Walk down any street in Manhattan's Chinatown, and prepare to have your senses flooded by lights, sounds, smells, and throngs of locals and tourists looking for a bite to eat. The neighborhood's chaos is part of its charm, as are its restaurants, which feature some of New York's greatest budget eats. 

For the fifteen years that I've been eating out in New York, I've probably consumed more Chinese food than any other single cuisine. The options are seemingly endless, with restaurants closing down, popping up, or rebranding at a mind-boggling pace. And while I love the novelty of trying out a new Chinatown eatery, there's one place that always keeps me coming back.

Deluxe Green Bo is a narrow hallway of a restaurant with just a handful of tables that are almost always full of groups of hungry customers sipping hot tea and fighting over the last soup dumpling in the bamboo steamer. While the menu features some famous Americanized Chinese food you won't find in China, it's also brimming with authentic classics for those who know what to order.

Shanghainese cuisine on a budget

A bamboo steamer basket full of soup dumplings

Thai Liang Lim/Getty Images

China is made up of a kaleidoscope of people and cultures, and while it's common in the U.S. to group the country's cuisines together under the umbrella term "Chinese food," it's important to distinguish what region the food comes from. Deluxe Green Bo offers Shanghainese cuisine, hailing from the massive metropolis near the Chinese coast.

Shanghainese cooking is known for its glossy, richly flavored sauces that strike a delicate balance between savory and slightly sweet. It's less fiery than Sichuan food and more sauce-forward than Cantonese dishes but no less complex. You'll notice an abundance of crab and pork on the menu at Deluxe Green Bo, which reflects Shanghai's unique geography between the fertile plains of the Yangtze River delta and the East China Sea. Even diners who aren't well-versed in regional Chinese cuisines have probably heard of xiao long bao, or soup dumplings, which are perhaps the region's most famous dish and the first item on the Deluxe Green Bo menu.

The best part about eating at this humble Chinatown haunt might be the prices. While they've certainly gone up in recent years, you'll walk out the door with a belly full of delicious food and still be able to afford dessert at the Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, which I also recommend.

What to order at Deluxe Green Bo

If you didn't start your meal at Deluxe Green Bo with the crab and pork soup dumplings, did you even really go? Dumplings are always better at a restaurant, and this signature dish is an essential order for any first-time visitor. Each delicate dumpling is filled with a rich broth and a tender mix of crab and pork, offering a perfect balance of umami and sweetness. Pro tip: Place a dumpling on your spoon, carefully bite the top off to release the steam, spoon some vinegar into the opening, and sip the soup before eating the rest.

Next, go for the scallion pancake, a golden, crispy flatbread that's both flaky, chewy, and served piping hot (be careful!). It's a breakfast staple at street food stands in China and the kind of simple comfort food that pairs well with anything on the menu and is perfect for sharing.

For something heartier, try the rice cakes with shredded pork and preserved cabbage. This classic Shanghainese dish features chewy slices of rice cake stir-fried with tender pork and pickled greens, delivering a satisfying mix of textures and flavors in every bite. Finally, round out your meal with the hot and spicy wontons, which come swimming in a fragrant chili oil sauce. Each wonton is soft, flavorful, and perfectly balanced between heat and savoriness.