Bo Ky Restaurant

Bo Ky was ‘closed’ for renovation and nothing like a gallon of white paint to brighten up the interior. It is now more ‘open’ but same tables, same food as the old Bo Ky. While it does say Vietnamese food it is definitely caters to the Chinese not to the Vietnamese so it’s not the most authentic. The Phở doesn’t come with all the herbs associated with unless you ask for it since the Chinese don’t eat it they don’t bring it out. The Hu Tieu which is one of the few places in the city that makes a decent one but again doesn’t come any fresh herbs or even a lemon/​lime which I think is used to brighten up the flavors in any Vietnamese noodle soup.
The other dishes are a mix of Chinese/​Vietnamese that pretty good. I haven’t had anything bad from the open kitchen. The service is quick and usually semi friendly waiters. For a quick, cheap meal Bo Ky is a good bet.

They renovated recently, better chairs and tables. Brighter lights. They still have same people working there from before they closed. I have been coming here for over 20 years… I order their Chiu Chau noodles with minced pork and seafood with the kidney. Their curry chicken is pretty good. But honestly their service is far off from great. Rudest guy at the front door, he just stands there doing nothing. If it wasn’t for their specialty duck. I wouldn’t be back as often. Prices went up too.

My family has been coming here for years. It’s great for those who know Teochew cuisine and language. They’ve livened up the place with brighter lights and an overall cleaner feeling atmosphere. My favorite meals are the soups on a cold winter’s day.

The phở here was decent but I wasn’t impressed with the broth. Definitely won’t be back again I wasn’t impressed!

Also been coming here for over 15 years, love their authentic Cambodia noodles sans the liver, the combination flat yellow or egg noodles. And all needs to be doused with the side of hot brother and do not forget the ever-​addicting special vinegar and green chili liquid crack.
I initially thought it was closed and was a bit sad 2 weeks ago but on a random trip there before the blizzard I found them to be open and immediately ordered the 2 favorites listed about. You should also try their seafood with thin egg noodles. I can’t wait until the snow melts a bit to return to one my favorite noodle haunts.

I used to come here all the time when I was younger. I loved their duck. That is no longer the case. The last three times… yes, three chances that I gave this place, were all disappointing. The duck doesn’t taste fresh. The meat is so tender to the point that it’s strange. There are so many other options in Chinatown that I don’t think I’ll be coming back for a while.

My parents were regulars at Bo Ky when they were NYU graduate students over 2 decades ago!!! The prices are still affordable today. Thankfully, Bo Ky got a much needed renovation in October 2015. They opened up shop again a couple of weeks ago and I could not be happier! Love their noodle soups — I especially crave their piping hot, savory broth whenever it gets cold. The ¼ or ½ Roasted Duck side dish and BBQ pork rice dish is also on point. I have been to Bo Ky 3 days in a row since it’s (finally) getting chilly in NYC, and will probably have a team outing at the restaurant in the coming month because my co-​workers keep hearing me rave about this restaurant!

The food is south-​Chinese, which is wonderful: tastes great and very healthy. The waitresses are very helpful in recommending food, if you speak any Chinese, despite they look tough when they talk as they are too busy.

Best chicken curry noodle soup. Great place for a cheap quick meal.

Went for the first time recently and I’m surprised I’ve never been there before. Had the combination noodles. Soup was a bit oily but the noodles were delicious. Also shared a fish cake. That was amazing. The place was very clean for Chinatown. Our noodles came out about 2 – 3 minutes after we ordered. We were in a rush so that was great. I’ll be back again for some comfort Chinese/​Vietnamese food.

I’ve been coming to this restaurant since I was a kid. This is a no frills restaurant. You come. You look for an open table. You seat yourself. The waiter will come to you with tea in styrofoam cups.
Waiters are mainly older men and women. They are nice and know the regulars. They quickly do their job whether it is getting tea, writing an order, or cleaning up.
My mother ordered the #3beef noodles. I ordered #2 Cambodian noodles.
Beef noodles-​It had a sweet savory broth, with carrots. There was red oil in the broth, but it is not spicy. The red oil is a type of seasoning; it had an earthy taste that I could not place. The beef tripe wasn’t too chewy.
Cambodian noodles-​this came in a light savory broth with shrimp, fishballs, and slices of pork. This is a good choice if you’re not sure what to order. The noodles was very smooth and not over cooked.
Add chili pepper sauce to your bowl to bring out the flavors in the broth. The green pepper is a lot more spicer then the red pepper. I really liked the red pepper. It seems like both sauces are homemade.

Great place for a quick meal. Set up some expectations, the quality of service here is not that great, but the food makes up for it.
I got #5 soup with seafood and broad rice noodles. For $ 7.00 — great value for a seafood meal. The broth was light, not overly salty. The meal also tastes homemade.
#8 fish dumplings and egg noodles — the fish dumplings were quite good, a little more unique than your average fish dumpling.
Also get the half duck for 3 – 4 people, it tastes great, soft, sweet and salty.
Would come back again for the soup noodles. But not if you are looking to sit around and chat with friends.

Love love love this place. Cheap asian food that fills my belly. Their country style duck is the best. I also prefer this location over the grand street one because they have the fish dumplings which I love. The skin of the dumplings is made of fish so it gives a nice crunch. The prices of a whole duck has gone up but. what hasn’t increased in price?

