Golden Unicorn Restaurant (Dim Sum, Chinatown)

NY Sidewalk Review

Locations:
18 East Broadway (between Catherine and Market Sts.),
north side of street

Cuisine:
Chinese

Fave Dishes:
Siu Mai (pork and shrimp dumplings)
Har Gaw (shrimp dumplings wrapped with rice dough)
Char Siu Bao (steamed roast pork bun)
Har Cheung Fun (shrimp wrapped in long wide rice noodles)
Lo Bak Go (white radish cake)
Fong Jao (chicken feet in dark chili sauce)
Pai Guat (pork spare ribs, chinese style of course)
Dan Tat (baked egg custard mini-tarts)
Lai Wong Bao (steamed egg custard bun)
Mango Bo-tin (mango pudding)
Do Fu Fa (silken tofu)

Ambiance:
Two floors of the restaurant host dim sum during lunch time. Carts provide sustenance (as opposed to checklist menu places), as well as pretty pictures from which you can choose your meal. High traffic on weekends ensure good food turnover, but get there early. Best-tasting dim sum I've had in this city so far (but of course, nothing compares to dim sum at the Eaton Hotel in Kowloon). Think of dim sum as your slanty-eyed smorgasbord.

Also -- there are certain dim sum etiquette tips that must be mentioned. They will give you what they think is a gweilo-friendly tea. They charge tea service as per the number of heads (people) at the table. If you want your tea pot refilled with hot water, simply remove the cover to expose the lack of fluid inside the pot. They will get the hint.
Point two -- it is the chinese tradition to not waste food, so order only what you can eat. If you're with a large group members of which have never been to dim sum, go hog wild. It's a great way to try different foods, and you can always order more when the carts come around.
Point three -- another tradition post dim sum, if you're eating it at lunch time, is to top the end of the savory bit with either a rice dish or a noodle dish that you order from the kitchen (they don't usually go around in carts. My favorites are beef mai fun (beef with wide rice noodles in a brown sauce) or chiu chow style fried rice (with shrimp, ham, egg, in a white sauce).

Detractors:
Bathroom is like any other chinese restaurants', stinky. stinky.
If you get there late, you will get the detritus from the kitchen (smaller selection, possibly colder). You must either get there before the church crowd comes in, or after they've eaten on Sundays, or you're in for at least a 30 minute wait (therefore, Saturdays are much better).