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Got there early, but maybe too early at 9:30 a.m. What time is she usually there?
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- 4624004330Dec 31, 2021
A culinary celebrity in Chinatown for those who have a craving for Zongzi (ie sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves). The Zongzi lady is a grandma street vendor operating out of a Coleman cooler on the street. We canvased the neighborhood to find her on a street corner. The Zongzis were $2 each?! I bought bagfuls to bring home for the freezer.
Helpful 11Thanks 0Love this 11Oh no 0 - May 30, 2024
I was looking for the Zongzi lady about a month ago but didn't see her (but I did go in the afternoon and seems like she comes later in the day).
But on Sunday, I was passing by not expecting to see her and she was there! She was very friendly and gave me a little menu in English that explained all the zongzi flavors. I think the Tainan and the Guangzhou zongzi are $3 each and the rest are $2.
I got a Shanghai one to try for $2. I would say it's a medium sized zongzi. I went home and I steamed it. First thing I noticed was the rice was fragrant and the flavor was so good. Usually when I eat zongzi, I tend to just eat the filling and leave the rice but this rice was so good. Inside was a simple filling of just pork but it was generous and felt like the perfect ratio of rice to meat.
Since hours aren't set, it's a hit or miss looking for her but it's worth it. The zongzi are delicious and affordable.Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0 - Jun 18, 2023
The Zhongzi lady sells delicious zhongzi for an amazing price (around $3 max). They are filling and scrumptious! On our short trip to NYC, we made several trips to this corner in the attempt of getting some! She is a very sweet lady overall as well, and all of her zhongzi are artistfully crafted ~ and it shows in the taste!
Ordered several savory and sweet zongzi. The red bean zhongzi stood out to me and 100% would say this was the peak of dessert in Chinatown! I am still thinking about it ~
She appears to arrive around 2 pm in the afternoon. We made the mistake of coming very early in the morning to find her, but we just spent the rest of the day in Chinatown before enjoying our Zhongzi.Helpful 7Thanks 0Love this 3Oh no 1 - Coco L.Midtown East, New York, NY01Jun 15, 2024
Just bought three Zongzi from her! Two with red bean fillings and one with peanuts.
Just as previous reviewers said, she is usually around 3pm-7:30pm. The lady says she sometimes moves her stand nearby if the spot is occupied by other sellers. So it might be a good idea to walk around and try your luck if you don't see her in her usual spot!Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 1 - Nov 10, 2022
Every time I pass by the Zongzi lady, I tear up.
Hearing her voice soar through the streets of Chinatown, I can't help but wonder if she is living a good life for herself selling the zong as low as $3. Does she get rest? Does she spend her nights wrapping them till late? Does she have family to take care of her? She works so hard.
I love getting the Taiwan and Shanghai Zongzi. I personally like savoury ones better than sweet. It's wrapped beautifully, she is generous with the fillings.
I like to steam it till it's smoking hot before eating it, tastes so wholesome and full of love.
Please support her.Helpful 24Thanks 1Love this 15Oh no 0 - Kelly K.Brooklyn, NY48275Jun 6, 2024Updated review
Update: I went back recently to Chinatown and the zongzi lady is back!! Turns out she was only in China for a month. Glad to have her back and finally told her her zongzi are the best.
Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0May 3, 2024Previous reviewThe Zongzi Lady sells absolutely amazing and delicious zongzi at a complete steal for the price and they have the best filling to rice ratio I have ever seen!! I always stock up on 5-6 zongzi whenever I stop by and stick them in the freezer so I can defrost them in the microwave for a quick meal.
Unfortunately, I have gone to look for her 3 times over the past week (May 2024) and have been mystified as to why I could not find her in her usual spot on the corner of Grand st. Today I saw a new zongzi seller (a middle aged lady who also sold chicken feet and some other things in tins) and asked her what happened to the Zongzi Lady. Bear in mind there was a bit of a translation barrier since I didn't fully understand the dialect she spoke, but she told me that the Zongzi lady had returned to Mainland China with the money she had saved up but did not know when she would return since she may not have enough money to buy a return ticket (?).
