilfred Brimley, loved you in Cocoon!
Booths line this wall of the restaurant.
And there's tables in the middle. It's a little cramped in here and tough to maneuver, so let's get back to the table.
The walls are plastered with random photos, business cards and postcards.
Hey look, a young Emo Philips!
I love it when you return to your table and there's a bowl of hot and sour soup waiting for you!
I've had countless bowls of hot and sour soup in my day, and I can definitely say that this is the best I've ever had.
For the main course I got the 4D Lo Mein, which has chicken, beef, pork and shrimp amidst the vegetables, soft noodles and brown gravy.
It was simply delicious!
Well, I made a decent dent in it, but no way can I finish it all. Looks like I'll be having it again tomorrow night.
Obligatory after dinner Wo Hop mirror shot!
And it's up the stairs and out into the night. "Watch your steps!" Always good advice! Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.
And thanks to Al for another great suggestion! Great to have you back on board as a co-pilot!
Wo Hop
17 Mott St. (Between Mosco St. and Chatham Square)
212-962-8617
Further reading: Revel in New York, New York Magazine, NY Times and facecrack.
You might also like: Cock Soup, Cock and Bull and Cock-A-Doodle-Doo.
Four Other Chinatowns
San Francisco
Chicago
Singapore
Los Angeles
29 Comments
Reader Comments (29)
Damn ! .... looks good ... I must get some hot & sour soup now this week !
DAMN YOU, HUNGER MONGER! How am I gonna lose these extra pounds with you flashing all this AWESOME food in front of my face! It probably tasted nasty, right? Right? Tell me Wo Hop's wasn't as wonderful as it looked! Please!
The guy sitting next to Wilfred seems to be giving you the ol' hairy eyeball, Marty. There were over a dozen really good chinese joints that I used to frequent on a regular basis back when I was spending over ten hours a day in my cab and a Vietnamese place called The Pink Flower that had spring rolls that were nothing short of ambrosial. I've always thought that Chinese and Vietnamese buffets were the best way to pig out on a budget.
@GENE: That was the best hot and sour soup ever! It needs to be a BBC stop for sure on your next tour!
@Danny Maness: It was even better than it looks! Sorry!
@Jaws: I noticed that in the picture too, Jaws! If you're camera shy you shouldn't be sitting next to Wilfred Brimley!
Cock flavored soup, eh? Jesus, do I even want to know? I get chills just thinking about that special secret ingredient....brrr.
Absolutely cannot wait to go back to Wo Hop's. Your food had us drooling down here. I know you loved it, but it's a lot of food for one sitting. Thanks for going there and reminding me of how much I miss NY. I think Wo Hops is open 24/7 365 days,,,,another words, if your drunk and need fuel at 3am,,,go there, recharge. Wasn't Blondie an absolute beauty? (Oh, you ate downstairs,,,way to go)
@Jaws: It is a little bone-chilling, isn't it?
@Al: It was a great meal! Mucho thanks to you, my faithful co-pilot for suggesting the joint! And yeah, it is open 24/7, a true old school New York institution!
If Wo Hop ever opens a second location, what do you call it?
Most reviewers agree with Marty about Wo Hop, some snobby reviewers snub it, a small minority of reviewers abstain from giving a review at all.
Mmmmmmmm!! Great post, Marty! You must stop these awesome food posts! It's just not fair!!! haha!
@CSP: Funny dude,,,,sick at Wo Hops at 4am? That guy was totally wasted when he walked in,,,,it's what happens when amateurs drink, not the food,,,I bet Marty, Gene and I wouldn't have that problem, the place does draw the after hours drunks late,,,but,, hey it's free entertainment,,,,but please dont puke,,,,lol
I have to come here again with my best friend. I remember eating the snails in black bean sauce..I want some hot and sour soup now!!I love ribs over rice. This place is a classic. Thanks for the tour and I like the mirror shot. Another must. I am craving some Peking duck too--yum. Is Gumby a duck lover??Glad he had fun too!!
@ Jaws The Cabbie--I love the Vietnamese summer rolls--the soft ones filled with shrimp-glassine noodles and cilantro with hosin sauce inside. YUM!!
