In 1950, “Lum Fong on [150] West 52nd was the hot Chinese restaurant.” There were two locations, both started by Mr. Lum Fong: 220 Canal Street (now the Sun Say Gay, or Sun Say Kai, Restaurant), and 150 West 52nd Street.
James Lileks has a matchbook cover and overview.
Mr. Lum Fong is reported to have “popularized won-ton soup and egg and shrimp roll in this country.”
According to Tips on Tables, Robert Dana said in a July 1943 New York Herald Tribune piece that Lum Fong’s was one of two of “the Chinese restaurants best known in the city….”
In “New York City – Around The World In 80 Dinners,” Antiques Digest says that Lum Fong was “where Americans were first initiated in such Chinese classics as egg roll, lobster roll, won ton soup and chow yock soong.”
Barry Popick has an entry in The Big Apple, “Egg Roll, Won Ton (Cantonese Cuisine).”