125 Worth Street

Fong On 81 DIVISION ST.

➽ THE REBORN CHINATOWN tofu factory has modernized the equipment but clung to its culinary roots. There is fresh soy milk and blocks of tofu, but the real treat is custardy tofu pudding either savory (with pickled radish and dried shrimp) or sweet (crowned with red beans, grass jelly, and tapioca balls).

Frenchette Bakery 220 CHURCH ST.

➽ EVEN THROUGH TWO COVID MASKS, still the best-smelling vestibule in town. Last fall, Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr took over the ovens in the office-building lobby where Roger Gural once ran his semi-secret Arcade Bakery. In a nod to the old menu, they have added pizza and a jambon-beurre on a crackly baguette that would do their predecessor proud.

Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles Inc. 1 DOYERS ST.

➽ AS THE NAME SAYS, hand-pulled soup noodles are this undersung spot’s raison d’être. But the kitchen’s “knife-peeled” variety deserves at least a co-star credit: thick, chewy shards of starch furiously whittled off a block of dough into a pot of boiling water. Get them panfried with roast pork and eat them in an outdoor noodle hut on the street.