NYC Hidden Gem #1

Food is everywhere in New York. On the street, atop the tallest towers and underground. And you can’t consult any medium without being inundated with food tips. Yet you’re always searching for that one place that has everything: atmosphere, great food and personal (but not overly familiar) service. Stop searching: Food editor at large Marjan Ippel found it in the heart of Greenwich Village.

Name Hao Noodle & Tea by Madam Zhu’s Kitchen
Type High-end Chinese
Service Attentive, friendly
Cuisine Chinese
Interior Stylishly non-Chinese and hyper-Chinese at the same time
Extra Beautiful tea to accompany the meal
Price $$

In the heart of The Village

You’ve already been in New York for a few days, and you’re still startled by every restaurant bill. Until you step into Hao. It looks so stylish that you immediately start worrying about your credit card.

No need. Hao Noodle & Tea is unique not only because it serves Yunnan Dianhong and other Chinese teas with its refined pan-Chinese dishes, but also because of the prices it charges. And that in the heart of The Village.

Chinese tea with noodles and dim sum, in the heart of Greenwich Village.

Madam Zhu’s Kitchen is a restaurant chain from Beijing that opened this first location outside China in the summer of 2016. While kitchen staff in New York restaurants are usually Mexican, here the kitchen staff was flown in directly from China.

Order the wood ear mushrooms with chillies, the spinach in ginger sauce and the ‘dan dan’ noodles. The latter are almost as delicious as they are in Shanghai.

Finally, a reassurance for notorious heavy drinkers: the wine and beer are affordable too (more affordable than elsewhere).

Image: Hao Noodle & Tea