Tasteful noods only.
NYC is at the tip of the chopstick when it comes to Chinese food in the United States, according to Yelp.
The popular review site ranked Queens eatery Maxi’s Noodle number one on a new Top 100 Chinese Restaurants list — thrilling the proprietor, who swapped a corporate job for the rigors of restaurateur-ing.
“I just want to scream right now,” Maxi Lau-O’Keefe, 35, told The Post upon learning that her seemingly modest munchery had come out on top.
Currently with two Flushing locations, the casual canteen is known for its oversized wontons.
“Wontons are different at my store because they are supersized — traditional Hong Kong or Cantonese wontons, they are bite-sized,” Lau-O’Keefe, who quit an HR job at Home Depot to feed foodies full time, said.
“I have people say to me, ‘Why don’t you make it smaller?’ And I’m like, ‘No, sorry, not sorry.’”
Catering to devout foodies and homesick Hong Kongers, the wonton wrangler said she’s proud she can produce a product that “warms souls and brings back memories.”
In fact, Lau-O’Keefe said she opened Maxi’s to honor her late mother, who passed away from cancer.
“The main reason why I opened Maxi’s Noodle was because of my mom,” said the dumpling dealer, who moved to NYC from HK in 1997. “It was always her dream to open up a restaurant.”
Maxi’s joined eight other Big Apple spots on the chili-infused list. Yelp awarded the outlets according to both business rating and review volume, they said.
The rankings suggested that Americans are overwhelmingly growing weary of white carton fodder like General Tso’s chicken — increasingly craving authentic “specialties from across China,” a representative wrote.
The first location of Maxi’s, located at 135-11 38th Ave in Flushing, boasts 4.6 stars across 712 reviews at the time of writing.
Hong Kong-style noodle bowls comprise the lion’s share of the menu. A new branch has recently debuted on bustling Main Street in the hot pot hot spot.
Choices at Maxi’s include noodles with duck and another adorned with beef that’s been braised for 6-7 hours until topple-off-the-bone tender.
But the most popular combo comes with scratch-made wontons featuring three different kinds of shrimp and a dollop of pork in a giant, duffel bag-evoking wrapper.
Fortunately, most people seem to be lapping up the plus-sized pouches of pleasure — custom-rolled for Maxi-mum taste and silkiness.
“This is as authentic as it gets,” gushed Yelp Elite reviewer Joanna M, adding that “everything is made fresh” and the “wontons are the biggest I’ve had.”
In October, the noodle parlor was featured on the “Pro Tip With Pilar” segment of “The Drew Barrymore Show”; Chef Pilar Valdes visited the Hong Kong hot spot and then recreated some of the recipes for Barrymore on set.
In addition to throngs of locals hankering for a taste of the motherland, the shop has also attracted a smorgasbord of hungry folks thanks, in part, to its Yelp-famous status.
The business is also frequently promoted by the now-ubiquitous foodfluencers — such as content creator @curly.edgy on Instagram, whose video of Maxi’s reportedly hit over a million views in two and a half weeks.
“She had a hundred thousand followers, and then they’re all Latino,” said Lau-O’Keefe. “Getting a lot of Latino people at my shop lately, eating.”
Come January, Maxi’s will open a third location in Manhattan — at 68 Mott Street in Chinatown.
One other NYC spot made it into the Top 10 — Chang Lai Fishballs & Noodles at 55B Bayard St. in Chinatown sailed into 5th place. It’s known for its aromatic curry fishballs — a popular Hong Kong street snack — served in a bowl with luscious rice noodles.
Other local nods near the top of the list included Chili in Manhattan’s Garment District in 16th place (15 E. 37th St.) — thanks to its authentic spicy and numbing Sichuan dishes like dan dan noodles and mapo tofu. The vegetarian Antidote in Williamsburg (66 S. 2nd St., Brooklyn), a Shanghai-inflected Sichuan spot that caters to all palates with succulent meat dishes like dongpo pork alongside egg tofu with mushroom and other herbivore-friendly fare, came in at No. 22.
Yelp’s top 20 Chinese restaurants:
- Maxi’s Noodle (135-11 38th Ave Flushing, New York)
- Jayd Bun (South Kingstown, Rhode Island)
- Dumpling Yo! (Sacramento, California)
- Lili’s Restaurant (Amherst, Massachusetts)
- Chang Lai Fishballs & Noodles (55B Bayard St. New York)
- Mama Chow’s Kitchen (Portland, Oregon)
- Wagyu House by the X Pot (Rowland Heights, California)
- China Mama — Shanghai Plaza (Las Vegas, Nevada)
- Tian Fu DIY Hotpot (Corvallis, Oregon)
- Oyama BBQ (Newark, California)
- Pepper House (Ellicott City, Maryland)
- Kwok’s Bistro (Reno, Nevada)
- TJ’s Shanghai Dumplings (Madison Heights, Michigan)
- Meet Dumpling (San Diego, California)
- Shang Artisan Noodle — Flamingo Road (Las Vegas, Nevada)
- CHILI (13 E 37th St, New York, New York).
- Corner 21 Chinese Cuisine (Springfield, Missouri)
- Tasty Dumplings (Lowell, Massachusetts)
- The Magic Noodle (Las Vegas, Nevada)
- Wok’s Deli (Norwalk, California)
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