A New Yorker's guide to Chinese food for Christmas

Fa la la la la fried rice!

It's an unofficial Jewish (and therefore New York) tradition to eat Chinese food on Christmas.

New York Chinese restaurants report Christmas Day to be their busiest day of the year. If you've ever pushed through the crowds on Canal Street and waited hours for dim sum on December 25, it's hard to doubt this claim.

Christmas celebrator or not, consider Chinese food for your Christmas feast this year, bringing tidings of dumplings and bok choy.

Buddha Bodai

Buddha Bodai, one of a handful of vegetarian restaurants in Manhattan's Chinatown, is also certified Kosher, meaning that it welcomes in a massive Jewish clientele, especially on gentile holidays. Chinese owner Kent Zhang serves a menu following a strictly Buddhist diet: no meat, no aromatics (say goodbye to garlic breath) but plenty of welcome Chinese substitutes. Vegan jellyfish dim sum anyone? The Christmas crowd includes Hassidic Brooklynites and Chinese Jews, chowing down on dishes like General Tso's "chicken", "shrimp" fried rice, "duck" noodle soup as well as plenty of other veg-Budddhist-Jewish friendly renditions of classic and American Chinese dishes. Too really celebrate, take advantage for the restaurant's no corkage free, BYOB policy!

5 Mott St., 212-566 -8388, chinatownvegetarian.com

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The Queens Kickshaw

"Shalom and ni-hao, y'all," greets this Astoria restaurant at their annual Asian Jewish Brunch. Visit on Dec. 24 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. for Babka French toast with Chinese 5-spice infused syrup, scallion pancakes with cardamon labne, a "Toad In The Hole" latke with housemade spicy duck sauce, Reuben Egg Foo Young and Japanese Curry Knish. Egg Cream Bubble Tea and Szechuan Matza Beer will also be available at this a la carte, no reservations meal.

40-17 Broadway, Queens, 718-777-0913, thequeenskickshaw.com

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Kings County Imperial

New Williamsburg Chinese restaurant Kings County Imperial, known for its soy sauce on tap and creative reinterpretations of classic dishes, will be open from 1 p.m. - 12 a.m. on Christmas Day. Enjoy family-style favorites like White Broiler chicken dumplings with cinnamon red oil, dry fried long beans, red pine chicken pressed with Berkshire pork and Shanghai shootsa, Copper Well Street noodles and Mapo Dofu. 20 Skillman Ave, Brooklyn, kingscoimperial.com(Credit: Kings County Imperial )

Fatty Crab

Fatty Crab pays homage to the age-old tradition of eating Chinese on Christmas Day with their special No. 1 Fatty holiday menu served from 12 p.m. - 10 p.m. Enjoy pork or veggie steamed buns, sweet and sour pork, whole fried Snapper with garlic sauce, crab rangoon, stir-fried Chinese broccoli and other American Chinese favorites all ala carte, reservations available.

643 Hudson St., 212-352-3592, fattycrab.com

(Credit: FACEBOOK/FattyCrab)

Han Dynasty

East Village Sichuan restaurant Han Dynasty is notorious for its hours-long waits, and a host confirmed to us that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the two busiest days of the year! Reservations are only accepted for parties of 8 or more, so grab a group or be prepared to sip hot cocoa nearby while you longingly wait for their famous dan dan noodles and tea smoked duck in beer sauce.

90 Third Ave., 212-390-8685, handynasty.net

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Mile End Delicatessen

The annual Mile End Traditional Jewish Christmas is designed for optimum enjoyment for a pre- or post-movie meal. A $65/person menu includes smoked meat dashi with spicy bamboo, Chinese mustard greens and a slow-Cooked egg, corned wings with spicy cumin aioli and crispy shallots, Hunan fried egg with spicy soy bean and kewpie mayo and smoked duck with crispy sticky rice, scallion omelette and Chinese greens.

53 Bond St. and 97a Hoyt St., Brooklyn, mileenddeli.com

(Credit: Mile End )

Spicy Village

For a family-style Christmas feast, head to hole-in-the-wall Spicy Village, which is also known to have quite a wait to eat their traditional Hainanese food off Styrofoam plates. To order: spicy big tray chicken, with added hand-pulled hui mei noodles. The dish is popular among food critics and Chinatown residents alike, and a side of 12 dumplings for $5 can't hurt either.

68B Forsyth St., 212-625-8299, spicyvillagenyc.com

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Red Farm/ Decoy

Red Farm and Decoy will both be open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The regular menu will be offered, plus specials deserving of a celebration. They include: BBQ'd duck with Dried Japanese Plum Sauce, Black Truffle and Chicken Soup Dumplings (pictured) and seven different seafood dishes. As usual, neither Red Farm location nor Decoy will take reservations, but call to put your name on the list beginning at 10 a.m.

529 Hudson and 2170 Broadway, 212-792-9700 and 212-724-9700, redfarmnyc.com

(Credit: Clay Williams)

Great NY Noodletown

Red and green year-round, this restaurant is ready for the Christmas rush. They won't be offering delivery but you can reserve a table for some excellent steamy plates of Chinese food. Roasted meats on plush beds of rice, various noodle soups and an extensive-variety of stir-fried vegetables make this Chinatown hotspot a great festive choice. We're dreaming of a white rice Christmas here.

28 Bowery, (212) 349-0923, greatnynoodletown.com

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Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles

Any noodle lover who hasn't been to this Doyers St. haunt is seriously missing out. The noodles are hand-pulled in view of dinners, and cut by knife for rugged, thick noodles that excellently soak up broth or sauce when fried. With almost every dish under $10, a feast at this cash-only eatery comes pretty cheap. Just be prepared to wait for a table, especially on Christmas.

1 Doyers St., 212-791-1817, tastyhandpullednoodlesnyc.com

(Credit: FLICKR/roboppy)