This post is so racist! Look at all that Chinese stuff!
Kidding! That food looks fantastic. I have yet to find good Chinese in Harrisburg, which is sad indeed. I'm going to make my own stir-fry instead for tonight.
Yuck !!!!!!
Not The Best Place in Chinatown !!!!!!
They Don't Have Drunken Shrimp on Menu , & other Great Chinese Food !!!!
Noticed There Are No Chinese People Eating in Their !!!!!!
I don't understand why you didn't go to The Restarant I told You about near Bayard St !!!!!
Do You Know What Wo Hop means in Chinese , LOL !!!!!
Fools , keep gong there & spend your American Dollars , Yokes On You !!!!! LOL!!!!!
They should call that Restarant " RED " !!!!!!
Oh , & I guess when your Drunk , everything taste like Chinese Food !!!!!!!
@Ummo: I see you are successfully integrating into French society. Je plaisante.
@csp: Thanks for the linkage, great stuff!
@Lindsay: Okay, no food tonight! It's a deal!
@Melanie: A guy I work with has had the snails in here and says they're great! It's the best hot and sour soup I've ever had!
@Britta: Homemade stir fry sounds great!
@UMMO: It was a great meal so shut up. Oh wait, I'll change that remark to UMMOspeak: SHUT UP !!!!!! (Maybe in France it's okay to use multiple exclamation marks, but here on this blog, one will do just fine. C'est la vie.)
Boy, oh boy...all these comments have got me hungry, think I'll whip me up a batch of cock flavored soup. Let's see, that pot of water looks like it's boiling just about now....umm hmm...time to add the ingredients...wait jest a second (zip)...umm hmm....SHRIEK! SCREAM!! WAIL!! OH, GHOD THAT HUUUURTS...WAAAAAAAUUUUUUGH......JEEEEEESUS THAT HUUUUUURTS.....
MAD RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just broke one.
glad to hear MAD had a good meal at Wo Hop...i happen to have had a number of great experiences there...but flip the coin i did have a couple "UFB" bad ones...that said the good out weigh the bad...and al scores again to keep his unbroken streak going...not sure i want to think what is goin' on w/ jaws...
And I find chopsticks frankly distressing. Am I alone in thinking it odd that a people ingenious enough to invent paper, gunpowder, kites and any number of other useful objects, and who have a noble history extending back 3,000 years haven’t yet worked out that a pair of knitting needles is no way to capture food?
~Bill Bryson
rr
yeah i know Wo Hop only brings out chopsticks if requested...in fact one bad time involve chopsticks...maybe later on that...
rr
@Jaws: Ouch!
@csp: Don't ever do that again, please and thank you!
@rr: I was there on a good night last night the food and service was great! Now I'm dying to hear that chopsticks story! Funny quote!
ok.
Speaking of chopsticks, how did you get Val Kilmer to pose for Al's co-pilot photo?
@csp: I'll never tell, it's a little embarrassing. But it did involve chopsticks...and a goat...or two.
That's a scary looking amount of food, & remarkably glutinous! You gotta go to Nom Wah Tea Parlor on Doyer Street - excellent dim sum & cheap. Really nice people working there, & even coat & hat stands by each table. You could hang Gumby up on one. He might enjoy it!
Have a couple more swizzles & a bonus alcohol accessory!
Wo-Hop! I haven't been there in 30 years! I still looks great! Many a night I spent there after a punk show. A little known fact: one of the back corner booths is the location of an infamous "rub out" of a Chinese gangster.
I loved their lo-mein.
Thanks for the memory!
@onemorefoldedsunset: I'll have to check out Nom Wah Tea Parlor one of these Sundays, thanks for the suggestion! It would be fun to see Gumby get all hung up there!
@Javaman: Scary factoid! Glad to have brought back some memories for you and yes, the lo-mein their is the best!
Good call Al!
Is the guy in the photo beneath 'Wilford Brimley' blowing his nose?
Ummo, tell your people Jerry Lewis is no longer hosting the MDA Telethon.
Certainly a Day of Mourning.
@"Boris": I think maybe his food was too spicy! A day of Mourning indeed! Or maybe evening with the time difference!