Following a “soft open” stint in early December, Shun Lee Cafe is now officially open at 2596 Broadway at the southeast corner of West 98th Street. The site was previously home to a different Chinese restaurant, Hunan Balcony, which closed several years ago after a run of more than 30 years on the Upper West Side. Thanks to Arnold Bressler for the tip.
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ILTUWS stopped by Shun Lee Cafe on Thursday, December 15 for a look around. A waitress informed us their official grand opening was last Friday, December 9 (though there’s no mention of this location on the Shun Lee website or social media pages).
The original Shun Lee Palace (155 East 55th Street) opened in 1971; the upscale Chinese mini-chain also has locations at 43 West 65th Street and at 1442 Third Avenue (the Upper East Side outpost opened earlier this year).
We got our hands on the new Shun Lee Cafe menu. Fans of dim sum can choose between steamed, “cryspy” or pan-fried options which range from three duck dumplings ($9.95) to two crispy vegetable or spring rolls ($6.95). Four pan-fried dumplings will run you $7.95 or you can go for the scallion pancake at $9.95.
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A sign in the window mentions $19.95 lunch specials. The waitress noted these are offered during the week and include but are not limited to the kung pao chicken, chicken with broccoli, and sweet and sour chicken, which come with a choice hot and sour soup or vegetable spring roll. The dishes are also served with white rice. Shun Lee Cafe is open for lunch 12 to 2:30 p.m. daily. A $9.95 dim sum special is offered on weekends till 4 p.m.
Part of Shun Lee’s claim to fame is its orange beef ($33.95), which is fried until crispy and sauteed with spicy sweet preserved orange. Another classic from the early days is the General Tso’s chicken, listed on the menu for $28.95. Unfortunately, Shun Lee’s renowned grand mariner prawns didn’t make their way over, but for $36.95 you can experience their Szechuan (large) prawns in garlic and scallion sauce. Currently, Shun Lee is touring their Peking duck for $88 at the top of their “Signature” menu list. They say the young seasoned duckling is slowly grilled until crispy. It comes served with homemade crepes, spring onion brushes and hoisin sauce.
Shun Lee Cafe at 2596 Broadway is open for dinner from 4:30 to 10 p.m. daily. They’re expecting to open their bar “soon.”
Was there outdoor seating?
They’re touring their Peking Duck? Or touting it? (Wonder what it’s travel route is? 😉 )
And there’s a typo in the comment! Should be “wonder what its travel route is?”
People in grass houses shouldn’t throw stores!!!
Actually, I thought it was “People who live in grass houses shouldn’t stow thrones.” At least according to _Isaac Asimov’s Treasury of Humor_. (Of course there’s a whole African King joke leading up to it.)
Ever upward!
We had a great meal there on Wednesday, but the Cafe is still in “soft opening” mode. It is open for both lunch and dinner. They just started serving meals about 2 weeks ago. We were told that they were not sure when the grand opening would occur. It evidently depends on hiring and training a full set of staff members, which is challenging in the current job market. Meanwhile, although they do not yet have a web site and you have to call or stop by to make a reservation, they offer some great food and are eager to build a local clientele. Based on what we saw, the future for this restaurant is very promising. It captures much of what we have enjoyed at the other Shun Lee locations. It’s great to have a new venue closer to where we live!
2596 Broadway is a very popular, if perhaps cursed, spot for Chinese restaurants! It was indeed, as mentioned above, once home to Hunan Balcony, but that’s leaving out a few stages in its history. As best as I’ve been able to piece it together, the timeline goes:
Hunan Balcony (?1982–May 2014)
Szechuan Gourmet 98 (May 21, 2014–?)
[A] New Saigon AKA Saigon 98 (Nov. 20, 2014–?)
Sugarcane (Dec. 2014–?)
Szechuan Taste (?–2016?)
Szechuan Garden (late Feb. 2016–?)
???
Shun Lee Cafe (Dec. 9, 2022–)
Any errors or omissions, you UWS historians?
(The Unicode character for the start date of Hunan Balcony was the <= symbol, which I shall try to remember not to use here henceforth.)
But what came before Hunan Balcony?
jms:
Except that Saigon is in Vietnam. So that would not be a Chinese restaurant.
True. Feel free to substitute “Asian” or “mostly Chinese”.
Was Szechuan Garden the last place operating there before Shun Lee?
Are the prices quoted here bordering on ridiculous or what? Compared to other UWS Chinese establishments everything at Shun Lee seems to be priced $13-17 more than competitors charge. Is the food really that much better to warrant such gouging?
I would never pay those prices.
This would have been news 30 years ago when Shun Lee was still relevant.
20 years ago, I ate at Shun Lee a few+ times; it was over-rated then. Can’t imagine it’s changed.
88 dollar’s for duck?? What a bunch of quacks!!!
Their menu doesn’t mention a “lunch special” on weekends of dim sum for $9.95. Did you hear from them directly or was it hand-printed in the window? It’s certainly nowhere on the menu you linked too.
*linked to”…..
Apparently it’s a different owner than the other Shun Lee places, which is why it’s not mentioned on their website.
^^ came here to say this!!! I’ve been wondering why there’s been no mention on the Shun Lee website – I called a Shun Lee location and they said there is absolutely no affiliation.