Zongzi Lady

Taiwan-Style Zongzi

When you walk out of the Grand Street subway station, you can often hear an elderly woman shouting, “bak chang, bak chang.” “Bak chang” is Hokkien, a Southern Min language from Fujian Province in Southeastern China, for sticky rice dumplings or zongzi in Mandarin.

Mrs. Soo, the “Zongzi Lady,” has been selling zongzi out of a cardboard box for many years. She even has her own Yelp page! Mrs. Soo revealed that her zongzi are handmade by her husband, Mr. Liang, and daughter-in-law at home. Her husband learned the craft in his hometown of Quanzhou, China. He was also the zongzi master at the beloved May May Chinese Gourmet Bakery before it closed in 2008.

She currently offers seven different sweet and savory zongzi options that range from $1.75 to $2.50 each! Her most popular is the Taiwan-style filled with stewed pork, dried shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, and peanuts.

Tip: She sets up her stall every day around 2:30 pm and packs up around 5:00 pm. She speaks Hokkien, Mandarin, and understands a bit of Cantonese. She also has an English menu and an English hotline (646-812-7064) for non-Chinese speakers!

📍 Zongzi Lady
At the corner of Grand Street and Chrystie Street