After Tai Hong Lao(sp?) closed down (health inspection, sigh, a constant barrier to amazing food) on Mott, I couldn’t think of any place to eat dim sum. I hated Jing Fong (terrible service, watery food, expensive); Go Go Dimsum (too polished, much too expensive for poor college student me); Delight 28 (found a rat underneath the table many years ago, I’m still scarred. Although, the waiter from Tai Hong Lao works here and still remembers me =). Thus, I resorted to Mandarin Court (the lady at the counter has always been kind to me even when I was a young girl): it was relatively cheaper than the rest of the restaurants, and they were quick with your orders. The service was never great, and I still have a personal dislike towards one of the waiters.

Thus, when Kawai mentioned 9 Chatham Square, I had to check it out:

I circled Chatham Square for a bit, I will admit that, searching for the place, until I realized it was behind one of those buses that was heading towards Boston or someplace like that. I went with a friend, and as previously stated from the yelp website about 9 Chatham Square (otherwise known as Hop Sing?), we had to move past the crowd of people in the front ordering take-out. We shared a table with six other people; the interior has those fluorescent lights, really rather old school feel compared to all the newer places. Women pushed carts, and waiters asked what kind of tea you’d like.What we ordered:
and their famous “dai bao”
I guarantee you that the dai bao would be enough for either breakfast or lunch. The best part? Everything came down to less than 13$. Glorious…Although, the service isn’t exactly fabulous (didn’t expect to be), and I heard the bathroom lines/bathroom itself was horrendous. I held it in, to be quite honest. Apparently there’s a long history in this restaurant — you can definitely feel that when you walk in. But don’t expect to get special service because you’re a tourist, that’s all I have to say. Otherwise, I plan on becoming a familiar face in this place.