Congee

Status: Closed for severe health code violations since summer 2014; it has been replaced with a new restaurant called Happy BBQ
Description:
Congee is a restaurant unrelated to Congee Village nor the other Congee Bowery further down at Bowery St. This is independently owned and the mgr have running this place since the 90s. The restaurant caters to family-​style dining, but also offers individual servings. The place closes near midnight to cater to the late night crowd and especially bus tourists just coming into New York. They specialize in Cantonese cooking and offer very good competitive prices. While most restaurants kept their dinner packages completely written in Cantonese, they’re kind enough to offer a completely translated listing and very flexible with alterations to suit your needs. Unfortunately, the place was shut down due to health code violations and the place has since been quiet and even worn down. However, there’s hope as the mgr has yet to put the place on sale.
Positives: good wait-​service, great affordable dishes, rated one of the best Cantonese restaurants
Negatives: worn furniture, cleanliness issues
Experience:
I’ve brought my friends over this place for many years. The wait-​staff is very friendly and the mgr is very accommodating. When your group is large enough, they will let you have access to the lower flooring, where they can cater a large private party. The food is good and very affordable. My only issue with the place is that it’s not always clean. You can see dust build-​up around the walls, the décor remains unchanged after all the years, and the furniture is terribly worn. When I saw the notice sign for closure, I wasn’t surprised, but I wouldn’t come back to a place filled with serious code violations. Unfortunately, this was the final nail and Congee no longer exists.

The name says it all. Congee is what’s best here, albeit there is a plethora of items on the menu. The ones with preserved eggs — Sliced fish with preserved egg and Pork with preserved egg are the best.
Although congees here are great, beware of the strong smell that could be a turn off for a few. Seafood lovers will love it. I’d not suggest this place to vegetarians or rookie non-​vegetarians.
Add some chilli sauce and pepper as per your taste and you’re set. Each congee dish costs around $ 4.25. But really, it’s not the price that draws us here, it’s the food. Pair it up soft shell crabs and there’s a filling, satiating, quick meal! Ambiance is pretty much like most Chinatown mid-​scale restaurants.

Congee really surprised me with the flavor of their dishes, and their prices are amazing. For 7 people, the bill came to less than $ 70. I really liked that they did not completely overload their food with MSG, which usually leaves us feeling really weird afterwards.
The pea shoots vegetable (duw miu in Cantonese) sauteed with garlic was awesome, and so was their General Tso’s chicken. The chow yee mien was also delicious — we got it with mushrooms and vegetables.
Ambiance is where they lost the stars for sure. It definitely is not that clean, and there is a dirty towel stench that comes out from the back of the restaurant. Next time, I’ll probably order to go instead.

They must have changed cooks. The shrimp dumpling used to be good. Now it’s a hit mess. It’s soggy. The skin breaks right away when you pick it up. There are no shrimp in the stuffing. The congee is still good.

Pretty solid congee. I really enjoy coming here when I want something simple and relatively quick. There is a $ 20 minimum for card, so make sure you have some cash on you (or come with a friend!). I always get the congee with sliced fish and preserved egg. My boyfriend is a bit more adventurous and has gotten a couple different kinds, all of which have been tasty. One of my go to places for good, simple, home-​y congee!

Came here last night for family dinner, food was just ok not even taste. We got the garlic Chinese Spanish no taste what too it. Got the fish only a few pieces and so much vegs.
The house salty chicken it was just ok. Not special about this place, doesn’t taste good like how it used too be. The service was very good. Super friendly.

For authentic Chinese cuisine, congee does it pretty well. The price is exceptionally low and the quality of the food is great. I ordered 4 soft shell crabs, half of their house chicken, walnut shrimps, sweet and sour pork chops + fish with corn. Total was less than $ 100 and it was pretty damn good! I would give them 5 stars but haven’t gotten the chance to experience the whole dining in Congee so I can’t tell about their customer service.

When I heard my friend was craving congee, the first thing I thought of was Congee. No it’s not a tautology. I was referring to the restaurant Congee, located on Bowery Street. Given that its name is literally just Congee, I figured that it must be pretty decent at this dish.
Sitting down, we noticed the big bowls of congee at the neighboring tables and immediately wondered if we would need to order a bowl each. However, when we tried to just order one bowl, the waiter seemed to be expectant of a second dish, so we reluctantly placed a second order.
Century Egg and Pork Congee — Delicious. The congee is a nice and thick consistency, one that you typically can’t just get from boiling water with rice. It was served in the pot used to make the congee.
Frog Congee — While the congee was still a nice consistency, the flavor wasn’t as good as the Century Egg and Pork Congee. Also, frog doesn’t really distribute well across a congee since each individual piece is quite big.
All in all, both my friend and I really liked the congee. It’s a nice and thick consistency that you can’t get from the typical bakeries /​cha chan tangs all over Chinatown. Interesting enough, a lot of the other clients seemed to be ordering items other than Congee so it seems like they do other dishes well too. I guess I’ll just have to return and see!

Not to be confused with some of the flashier ‘Congee Village’s’ nearby, what this unassuming Cantonese style restaurant at 98 Bowery lacks in neon lighting it makes up for in flavor! And it’s not just the food that I’m talking about, but I equally enjoy the characters who run this place. Especially the owner with his crazy voice and one of the waiters who we like to call «Pen Mark Pete». If you’ve ever been — you know what I’m talking about. I feel like at any minute the dining room is going to turn into an action scene from Kung Fu Hustle. The décor also makes no sense, but I love it.
But I digress. The real reason I keep coming back, is their congee. I usually get the pork and preserved egg which seems to be their most popular but thanks to Lisa H.‘s review I tried out the sliced fish and lettuce congee #14. WOW. The temperatures dropped into the 30’s last night so I decided to go get some to go to warm up along with some pan fried dumplings. The take out portion of congee comes in a quart container — I didn’t plan to finish it all in one sitting but it was so good that I didn’t leave a single drop! The lettuce is really the game changer — it adds a bit of sweetness to the congee that makes it addictive. It’s also the perfect meal now that the weather is starting to get cold.
Other than the congee I also love to get the beef chow mein, shrimp ball with walnut (I’m not sure why they call them shrimp balls, these are whole jumbo shrimp), the young chow fried rice (a lighter version of fried rice sans soy sauce) and the braised fish and tofu casserole. The menu has a lot of stuff on it, it’s a great place to come with friends, get a couple of your favorite dishes and try a few new ones — you won’t be disappointed!

My go-​to congee place that’s only a few blocks from where I work. I think I might’ve searched «nearby — congee» in my trusty Unilocal app on my phone and this was the first place that came up.
Well! That’s all it took because I’ve been returning constantly for the past year. I call in my order before I leave the office (usually the sliced fish congee) and it’s ready by the time I arrive. So worth the $ 3.95! It always picks me up if I’m feeling under the weather… or, just because.

Congee was always our first choice of Chinese restaurant in Manhattan Chinatown whenever my parents visit, so for my Grandma’s birthday, it was an easy choice for my family to decide where to feast!
We arrived around 6:30pm and were seated immediately. We ordered beef ribs with black pepper sauce, clam in black bean sauce, seafood casserole, fried flounder, fried chicken in garlic sauce, and salt and pepper squid. They gave us complimentary soup to start the meal. My gosh before we could finish our bowl of soup, all the dishes were being served already. Literally took them less than 10 minutes to make all 6 dishes!
My fav were the fried flounder and salt and peppered squid. The flounder dish included fried edible bones. We did not waste a single part of the fish — delish! The squid was a downgrade from what we last remembered it to be however. It was made with tiny squids with mostly tentacles. Nevertheless the seasoning was great!
The other 4 dishes however were just your average Chinese dishes. Huge portion but a bit oily. My only true complaint was that clam dish came out a bit cold and had lots of empty shells.
The generous owner came by to check on us and learned that it was my grandma’s birthday. He immediately asked if we wanted birthday buns as complimentary desserts. We accepted his kind gesture. Along with complimentary black sesame rolls and a plate of honeydew melon, he gave us 5 steaming honey peach shaped lotus paste filled buns. What a perfect ending to a great celebration!
6 dishes along with complimentary soup, desserts, fruits and steamed buns for 110 dollars including tip — very reasonable! We’ll definitely continue to return for more future family celebration!

Cheap place for authentic Cantonese congee. My favorite is Pork & Preserved Egg Congee. A bowl can at least feed three people — so large quantity for the price. I only came here for the congee because someone recommended me and it didn’t disappoint me

This is a reliable spot for good Cantonese food. Service is standard Chinese restaurant, so not always reliable good. If you come often enough, and they get to know you, you get great service! They are very accommodating to the elderly, so even though they set up our reserved table downstairs, they rearranged everything so my grandma could stay upstairs.
Their set dinners are pretty solid. So if you have a large group and not sure what to order, just pick one of the set dinners.

Food here is awesome. True chinese food. One of the best chinese restaurants located in chinatown. The place is a bit dirty, but doable since it was compensated with great favors. If you eat here for dinner they usually give you a free soup. (****)
I usually order the baked squid (a recommend dish from the waiters), eggplant with pork casserole and beef with vegetable. I recommend exploring your favors here, you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. I recommend this restaurant to my coworker and she was afraid of eating chicken feet when I told her about it. She decide to give it a try in this restaurant. She told me she LOVED it and based on her answer I can sense she’ll order chicken feet from now on. (****)
Service is quick, everything pretty much comes out at once. The boss lady and her husband is a funny character. You can never forget their voices. You get either fruits or black sesame roll at the end of your meal. A nice way to finish up and save money on desserts for later. (****)
Bottom line, the food is cheap and good. Come here for chinese food. You won’t regret it.

Congee House is a standard place for lunch and dinner. With the price that you are paying, there are other better place. So I went in for lunch by myself (i have friends ok); there’s really quiet for lunch time. That really say something about their freshness on food. Ordered a congee which comes really quick and super hot. Felt like they just got it out of the microwave.
Anyway If you want to go for a quick lunch, I will suggest go to another place like one down on Mott,

I came here so many times with my family and every time the food was just as good as the time before. You can count on the consistency from this place!
My favorite dish are the jumbo shrimps with walnuts, pan fried noodles, chow fun, whole fried chicken, congee, spring rolls, steak dishes… excellent quality and fast service– you get seated immediately and orders taken quickly, and food comes out shortly thereafter.
The décor is simple, and the staff don’t always speak the greatest English, but that’s what you get for a restaurant in Chinatown that’s a tad more on the authentic side. It’s also very affordable.

$ 4.50 for a big ol’ clay pot of congee on a cold freezing day? Yes, please! This place serves damn good congee and it’s so cheap. It’s a hidden jewel compared to the overrated Congee Village. They’re also famous for their beef pan fried noodles. I’ve gotten my gwai-​lo friends all hooked on it. It’s also never overly crowded and they will always find seats for you even if they have to open up the basement. The last time I was there, I got two big dishes of fried noodles, two bowls of congee, and a noodle soup, and my bill was less than $ 25! Restaurants like these makes me proud to be Chinese!

Decent selection of comfort Shanghainese+ Cantonese food, but the quality is just ok.
Pork and preserved egg congee are a bit over flavored; the jelly fish as a full size dish was not as good as those jelly fish head that I normally have at dimsum places, not to mention that they were dripped in oil.
But I do love the fresh shrimp rice roll!
The snow pea leaf with garlic was really tasty and the portion was huuuuuge. The menu listed price was unclear, stated as «S.P», thereafter it turned out to $ 19… for a single veggie dish. So my only comment would be to beware of those items of ambiguous price.

Good service, cheap, no frills Chinese food.
Ordered Beef with Yow choy, baked squid (but tasted and seemed fried), and Eggplant with pork casserole). They gave us a pot of soup and ordered a side of rice to go along with the main dishes.
Service was quick and neat. The tables were a little sticky, but food was great.
At the end of dinner, they give you a platter of sweets; watermellon, black sesame sweet dessert rolls.
If congee village is packed on Allen st, just come here instead, and its less of a tourist trap.

cheap, reliable good olé cantonese styled Chinese food!
Ive been living in Taiwan for the past two years, and now that I’m back in New York… Boy is it great to eat some good olé canto food!
and the price! yeah!
get the family sets. 10 people and we ordered the $ 220 set. Yes, you read correctly, 10 people, 220 dollars.
The meal set was a typical list of ‘the cantonese food hits’
1) chopped up veggie in a crispy roll (yum!)
2) spicy fried tiny squids (yum!)
3) chinese seafood chowder (yum!)
4) giant mushrooms with broccoli rabe (the mushrooms were unusually tasty!)
5) twin lobsters (cantonese gingery style)
6) fried fish (wish i t were the steamed one… there seems to be a fry theme going on)
7) t bone steak (too chewy! blah)
8) fried rice (was surprised by how good it tasted!)
9) fried noodles (didnt taste that good)
10) Fruit plate
the only drag? I think these family styled menus are only in chinese…
bummer!