Golden Unicorn: Chinatown, Manhattan, NY, NY, USA
I want to try and find some of the best dim sum places in New York city while I am here. This place was actually recommended by the parents of a family friend. I’ve already been to this place twice, and it is much nicer and shorter of a wait than Jing Fong. Jing Fong is supposedly the place to be, and it is remembered mostly by the large escalator going upstairs once your number is called. However, the wait at Golden Unicorn was a bit shorter. I’m going to put a ton of pictures out, but all in all, it’s difficult to rate a dim sum restaurant simply because there are too many dishes to place. However, I will write a few things if there is something that I remember standing out.
PROS
- if you go early, as in 1045-11am, you will only have to wait 10-15 minutes for a table. Once it hits 12 the wait can be as long as 30-45 minutes.
- the largest variety of dim sum comes after noon so apparently its worth the wait. We ended up getting full too fast and realized the error of our ways once we started to see our favorite dishes being carted out as we were leaving around noon or 1230pm.
- food is always coming around so you rarely have to wait
- the food is always hot so it hasn’t been sitting there forever, even if it is a repeat of something you’ve already had.
- you can specifically request dishes if you want them ahead of time, but it can take forever to get them.
CONS
- service isn’t the best. It took forever (as in over 30minutes) to get soy sauce for our table, and I speak mandarin. It took forever to get tea and ice water as well
- If you come too early, you get the same dim sum foods coming around to your table and no variety.
- slightly more expensive than Jing Fong, but I want to say that there is more variety.
- Chicken feet (above): I can’t say that this is the best version of chicken feet that I’ve had truthfully. Atlanta had a better version. For one, the skin isn’t super soft and the ligaments/tendons aren’t falling off the bone which is what I’m used to. The sauce doesn’t get incorporated as well when the skin/meat isn’t cooked to the point of it being super soft. It isn’t bad in terms of flavor, and it isn’t overly salty, but I think it could be cooked a little longer to be more tender.
- Chinese noodle wrapper (Cheong Fun): I definitely like this dish quite a bit, but I can’t say that this is my favorite version. I think it may be the cilantro or the parsley in the center. I also like to have shrimp with the fried onion bits on top versus shrimp and the vegetable. This is still done really well though!
- shrimp shumai: I really liked this because it came out hot and it is different than the standard pork shumai. The masago on top is unnecessary though but I suppose it does add a little more salt to the dish. I like this better than the pork version because it is slightly less salty, even with the fish roe on top.
- Sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf (above): this was actually a lot better than most places. It was well seasoned and the portion size wasn’t enormous. You can easily share this with other people since it comes in three small servings. There is an equal amount of stuffing to rice and isn’t disgustingly oily.
It is a bit more of a walk to get to Golden Unicorn. It’s located almost near the Brooklyn bridge at the bottom of Manhattan. From Canal Street station, it’s a good 15 minute walk. I think it is worth it though. That being said, I definitely want to come here at noon and wait for about 30-45 minutes because the variety of food that came out around then was pretty spectacular. You can find them here:
