Welcome to Good Century Cafe
At Good Century Cafe, nestled in the vibrant heart of Manhattan's Chinatown, a unique culinary journey awaits. This hidden gem offers a delightful fusion of Cantonese dim sum and traditional bakery treats. Known for its generous portions and affordable prices, the cafe serves up mouthwatering dishes like pork dumplings, shrimp shu mai, and savory buns. With a cozy ambiance ideal for both dining in and grab-and-go, locals and curious visitors alike flock to savor their favorites. The friendly atmosphere and warm service make every visit feel like a cherished neighborhood experience, where each bite transports you to a culinary haven.
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243 Grand St, New York, NY 10002 Hotline: (212) 334-1313
Welcome to Good Century Cafe: a delightful slice of culinary heaven nestled in the vibrant heart of Chinatown, New York City. With its unique fusion of bakery and dim sum offerings, this cash-only gem at 243 Grand St. tantalizes the taste buds of locals and visitors alike.
This eatery shines with a modest yet tantalizing menu, featuring scrumptious selections such as their famed Shrimp Dumplings and Pork Buns, which have won the hearts of many. Patrons rave about the generous portions and reasonable prices, confirming that Good Century Cafe is a true hidden gem for dim sum enthusiasts.
- Dim Sum Delights: A visit wouldn’t be complete without savoring their popular Shumai at just $3.50. It’s a delightful bite that encapsulates everything good about dim sum – juicy, tender, and full of flavor.
- Heavenly Baked Goods: The cafe excels in its bakery offerings, including Black Bean Filled Pastries and delightful Sticky Rice Buns, which are beloved for their chewy and fluffy textures.
- Drink Options: Complement your meal with a refreshing Ovaltine or the aromatic 鴛鴦 (Yuen Yeung) – a delightful blend of coffee and tea.
Customers have affectionately described the atmosphere as lively, often filled with the energetic buzz of locals and regulars, creating a welcoming ambiance that invites you to sit and savor your meal. The friendly staff is notable for both their warmth and efficiency, ensuring that your experience at Good Century Cafe is smooth and enjoyable.
As you enter this charming bakery, you’ll witness a captivating mix of cultures, where traditional Cantonese flavors meet a quick-service environment. With a variety of options to either dine in or take away, Good Century Cafe stands out as a haven for anyone eager to indulge in delicious dim sum while enjoying the rich tapestry of Chinatown.
In summary: Good Century Cafe is not just a bakery or dim sum spot; it’s a culinary experience that beckons you to explore the flavors of Chinese-Vietnamese cuisine in an inviting setting. Whether you're a lifelong fan of dim sum or a curious newcomer, your visit here is bound to leave you craving more.
this place was also on my saved for their red bean bun but i couldn't even see it on the menu to order it so i didn't. mainly i went here because we needed seats to eat and obviously i'm not gonna be weird af and eat inside without buying anything. so i got this raisin bread thing and something else i forgot. but they were both awesome and filled my studying when i brought it back later.
What a hidden gem! This place is cash only. I got: - shrimp shu mai - har gow - pork bao bun I was impressed with how generous the portions are! Everything is so inexpensive and delicious.
This cafe offers limited but fantastic options for some dim sum that can be grab and go or for you to sit and enjoy. I particularly love getting their shu mai/pork dumpling here, it's only $3.50 which is so cheap for dim sum! The pieces are plump and well seasoned. They have baked and steamed buns, rice rolls, coffee, etc. You see a lot of locals stopping by to grab a quick bite. It is cash only. There's two lines - first one is for coffee/breads and the one in the back is for their hot foods.
