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Why NYC Chinese Food Will Always Be in a League of Its Own, According to Josh Peck and Ben Soffer

August 19, 2025

There’s always a debate about where the best Chinese food comes from. Some swear by San Francisco’s dim sum scene, others say nothing beats LA.’s SGV. But if you ask Josh Peck and Ben Soffer, the answer’s easy: New York all the way.

On Good Guys, the hosts transition from reminiscing about mall vending machines to crafting the ultimate Chinese food order: pan-fried and steamed dumplings, wonton soup, egg rolls, scallion pancakes, lo mein, and cold peanut noodles. It’s the kind of chaotic, family-style feast that only makes sense in a place like the Big Apple. Because here’s the thing—NYC Chinese food does hit different.

NYC has the largest Chinese community outside Asia

According to the latest census data, over 600,000 Chinese Americans live in New York City alone, with more than 800,000 across the metro area. That’s the biggest Chinese population of any city in the world outside of China. It also means most restaurants there aren’t cooking for tourists or tailoring dishes to Americanized expectations; they’re making food for people who know the difference.

You can feel that everywhere—from the delivery joints that know your order by heart to the sit-down spots packed with three generations at one table. The city’s three main hubs—Manhattan’s Chinatown, Flushing in Queens, and Sunset Park in Brooklyn—are where this all shows up best.

According to NYC Tourism, they’re the go-to neighborhoods for visitors looking to experience dim sum, dumplings, and classic Chinese desserts. But for locals, they’re part of everyday life.

The variety makes it special

Walk a few blocks in Flushing and you’ll spot hand-pulled Lanzhou noodles, Dongbei-style dumplings, spicy Sichuan hot pots, and sweet red bean pastries from Fujian bakeries. Over in Sunset Park, you’ll find everything from Hong Kong–style diners to Taiwanese bubble tea cafes and Cantonese seafood palaces where the menu is 12 pages long and no one’s rushing you out.

There’s a reason the kind of over-the-top order Peck and Soffer describe feels so familiar. New York’s Chinese food culture wasn’t built on combo plates or General Tso’s chicken. Generations of immigrants shaped it, each bringing their cooking styles and building restaurants for their own communities. That’s why the cold peanut noodles hit. That’s why you need both steamed and pan-fried dumplings. That’s why five entrées, noodles, and two types of soup don’t feel excessive there—they feel right.

Why New York became a Chinese food capital

The reason New York’s Chinese food culture feels so deeply rooted is that it has been growing there for well over a century. The first Chinese immigrants began arriving in the 1800s, many leaving southern China to escape poverty, famine, and political unrest. While the earliest arrivals settled on the West Coast, harsh anti-Chinese laws and discrimination pushed many to seek new opportunities in cities like New York.

Lower Manhattan became the starting point. By the 1870s, a small Chinatown had formed around Mott and Pell streets, anchored by laundries, shops, and restaurants that catered to the community’s needs. Over time, immigration waves brought people from new regions—such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Fuzhou—each adding their own cooking styles to the mix.

The most significant shift came after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which lifted decades-old quotas and opened the door for large-scale Chinese immigration to the U.S. In New York, that meant Chinatown expanded and entirely new hubs formed in Flushing and Sunset Park. Each neighborhood developed its own unique flavor profile, shaped by the people who lived there and what they craved. And together, they gave New York a food culture built for locals first—rich, varied, and unapologetically authentic.

How to find the best Chinese food in New York

Peck and Soffer might not consider themselves food critics, but their episode actually drops some solid intel on eating Chinese in NYC.

First, decide if you’re in the mood for what Soffer calls “clean Chinese” or “dirty Chinese”—meaning upscale, white-tablecloth service at a place like Shun Lee, or sliding into a booth at a neighborhood spot where the soy sauce is already on the table. Both can be great; they’re just different experiences.

Second, don’t try to order solo. Channel what they call the “big, fat quarterback” and let one person take charge of a family-style spread. It’s the best way to cover more dishes, and in NYC, the menus are built for that.

Third, mix in some local legends. Cold peanut noodles are a New York classic with roots in Taiwanese cuisine. Chow fun has been a Cantonese staple here for decades. These dishes aren’t just delicious—they’re part of the city’s Chinese food story.

And finally, don’t sleep on the neighborhood joints that have been feeding locals for 20 or 30 years. Peck and Soffer still talk about the speed of old-school Chinese takeout for a reason. “The spectacular thing about Chinese takeout, especially in New York in the ’90s, was how fast that delivery driver was at your house. Like, how are you here, bro?” Peck says. Those places know precisely what they’re doing, and they’ve been doing it forever.