Mee Sum Cafe

Walking into Mee Sum Cafe is like stepping back in time. Located on one of the oldest streets of Chinatown, it was first opened in 1967 by the Moy family. They left Guangzhou, China, and fled to Hong Kong in 1955 to escape persecution from the Communist Party. When their opportunity to chase the American dream came, they immigrated to America in 1963. The family worked in Chinatown’s three-pillar industries at the time — the garment, laundry, and restaurant industries. They finally saved enough money for four years to open up Mee Sum Cafe. As the oldest of four children, Donald Moy never had a chance to receive a proper education after arriving in the US at 18 years old. Instead, he spent his days working alongside his father at the restaurant. In 2005, he finally took over Mee Sum from his aging father. Nowadays, Mee Sum Cafe is hugely popular among the Chinatown elderly, drawn to the diner’s old-school nostalgia and ridiculously low prices.
26 Pell Street, New York, NY 10013