Joy Luck Palace

Chinatown's ballroom-size Joy Luck Palace is open from morning till 10:30pm, with dim sum served until 2:30pm on weekdays and 3:30pm on weekends. Brunch is a merry circus captained by a hostess who distributes tickets and shouts out numbers on a wireless mic when diners’ tables are ready. Solo diners and couples may find themselves sharing a round, white-linen draped table with a multigenerational Chinese family. Servers circle the room trundling carts laden with Cantonese-style dumplings, noodles, eggplant dishes, chicken feet, pork shumai and sticky rice parcels. English is spoken only minimally, but pointing suffices. Everything is delicious and shockingly cheap. Five dim sum portions, enough for two to share, can total as little as $13.