Ho Wan Restaurant

My family and I love this restaurant and have been enjoying this clean, traditional and rare sit down authentic Chinese cuisine establishment for over 25 years! So for a better perspective, I will allow my 7 year daughter to enlighten you:
This is the ‘bestest’ restaurant I ever went to! When you are waiting, they give you noodles with sweet and sour sauce and hot tea in your tea kettle and fabulous porcelain tea cups. The shrimp is extra juicy when I taste it. The dessert is pretty sweet. Here is the dessert menu: ice cream, jello, cold sweet pineapples, and fortune cookies. And when it was my birthday there was a candle on the ice cream! YOU SHOULD GO HERE!!!
Yes, I could not have said it better! Thank you princess.

This is really probably 3.5 stars, but I didn’t want to round up to 4 since there is a material difference between this place and others restaurants I rate as 4 stars. AMAZING SERVICE – the server was super nice and very attentive to my dietary restrictions. She was also very attentive. Good Chinese food but nothing mind-​blowing. I ordered a shrimp/​broccoli dinner combo – the shrimp were quite large and tasty. It came with a side of fried rice, fried egg roll, and soup. I asked for a mix of the egg drop and hot/​sour soup, which they were able to accommodate, and it was quite good.

I dont know if they have changed ownership or just cooking staff but the last year or so the food is definitely way different and not for the better. They now put a ton of chunky raw/​barely cooked garlic on their roast pork appetizer which is just disgusting. The wonton soup tastes OK but the wontons are like raw dough inside, Overall this used to be good food but its changed in many ways that I find very unappealing.

This is hands down the BEST Chinese food I have ever eaten. The staff is very friendly, helpful and provide wonderful service.
They brought out some wonton soup. It was perfect.
I ordered the roasted pork with fried rice and an eggroll. It was delicious, very flavorful. The food was piled on so I had to bring home my leftovers.
I am visiting my family out here in New York and I WILL be coming back! If you have a chance to eat here I would totally recommend it!

I have been coming to this restaurant for about 10 years the workers are always so welcoming !! The tea and fried noodles are given to everyone once they are seated .The food here is by far the best Chinese food I have ever had !!! My favorite dish is lobster special, there soups are to die for !!! I would recommend this place to anyone !!

Located right around where we lived, this was our go to spot when we didn’t feel like traveling far for some restaurant food. You can order to go in the front of the restaurant. The place is divided into two eat in areas. The first is for i guess a more quick bite to eat kinda atmosphere and the 2^nd is more private and can be used to cater to bigger parties.
It really is a hidden gem that you won’t really notice at first if you live in the area but once inside you feel as though you are in another city area entirely. You don’t even hear the trains that are right outside passing by.
The menu is pretty diversed with its American section, west indian section, and Chinese/​Cantonese section. They have seafood like whole lobster etc. As well as duck and other items you don’t normally find in a Chinese restaurant in this area. They start you of with this crispy long chips with a mixed duck sauce to munch on while you decide on what you want. You have your choice of tea, coffee or soda (oh and imported beer). We always order the oolong tea. It is the best. We actually buy it from them to make at home.
The food is always hot and sometimes sizzling! Our waitors are always kind and makes light hearted jokes with us. They remember you and make you feel as if you were on vacation and just got back and that they’re so happy to see you!
We Ordered the pu pu platter which at first i was skeptical because of the name lol i want sure what to expect but once it came out it was delicious. It is an appetizer sampler. Comes with i believe 3 different kinds of meat made differently with some other tasty thing oh and did i mention it surrounds a blue fire lol I’m so gullible when it comes to tricks and oh and ahs!
For dinner we order mostly a mixed vegetable with beef or chicken, sometimes shrimp. The boneless spareribs are really good too.
Oh and i almost forgot about their wonton soup. Its so comforting. I remember days I’m the hard winter when i would get off the train located right above and just run in and order a bowl and let the steam just melt me away like that kid in the cambels soup commercial.
Really nice place to go with family, friend, or even a date! My only «eh» is the décor, they’ve been here a long time and i think a little renovation would really make them even more popular. Any who, Enjoy!

delicious food, looks and taste like quality chinese food. A little bit more pricier than other spots but definitely great food.

Have gone here many, many times. It has been around along time for a reason. You get a plentiful meal at a very good price. The food is delicious, try it.

My extended family is originally from the area and has been coming here most of my life (if not longer).
It is mostly Americanized Chinese food but tasty and good portions and prices.
If we are coming in a large group we get the 4 person meal and it’s enough for 6 of us.
They are large enough to reserve a section for a big party.

So my brother surprised me with a post-​birthday guys night out to celebrate my 40^th birthday. So 5 guys, now all in their 40’s, 4 of whom are married (not me) started hanging out their at 4:30. We started with drinks and the beer flowed. I think we each got a different bottle. After maybe half an hour we ordered appetizers for the table. We ordered chicken wings, fantail shrimp and egg rolls. We must have sat there for about half hour just with appetizers and the beers flowed. My brother made sure he kept me well lubricated.
For our entrees 3 of us each ordered something different and my brother chose to share with one of his friends. My entrée the teriyaki shrimp came out let but the waiter, Steve, made sure to let me know it would be out shortly and it was.
My brother must have told Steve we were celebrating my birthday because I get a platter full of maybe a dozen scoops different ice cream. No way was I going to finish that after all the food we just had so I had maybe three scoops and shared the rest.