I came here only for the dim sum. Arrived on a Sunday around noon, yes it was busy and initially full of old Chinese aunties & uncles, but the table turnaround here seemed pretty fast and within about 30 seconds a customer got up and vacated his table so we were lucky enough to take his spot. The restaurant is of an interesting category of Canto style dim sum plus a bakery section, with seating space - there are a few of these in NYC chinatown but they're becoming so rare. Interestingly I noticed a few younger non-Asian customers ordering take-out, so this place must be well known locally in the overall community. *Rice: We ordered spare ribs over rice, and salt fish & meat over rice. This is an absolute bargain of a take-out rice box in NYC at just $6 each. Each box includes stir fried cabbage and an over-hard fried egg!! The steamed spare ribs weren't the most vibrant & freshly seasoned I've ever had but they were still quite delicious. The salt fish & meat comes in the form of a steamed patty, and I will say that the salt fish flavor is quite strong but seemed to pair well with the rice & cabbage. *Steamed dumpling: We ordered pork dumpling (it's actually shumai) and shrimp dumpling (it's actually har gow). These are some of the fattest steamed dumplings I've had and they were delicious. Juicy, most, with the perfect dough texture. Each dumpling order came in a group of 4, in clear plastic boxes. The service here was quick & efficient. Cash-only which is quite typical but at least they charge no tax on top. I also love how I overheard the owners conversing with each other in Vietnamese and switching to Canto with some customers - meaning they're Chinese Vietnamese!! Having visited a few Chinese eateries that ended up being run by Chinese Vietnamese people, I am fully convinced they just do things better (yes I'm Vietnamese so I'm biased). Come support this place before it inevitably disappears.
Great shumai, just fine har gow and combo steamed buns. The shumai quality and price alone make this place one to go to. Would definitely return to try lotus leaf sticky rice, rice roll, meat in tofu, and egg tarts.
Stumbled upon this low key bakery and loved it! The staff was really nice and helpful. Only got one thing this time - an Amazing Black Bean Filled Pastry. I've never had it before, so was curious to try it. So glad I did - I was very pleasantly surprised by both the flavor and the texture! The skin is kinda like Mochi and Bread Dough had a baby - chewy and fluffy at the same time! The one aspect that could be improved upon is that the skin/bun part is slightly more oily/heavier than I would've preferred. It's filled with black bean paste which I always love!
This is a bakery in Chinatown serving pastries, breads, drinks, simple bentos, and dim sum (not the kind with carts). Like most places in Chinatown - cash only! We came here to grab some dim sum dishes -- siu mai and shrimp dumplings. Both were reasonable prices (in fact all their prices look pretty fair), and everything comes out on disposable wear. There are quite a few tables to sit at to eat, or you can just take it to go. They don't have the best dim sum in the world, but this is a very easy to way to grab a couple items you might be craving :) Both the siu mai and shrimp dumpling were tasty and filling. There were lots of people coming and going, so definitely a popular spot!
I came here searching for steamed baos because a lot of the bakeries I normally go to are closed for the time being. The baked breads were nicely wrapped and I picked up a few black bean swirl buns ($1.25 each). The other breads were of a good size for the price, but I was not really interested in the variety that they offered. We bought sticky rice baos and chicken baos, which are cold and need to be steamed again at home. The sticky rice baos were my favorite! The sticky rice was tasty and it went well with the bao. I would get it again! The chicken baos were on the small side and were not too special. The lady who helped us was nice and when we asked if the baos tasted good, she was honest instead of just saying "of course!" The environment of the cafe was nice and the place was spacious, though I believe that is because they moved the tables.
During my 2 week vacation of New York City which was back in June 2019... After taking a nice relaxing walk around Manhattan Chinatown... And from there it was getting close to lunch time as... I was exploring every Chinese restaurant through out the Manhattan Chinatown area and didn't really know which Chinese restaurant to eat at!!! Until I came across to the Good Century Café which makes really good Chicken Rice Plate... So from there it was clear that... I wanted to eat here and all I wanted to eat was a Chicken Rice Plate !!! And the that I have chosen from menu of Good Century Cafe was the Chicken Rice Plate... Which was my very 1st eating it, and when I was done with the Chicken Rice Plate After when I was done eating the Chicken Rice Plate... Now that I ate here for the very 1st time!!! All I can say is that my Chicken Rice Plate wasn't that bad at all... And I really liked it!!!