Mee Sum Cafe

Brittany Yoon

Pinnacle of ugly delicious. So yummy so authentic. Congee is delicious. Zongzi is a must. We got the Canton style bc the other style was sold out. But still so good. I was blown away. Felt like stepping into Hong Kong. The Zongzi in lotus leaf is divine. Absolute must I think.

ben l

As authentic as it can get in chinatown, nyc. It's an old school Chinese tea parlor that has been around since 1967. They serve some dimsum, rice boxes, tea wrapped glutinous rice with salted meat or chicken, and so much more. Their menus on the wall are all Chinese but they do have menus in English and the servers do speak English, albeit with an accent. This place is definitely a little hole in the wall that is basically the Chinese version of diners from back in the day.

Alex Kimlon

I put 5 star for the value for money their food. The last time I came here was 25-26 years ago. The food is still the same, taken over by the family younger generations, hence the food quality is still the same, yet the price reasonable

A Chio

Great hole-in-the-wall old school Cantonese cafe.

James Angevine

This place, dating back to the 1960s, should be considered a historic landmark in the city. It's an old styled Chinese coffee shop, with inexpensive dishes such as rice dumplings, congee, and baked buns. The decor is outdated, but it only adds to the true authenticity of the shop, focusing almost more as a community space for people to catch up. I'd recommend anyone to stop by for a quick bite, I'll certainly be back

haley

An establishment for the elderly. the entrance is so crowded with junk that it feels like the restaurant is trying to hide itself from the general public. Recently, I’ve been trying to hide less, reach out to people, be optimistic, excited, I ordered way too much food. The eggs over rice was good, the roast pork rice roll ok, I actually liked the coffee, love is easy.

Known for its traditional Cantonese comfort food, Mee Sum serves up hearty meals with most dishes under $10. It’s a no-frills, nostalgic diner-style spot that locals have cherished for generations. During my visit, Hing Jea, Mee Sum’s manager who has been working there for over 20 years, made everyone feel right at home. She warmly greeted customers like old friends. She even treated my boyfriend a free lemon ginger drink. The restaurant is small, but they serve a variety of food like dim sum, congee, steamed rice, and zongzi. We got their most famous toisan style salted chicken rice. The ginger scallion sauce was best enjoyed with rice. The chicken had many bones but it was still delicious. The skin of the har gaw was a little bit dried out. I guessed their dim sum has been sitting in the steamer since early morning, as they open at 5 or 6 am every day.

Mee Sum Cafe feels like a time capsule — humble exterior, bustling interior. We ordered the har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai, pork ribs, and minced beef with egg rice. Everything tasted fresh and handmade, especially the siu mai and pork ribs — savory, juicy, and not greasy at all. We were a bit disappointed by the milk tea (too watery), but overall, for under $30 for two people, it’s a steal. Perfect for a quick, no-frills dim sum fix with old-school vibes.

We passed by on our way home and found this empty restaurant. The rice was light with a touch of salt from the fish. While the small fish slices were decent, the pork patty was rather bland. The portion is sufficiently filling

Hole in the wall old style plain store but love the 100% authentic traditional “zongyi” sticky rice wrapped in leaf. They sell different varieties very excited they offer the “extra ingredient” one with egg yolk. Very fresh & yummy can’t wait to revisit for more! Please never stop making this.

This would have been five stars if they accepted card payments. Cash-only in 2019 is a fundamental lack of respect for your customers. Payment aside, the dim sum in this no-frills, authentic establishment is light, perfectly formed, and cheap. The har gau were soft and springy , and the char siu bun was good. The pork sumai were slightly less soft. Most of the customers are Chinese regulars, so there is an authentic vibe that is hard to find these days in most Chinese restaurants.

This hole in the wall serves good dim sum at unbelievably low prices. The food is not amazing, and there isn't much service to speak of, but it makes up for it in speed, price, and selection.

Mee Sum cafe has been around for over 40 years. 1 of 3 places in Chinatown that till brew coffee with small pryex pots. Their best dishes are the Jun, stuffed rice with bamboo leave wrap. Either bean, peanuts or meat, they are all good. For lunch, there is the beef cake over white rice, salted fish with pork cake over rice and shrimp omlet over rice. My father likes their fried fish over rice. There are many other menu items written in Chinese on carved out wood strips. You will have to know how to read them to know what they are. Most of the staff cannot converse effectively in any lingo other than Cantonese. 2/18/22- one of the few surviving coffee shops left in C-town after Covid . Their food just get more appealing . Their Lap may over rice was great. So we're the salted chicken , ham and egg and the rest of the lunch rice dishes. All for an amazing price of $5.00, just a price increase of 25 cents. You can't beat it. Every other place , their prices went up more than 25%. I would hate to see this place close, still the best coffee in C-town.

Ruby Chan

Known for its traditional Cantonese comfort food, Mee Sum serves up hearty meals with most dishes under $10. It’s a no-frills, nostalgic diner-style spot that locals have cherished for generations. During my visit, Hing Jea, Mee Sum’s manager who has been working there for over 20 years, made everyone feel right at home. She warmly greeted customers like old friends. She even treated my boyfriend a free lemon ginger drink. The restaurant is small, but they serve a variety of food like dim sum, congee, steamed rice, and zongzi. We got their most famous toisan style salted chicken rice. The ginger scallion sauce was best enjoyed with rice. The chicken had many bones but it was still delicious. The skin of the har gaw was a little bit dried out. I guessed their dim sum has been sitting in the steamer since early morning, as they open at 5 or 6 am every day.

