Established 1971 State New York | City New York City Postal/ZIP code 10022 | |
Street address 155 East 55th Street, between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan | ||
Shun Lee Palace is a Chinese restaurant located at 155 East 55th Street, between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It alleges to be the birthplace of Orange beef. It opened in 1971. One year later, Shun Lee Palace’s master chef T.T. Wang and partner Michael Tong opened Hunan restaurant at 845 Second Avenue. It was then the first Hunan restaurant in the country, subsequently paving the road for all others.
General Tso's chicken, crisp sea bass Hunan style and crisp orange flavored beef are all attributed to chef Wang at Hunam Restaurant. These dishes were introduced to the American public for the first time.
In a 2003 interview, proprietor Michael Tong estimated that 70% of his clientele is Jewish and that he goes out of his way to accommodate them – including being open on Christmas and catering to kosher customers.
Locations
They have a second location on the Upper West Side, across from Lincoln Center. Shun Lee (opened in 1981) is located at 43 West 65th Street, between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West. A smaller and less expensive annex to Shun Lee West is Shun Lee Café, specializing in Dim Sum.
The original Shun Lee Dynasty opened at 900 Second Avenue at 48th Street in 1965. The Chef was Wang Ching-Ting who was discovered by a Chinese Ambassador and later came to the US as a cook at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC. The restaurant interior was designed by mid-century designer Russel Wright, who designed every element of the restaurant including the china, which was produced by Sterling China Company as their Polynesian pattern.