To make it more confusing, a nearby middle aged man interjected and told me the original Zongzi lady would actually be returning in 3 weeks which didn't really match up to the new Zongzi lady's story but I may have just understood wrong with my mediocre mandarin skills.
Anywho, my fingers are crossed that the original Zongzi lady will return soon to bless us with her delicious creations, but if staying in China is what she was saving up money for all this time, I hope she is happy there!! I am devastated that I did not tell her how delicious her food was while she was still here but hoping for all the best for her! - Phillip R.New York, NY1175570Dec 28, 2023
She's usually there until five, sometimes a little bit later. 3 to 4 of the buns makes a decent meal. Just take them home. Microwave it on low low for about two minutes to warm it up a little bit. You can add some soy sauce if you want to. It's delicious. If you're in the area, definitely grab a few to take home and you can always put them in the fridge for snack later
Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0 - Mar 8, 2023
賣粽啊婆? We all know who she is. Even if you don't know what she looks like, you probably know what she sounds like.
People tell me they wouldn't trust her food. She probably prepares everything in a large bathtub or out in the open with god knows what.
Well, I think her zhong is great. To be honest, I didn't try it for the longest time and only had it while I was pregnant and was craving for some zhong. No regrets. I just wished they were slightly bigger. But what do you expect for $2? It's already a bargain.
I even got my dad into it. He's currently staying with my sister in NJ, and every once in a while, he'd ask me to get some for him.
Most recently, he'd asked me to get him 6 green bean zong, but she had just run out. She told me she had help coming with some more in 10 minutes. When they arrived, the zong was still fresh and hot!
I'd highly recommend anyone to go give her some business! You won't regret it.Helpful 10Thanks 0Love this 2Oh no 1 - Shar H.New York, NY4014911Mar 16, 2024
She makes the most amazing zongzi. Everything is flavored so well. I recently got her black rice zongzi (the only vegetarian one on the menu). It had generous amounts of chestnut and peanuts mixed with the rice. She also speaks so many languages! I started ordering in Mandarin but when I asked if she had Taiwan style zongzi, she switched to Taiwanese and we started conversing in that language. She was speaking Cantonese with the customer before me. She is really impressive on so many levels!
Helpful 6Thanks 0Love this 3Oh no 0 - Jane D.New York, NY1555931961Oct 18, 2022
I can't tell you how glad I am that this WONDERFUL zongzi vendor is still here!!! Except now it seems to be a man selling these little bundles of joy, not a woman (at least on my recent Monday afternoon visit).
The zongzi are a tad bit smaller than they were three years ago when I last visited, but no less delicious. We tried a few of the Shanghai style ones, which have a sort of dong-po rou / hong shao rou / "red cooked" style pork inside seasoned, brownish-red sticky rice. Fantastic for all those sweet-toothed Shanghainese food aficionados.
To my surprise, I loved the peanut zongzi even more. These included the eponymous peanuts of course, but also a generous amount of unctuous pork, all wrapped in fat, white glutinous rice.
For novices:
1. Be aware that the pork used in zongzi is deliberately fatty. The fat melts into the rice and gives it that lovely flavor and texture (analogous to south and Latin-American tamales). Do not be afraid of the fat. Fat = flavor!
2. I zap these fresh zongzi in my microwave for about 2-3 minutes to reheat. Some would you have you wrap with a wet paper towel before doing that -- but given that these specimens are quite fresh (made day-of), I've always found the straight-up nuke to be just fine. (You probably would have to re-steam the brick hard zongzi you see at larger grocery stores. I personally don't buy them.)
These zongzi make me swoon and are probably the most delicious ones I've had in the tri-state area (with the possible exception of Sun Ming Jan's everything-but-the-kitchen-sink versions). Please, please, please keep 'em coming!Helpful 9Thanks 1Love this 6Oh no 0
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