Yuelin Li

Mee Sum Cafe feels like a time capsule — humble exterior, bustling interior. We ordered the har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai, pork ribs, and minced beef with egg rice. Everything tasted fresh and handmade, especially the siu mai and pork ribs — savory, juicy, and not greasy at all. We were a bit disappointed by the milk tea (too watery), but overall, for under $30 for two people, it’s a steal. Perfect for a quick, no-frills dim sum fix with old-school vibes.

Kin

We passed by on our way home and found this empty restaurant. The rice was light with a touch of salt from the fish. While the small fish slices were decent, the pork patty was rather bland. The portion is sufficiently filling

EH

Hole in the wall old style plain store but love the 100% authentic traditional “zongyi” sticky rice wrapped in leaf. They sell different varieties very excited they offer the “extra ingredient” one with egg yolk. Very fresh & yummy can’t wait to revisit for more! Please never stop making this.

Prita Das

This would have been five stars if they accepted card payments. Cash-only in 2019 is a fundamental lack of respect for your customers. Payment aside, the dim sum in this no-frills, authentic establishment is light, perfectly formed, and cheap. The har gau were soft and springy , and the char siu bun was good. The pork sumai were slightly less soft. Most of the customers are Chinese regulars, so there is an authentic vibe that is hard to find these days in most Chinese restaurants.

Javier Kohen

This hole in the wall serves good dim sum at unbelievably low prices. The food is not amazing, and there isn't much service to speak of, but it makes up for it in speed, price, and selection.

cathyman 1

Mee Sum cafe has been around for over 40 years. 1 of 3 places in Chinatown that till brew coffee with small pryex pots. Their best dishes are the Jun, stuffed rice with bamboo leave wrap. Either bean, peanuts or meat, they are all good. For lunch, there is the beef cake over white rice, salted fish with pork cake over rice and shrimp omlet over rice. My father likes their fried fish over rice. There are many other menu items written in Chinese on carved out wood strips. You will have to know how to read them to know what they are. Most of the staff cannot converse effectively in any lingo other than Cantonese. 2/18/22- one of the few surviving coffee shops left in C-town after Covid . Their food just get more appealing . Their Lap may over rice was great. So we're the salted chicken , ham and egg and the rest of the lunch rice dishes. All for an amazing price of $5.00, just a price increase of 25 cents. You can't beat it. Every other place , their prices went up more than 25%. I would hate to see this place close, still the best coffee in C-town.

A Chinese diner in Chinatown, need to try and experience. Food Cantonese, was good but nothing special. Would go back and try some other dishes, but not on top of my list. Stop by check it out, does get busy which is a good sign.

This place all about food as utility. Nothing fanciful. Its basic value for money. Food choices are mostly a mix of basic cantonese diner style staples. The taste isnt bad but its not really anything to recommend either. Rice dumplings, rice rolls, porridge, pork and shrimp dim sum dishes were slightly below average. The grilled fish was expensive $13 for a 9 inch grilled fish. Taste wise, its fine. Nothing to write home about. For the curious who wants to experience a typical Hong Kong diner feel, this is probably one of the last places in Chinatown to do it.

RJ A

A Chinese diner in Chinatown, need to try and experience. Food Cantonese, was good but nothing special. Would go back and try some other dishes, but not on top of my list. Stop by check it out, does get busy which is a good sign.

Frank Young

This place all about food as utility. Nothing fanciful. Its basic value for money. Food choices are mostly a mix of basic cantonese diner style staples. The taste isnt bad but its not really anything to recommend either. Rice dumplings, rice rolls, porridge, pork and shrimp dim sum dishes were slightly below average. The grilled fish was expensive $13 for a 9 inch grilled fish. Taste wise, its fine. Nothing to write home about. For the curious who wants to experience a typical Hong Kong diner feel, this is probably one of the last places in Chinatown to do it.

Old school dim sum place, probably been around for a while. Quality is not there, a bit disappointed. Buns were hard, siu mai were dried, and the beef meatballs have no taste. Also, they overcharged me $2.75.

Took subway to try the cantonese style food here on a rainy morning only to be disappointed. Dim sum wasn't anything spectacular. Porridge had minimum ingredients in it that did not taste quite as fresh. Da Bao (bun) was a huge letdown with not much ingredient in it either.

Wood K

Old school dim sum place, probably been around for a while. Quality is not there, a bit disappointed. Buns were hard, siu mai were dried, and the beef meatballs have no taste. Also, they overcharged me $2.75.

BEWARE!! This place was not good!! It was not clean and the staff were not friendly. The food came out in minutes but it tasted bad. When we got up to pay the woman at the counter kept trying to tell us something and harassing us. We weren’t sure what she was saying at first then realized she was demanding a bigger tip. I will never go back here.

Dropped by around 4 PM and bought several zongzi and one bao to take home. Zongzi were beyond spoiled and completely sour, and the neither the bao nor the zongzi were stored warmed. Lady at the counter looked and acted as if the last thing she wanted to do was to be there.

Oung Kant

Dropped by around 4 PM and bought several zongzi and one bao to take home. Zongzi were beyond spoiled and completely sour, and the neither the bao nor the zongzi were stored warmed. Lady at the counter looked and acted as if the last thing she wanted to do was to be there.