I don't really have a specific answer to offer but why not do your own experiment since butchers and markets can vary. For example, the meat from our local Morton Williams (used to be Associated) seems better than what we could get at Gristedes. Also, maybe it is worth re-visiting Whole Foods since they were sold to Amazon...many of the prices have improved. As for butchers, I think Agata & Valentina, Citarella, and Fleishers Craft Butchery are worth a look. No doubt there are other premier butchers in Manhattan. Also, if grilling a steak, I think quality matters more than if you are mixing your ground beef into a recipe with other ingredients. Good luck!

Hi. For our @home okonomiyaki party, we were in need of dried shrimp. I purchased a small pack from the refrigerator section at Po Wing Hong (49 Elizabeth Street in Chinatown). They were tasty and I have been using the leftover for scrambled eggs (w scallion). They had many choices, some in the refrigerator section in the back and some in bulk glass jars. Attaching a photo of what we bought for your reference since it has no English. It was pretty inexpensive was my recollection. We store it in the fridge at home.

We were just at Jing Fong last week for our son's school's annual banquet. We were ~1,000 people and and this is probably our 5th or 6th year attending. As mentioned, the place is huge so for sure they can accommodate your 100 or so. I am not sure how they partition (e.g. sliding doors or what) so you can inquire; we consumed the whole place. Supposedly they have a new head chef this year (I learned this from a MOFAD lecture I went to the week prior - Culinary Diversity of Chinatown) but I did not notice any big difference in the food which is always decent with a few dishes better than others. It is always too much food though. The place runs like a well-oiled machine but the wait staff can be pretty emotionless. So, it is probably a trade-off..you can likely find better food elsewhere but if you want things to go smoothly, I think JF is a safe bet. Can be better if you can choose your dishes rather than a standard set menu. Also, inquire how alcohol will be handled. Our school sold alcohol there so you might be able to provide your own booze if you wish. Also, if this is not going to be your primary wedding affair, maybe you can turn it into a Dim Sum banquet....just a thought.

Just a bit of a report back. I ended up going to the big Chinese supermarket on Hester but had a language challenge with the butcher. I tried asking for a char siu cut (suggested by my Chinese friend) but that wasn't working. He was nice, trying to understand what I wanted but I was worried that I was quickly wearing out my welcome so I opted for some marbled shoulder he had in the case; 2-ish LBs. Cost me $6.20. I sliced it into six sections.

I have to say it worked out quite well (the meat was moist, flavorful, and charred well) but will continue to experiment with butt and belly. I tweaked the Woks of Life recipe slightly - added about 2 teaspoons of fermented red bean curd (and about one cube of its tofu, mashed) to give it a red tint and added a couple of drops of liquid smoke. For the final brush while it rested, I added a couple of squeezes of honey to the marinade. I also reduced the 2nd half of the cooking (after flipping) by 5 minutes. Photos attached.

(side note - During the cooking, I accidentally cracked the inside glass of my oven when water I was adding to the bottom of the baking pan (to reduce smoking), dripped onto the glass, resulting in a spontaneous crack(s). A bad reaction between the very hot oven and I guess water that was too cool. That sucked big time but will try to replace it on my own.)