Cheap things to do: Best cheap chinese joints

4 best (cheap) Chinese joints

Chatham Restaurant
One of Chinatown’s enduring institutions, Chatham offers dirt-cheap dim sum, from freshly baked roasted pork buns ($7) to sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves ($9). 9 Chatham Sq between Doyers and Mott Sts (212-267-0220)

Xi’an
The Golden Shopping Mall is a cheap eater’s dream destination, packed with stalls serving extremely authentic food, including the treats at Xi’an, where cumin-tinged lamb is stuffed into homemade griddle cakes ($2.50). Stall 36, Golden Shopping Mall, 41-28 Main St at 41st Rd, Flushing, Queens (no phone)

Eton
This Carroll Gardens eatery keeps things short, simple and cheap: Go for its juicy, panfried pork dumplings (5 for $3.50), or try the hand-pulled noodles ($4). 205 Sackett St at Henry St, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (718-222-2999)

Pacificana
This 450-seat spot has steadily become one of Sunset Park’s destination restaurants, serving pristine dim sum in a grand dining room. Everything is made to-order in the open kitchen, like jumbo pork and shrimp shumai ($2.85) intoxicating crab soup dumplings ($7.75) and strips of tender roasted pork ($1.95–$7.75). 813 55th St between Eighth and Ninth Aves, Sunset Park, Brooklyn (718-871-2880)

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