Well I mean what can I say? The area went to shit which makes me wanna eat here even less. I’m not really one for Chinese food but If I really must go I’ll get a soup and an egg roll. I mean can you really go wrong with an egg roll? I know I was just as surprised to see my egg roll dripping with oil and almost completely burnt. Ever since these new owners have taken over the place went pretty downhill. The place itself looks like someone’s walk in closet with shit all over the place & the waitresses/​waiters are complete stone faced zombies who look a tad bit annoyed when specific requests or extra noodles are requested. What really made me sick to my stomach is the fact that they allow dirt bags to just sit in the front of the entrance (there is a small booth you can sit at while waiting to be seated) and drink until they’re piss drunk and sloppy. That alone made me want to walk out. If people plan on getting drunk at a Chinese restaurant, maybe they should be seated in the back room this way we could feel like we are at an eating establishment and not your local broken down bar.

The food is ok, very salty but it’s Chinese food, so I guess I’d can’t complain too much. I had the lobster with garlic and scallion it was ok but defiantly not fresh. Also had shrimp fried rice which was really good and they gave you tons of shrimp. Worth checking out if your in the area.

We just love this casual and comfortable restaurant. Good prices good service and most of all good food.

Never… again!
Grade:
Service: D
Food: F
Came here with my family only because it was convenient and closer to home for a few of the older relatives that dined with us.
We waited almost an hour and still no one had asked to take our food order. Finally they did, only because my aunt literally got up from the table, walked to the front of the restaurant and made a huge stink about it.
The food finally comes and it was beyond tasteless. I ordered the jumbo shrimp with peppers and black bean sauce, only to receive some sort of minced type of (unknown) meat in my black bean sauce.
My cousin ordered some sort of roast duck and it was dry and bitter.
These prices are overly inflated for disgusting Chinese food. I’ve had much, much better food at the local Chinese joints on every street corners in NY.
Never, ever, ever, EVER again!

The food here is a hit or miss. The pricess are a bit high but for the portion they give you it balaces out. The fried rice is to die for, and so is the lo mein. I am not sure if it has to do with different cooks in different days but if it was more consistent, it would get a 5. Staff is very nice.

Hands down this is the best spot for Chinese food in Richmond hill .
This place was the spot back in its heyday, before the buffets moved in an took away their thunder.
I will break down the good and bad and the egg roll of this place.
The good
. The food is really good and pretty fresh, with nice sized portions.
. If you chose to eat in you are served unlimited hot tea and fried noodles with dipping sauce for free.
. Nice attentive staff, they always have a smile and fill your drinks promptly.
. The menu is a nice mix of American favs and more eclectic dishes.
The bad
. They are pricy compared to the other local joints.
. They charge for delivery! Who dose that any more?
. Lunch dose not come with soup or egg roll if you chose to order out.
. This place is old and it looks pretty dated, not dirty or beat up just dated.
All in all its better to eat in then take out from this place. You MUST try their boneless spare ribs ! They serve it the way it should be served. Moist tender pork with a hint of sweetness. Not those hard shards of pork drowned in cherriyaki.
If their delivery and lunch menu policy’s changed I would rate them higher.

Yeah,… as a former Ho Wan regular (years ago) who touted them as one of NY’s best, I have to admit that things have long changed. Their fried rice is what it once was. Their dishes don’t have the same flair that they once did in the nineties.
They still do fried wontons very well and their wonton soup is tasty so they deserve three stars

It’s ok… At best.
All the reviews make this place sound to good to be true and guess what? The reviews were! So I ordered take out the rundown ’70’s interior needs some serious help. I thought I walked into the set of Kurt Russell’s movie big trouble in little china…
The staff is super kind and that’s why I gave 2-​stars otherwise it’d be a 0 if you could rate that… The crab Rangoon was a grease pit instead of the light puff it’s supposed to be. The fried rice was, well it was fried rice nothing to rave about.
I can say there are too many other Chinese restaurants to try for me to go back and hurt my stomachs feelings again.

Everyone I know loves this restaurant. Me, I don’t get it. Everything I order resembles a big plate of slop. They don’t always properly de-​vein their shrimp (call me picky, but I don’t want any poo in my shrimp.)
The only thing I liked from there was their beef with broccoli and they can’t seem to do that right now. Also the place could use a good scrubbing. Bathrooms are a bit scary.

«Dirty Ho Wan» as my friend from high school calls it for the very outdated décor set to the 1970’s era.
The food caterers to Westerners who are not familiar with authentic Chinese cuisine of Yum Cha or family style lunches or dinners. The wait staff tries to flatter patrons with the standard «I’ll make it special just for you» comment. Yet mistakenly assume that I’m Korean rather than a Cantonese Chigga! Ajia, dude I’m a proud Canto girl as I’ve proven him with my oral Canto skills that our waiter was utterly shocked that I can converse. Quality of food is average, albeit not authentic in Chinese culturally cuisine.