If the cheeky name doesn’t grab your attention (it means “good fortune for your mouth” in Cantonese), then it’ll have to be the loud music, waiting crowds, and terrific food. Informed by the old-school Hong Kong cha chaan tengs (teahouses) and the late-night Chinatown hangouts of 1960s New York, Ho Lee Fook is unpretentious, unfussy, and focused on the food. From the open kitchen, chef Jowett Yu and his staff cook up signature dishes like roast Wagyu short ribs with a soy glaze, and favorites like crispy chicken, prawn toast, pork belly with Taiwanese caper salsa, and green beans with shimeji mushrooms and five-spiced tofu. That wait to get inside? It’s worth it.