Bo Ky is my go-​to place for quick and cheap comfort food! The bomb-​ass Cambodian Egg Noodles are the reason why I consistently keep coming back for more. I recommend getting it dry (you automatically get a bowl of soup on the side) because the soupy version tends to overpower the taste of the actual ingredients. Instead, I like to pour about 2 – 3 spoonfuls of soup over the dry noodles and then drink the rest of the soup separately. It’s soooo good!
I wish I could give this place 5 stars — The food is definitely up there in terms of taste and value for money. Now if only they could do something about their terrible service and grimy floors. Having said that, I think that the good food is reason enough to give this place a shot. My only advice would be to pick a table in a less grimy looking part of the restaurant (they allow you to sit wherever you want), and not to take it personally if the servers are rude.
P. S. They don’t accept credit cards so BRING CASH!

I enjoy the chinatown vibe, everything feels authentic to the asian restuarant culture. Everything is casual, in the space and the food is delicious and fast. My friend comes here a lot and throughly enjoys the noodle soup dishes. There are options for someone like me who can eat seafood but no other forms of meat. They have nice rice dishes and veggie dishes as well. Their seafood rice dish was very flavorful and they have this chilly sause on the side that is so good!

Bo Ky
NY Manhattan China Town
9:30p Wednesday 20^th May 2015
Four Stars
This place can be intimidating for non-​Asians. The place is stark with no music playing. They speak little to no English. I can understand Cantonese but I am not sure if she was speaking my type of Asian. I ordered the 17 Beef Special Phở. The next question: what type of noodles? I opted for thick flat rice noodles. The food came out fast and piping hot. It came with a lemon instead of the usual lime. Everything is already mixed in. I added a bit of sriracha. The broth was delicious, fatty, salty, and a bit sweet. The meat was okay– bit dry or tough. The noodles were tasty and plentiful. Overall an enjoyable $ 10 meal.

I don’t know what it is about this place. It’s a discreet, cash only, B-​rated Chinese restaurant near the corner of Bayard and Mott that I have passed by without a glance for many years. There is nothing that particularly makes Bo Ky stand out, but there is something about it that makes me feel so nostalgic and homey. Not to mention their egg noodle soups are sooooo good. They are not the best, per se, but I have woke up a few mornings having dreamt that I had a bowl of their noodle soup, only to be disappointed when I finally wake up and realize it’s a dream. I also get some seriouss cravings for their egg noodle soups at the most random times, which I would consider a disability at this point because it prevents me from being able to function until I satiate this craving. Damn it, Bo Ky, I guess you guys win every time!
Am I exaggerating? A little bit, but not really. First thing you’ll notice about this establishment is that it’s all Asians inside. Good sign? I think so. But good luck communicating with them if you’re not a Chinese speaker of some sort. My Chinese isn’t the best, so I got away with just pointing at number I wanted to order and repeating «beef ball» and «egg noodle» 3 times before they curtly nod and turn away. So far I’ve only tried two of their noodle soups, the curry chicken noodle soup and the beef ball noodle soup, but I intend to try all of them before I die. Their egg noodles are very Q (springy/​chewy) and are usually served in a clump with some hot-​ass soup so it’s up to you to untangle that MF’er. Their soup is just wonderful, especially for those nursing sore throats all the time like me, and does the trick for those who want something hearty but not too heavy. There is some depth in flavor in the soup, but not so oily that it overpowers the dish. My guess at what they use as soup flavoring is pork fat cracklings, cilantro, and actual meat broth with a bit of oil. But you know what, the soup might as well be crack because I’m addicted. I can’t even order egg noodle soups anywhere else because I just feel like it’s a betrayal to Bo Ky. My dedication is that strong. Besides the noodle soups, I have no other recommendations in regards to the *other* part of the menu I never look at, like the rice plates, etc. I ordered their spring rolls once and they were just too crisp/​crunchy for my taste. They were good but not that great. If anything, stick to their noodle soups, that’s where it’s at anyways!
(I LOVE YOU BO KY, I think about you all the time!)
What I meant to say is that I do think Bo Ky is a worth a try for all fans of authentic Chinese noodle soups. Just how you wouldn’t judge a book by its cover, don’t let the somewhat dingy décor get you down.
Oh and did I mention, the food comes out lighting fast? I turned around to get something from my purse after ordering and within a minute, the soup was at my table. Extra thumbs up for fast service!

This place is so authentic that upon walking in, I was little nervous. No one spoke English, and when I ordered the #5 (hu tieu flat noodles with seafood) there was some back and forth for them to take down my order. I was served tea in a styrofoam cup, which I found odd and wasteful. The bowl of noodle soup came out pretty quick, and I dove in. It’s very flavorful, and it was really what I needed at the moment because I was starting to catch a cold. I could tell that there was a little too much of something. MSG?
I did want to add some of the chili sate or hoisin to the dipping plate, but everything looked a little too dirty and they didn’t have any hoisin on the table. I also went to the restroom before the food came out… Don’t. It was pretty nasty in there.
All in all, I do plan to come back for the hu tieu because it was $ 6 and pretty good – also I can’t actually find this type of noodle soup anywhere else in the city! Will be back by default. But definitely lost a couple stars from me by the dining experience and cleanliness.
Also – bring cash.

I’ve been here a couple of times. Their noodle soups are amazing, though the wontons have too much dough (actually the dough they use is still too thick). The phở was also great, especially since this place isn’t a Vietnamese place.
Their congee is not the thick rice dish most people expect. It is more like rice in clear soup. One of the old guys there said that is what congee is like in the part of China where they are from.

Good, authentic food — and SO cheap! Got the beef tendon flat rice noodle soup with extra greens, which was huge for $ 6 – 7. Perfect for a cold winter day so I’m happy with my order!
If you’re looking for a good appetizer, get the cold duck with plum sauce.