5. Jing Fong
When you have a hankering for classic dim sum on the Upper West Side, head to Jing Fong. For 28 years, Jing Fong’s palatial flagship in Manhattan Chinatown provided a haven for not only dumpling devotees but also recent immigrants in need of employment. In March 2021, citing the financial toll of the pandemic, Jing Fong’s owners decided to close the original venue and move to a smaller spot. This leaves the Upper West Side restaurant, spanning a shady corner of Amsterdam Avenue, the temporarily sole source of Jing Fong’s well-executed dim sum favorites. The popularity of Jing Fong’s fluffy pork buns, filled with meat slow-cooked in sweet soy, has translated to the Upper West Side. The buns appear on the tables of young families and empty-nesters alike, often alongside pan-fried turnip cakes studded with Chinese sausage.
Jing Fong is the place to fill in the gaps left by the more specialized spots on our dumpling tour. A good way to begin is with the pearly har gow, or shrimp dumplings, filled with plump seafood and bound in a soft rice flour wrapper. Double down on crustaceans and order the siu mai. Sharing the same shape as Tri Dim West’s shumai, this version comes stuffed with ground pork and shrimp and crowned with roe. For a more unique offering, try the Peking duck and asparagus dumpling, dyed purple using fresh beet juice.
Jing Fong is located at 380 Amsterdam Ave. Manhattan, NY 10024
