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For me, New York Chinatown is both instantly familiar and immediately disorienting. It’s the Chinatown I visited as a child, the place where I discovered my interest in the Chinese American experience as an adult and a neighborhood I love to share with my own family today.
When I visit these days, there always seems to be something new that’s replaced one of my old favorites and more visible influences from the latest trends in Asia. Nevertheless, I always feel comfortable, even after moving away, just as the neighborhood remains the epicenter of the area’s Chinese community, even as new immigrants gravitate to the city’s outer boroughs.
On a recent trip to New York, I was able to spend a day in Chinatown on my own. Here are a few of my favorite places, both old and new, that I would want to share with your family.
Play
Columbus Park
I prefer to approach New York Chinatown from the south, away from the car traffic and crowds on Canal Street. From this vantage point, Columbus Park greets visitors with seniors playing board games and laughing children at the jungle gym, welcome reminders that New York Chinatown remains a vibrant community, even as the neighborhood endures as a popular tourist attraction.
Mulberry Street & Baxter Street
New York, NY 10013
Online at nycgovparks.org
History Brought To Life
Doyers Street, the so called “Bloody Angle” of so much titillating lore, is one of many locations in Chinatown where you can feel the neighborhood’s history amidst the bustle of contemporary life. This crooked street, home to a traditional Chinese theater at the turn of the 20th century, is now anchored by an upscale dim sum parlor and a hip craft cocktail lounge. How times have changed.
Doyers Street & Pell Street
New York, NY 10013
Chinatown Fair
Originally a penny arcade when it opened in 1944, then a video arcade during the 1970s, Chinatown Fair is worth a stop today when the kids need a break from walking around the neighborhood. Though old timers lament the loss of classic arcade and fighting video games, newer attractions like air hockey, Dance Dance Revolution and Super Shot Basketball still provide satisfying diversions today.
8 Mott Street
New York, NY 10013
Online at chinatownfair.biz
Museum of Chinese in America
Housed since 2009 in a beautiful space designed by Maya Lin, the Museum of Chinese in America is an essential stop during a visit to New York Chinatown. Its core exhibition covers 150+ years of Chinese American history, making seamless connections with the surrounding neighborhood in the process. Start with a visit to MOCA when it opens at 11AM before diving into Chinatown or stop in after your visit to make sense of what you’ve seen.
215 Centre Street
New York, NY 10013
Online at mocanyc.org
New York Public Library — Chatham Square Branch
Step into the New York Public Library’s Chatham Square branch and the pulse-quickening energy of the crowds outside quickly recedes out of mind. The second floor children’s reading room, which featured a mythical dragon swooping overhead on my visit, is a great place to grab a moment of peace with your kiddo while reading a picture book, just as if Chinatown were your neighborhood at home.
33 East Broadway
New York, NY 10002
Online at nypl.org
Shop
Mott Street
Shopping in New York Chinatown starts on Mott Street, the main commercial artery that runs through the center of the neighborhood. While you browse past the tourist knick knacks and racks offering 3 t-shirts for $10, make sure to look up through the jungle of fire escapes to take in the turn-of-the-century architecture above you.
Mott Street & Canal Street
New York, NY 10013
Wing On Wo & Co.
The oldest shop in Chinatown, Wing On Wo & Co. was founded in 1890 by Walter Eng and is now run by fifth-generation store owner, Mei Lum. Stop in to enjoy the store’s carefully curated collection of high quality porcelain ware and stay to learn about the W.O.W Project, a community-based initiative that reinvents, preserves, and encourages Chinatown’s creative culture and history through arts, culture and activism.
26 Mott Street
New York, NY 10013
Online at wingonwoand.co
Kam Man
Kam Man was the fantastical Chinatown emporium of my childhood. It was home to Ribena syrup, Vita juices, fresh joong, turnip cake and a breathtaking array of candies. The sign out front now says “New” Kam Man and there’s now a hot food counter along one wall, but I still find the same products on the shelves, there are still roasted meats sold from the front window and the basement is still crammed to the ceiling with kitchen supplies.
200 Canal Street
New York, NY 10013
Online at newkamman.com
Eat
Big Wong
Big Wong is always and forever my favorite breakfast place in Chinatown. When I lived in Jersey City, I would take the PATH line over in time for an early morning bowl of congee, a steaming noodle soup with roast duck on top or a plate of rolled cheung fun. Start your day here, then hit the surrounding wet markets when the selection is best.
67 Mott Street
New York, NY 10013
Online at big-wong.com
Mei Lai Wah
There are many great Chinese bakeries in the neighborhood, but my favorite is Mei Lai Wah on Bayard Street. You can take a seat for straightforward dim sum in their coffee shop-like dining area, but I prefer buying a baked pork bun to go for a walking around snack. They’re crispy sweet and golden on the outside, filled with a delicious pork and onion mixture and kept warm in the bakery case behind the counter.
64 Bayard Street
New York, NY 10013
Online at meiliwah.com
Jing Fong
Debates rage about the “best” or most “authentic” dim sum in New York (the general consensus: head to the outer boroughs), but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a great meal and a fun environment in New York Chinatown. We would always meet friends at Jing Fong — the dining room is the size of a football field, making the scene loud, clattery and delicious. For a deal, head over during the week when most dim sum dishes are just $3.50 a plate.
20 Elizabeth Street
New York, NY 10013
Online at jingfongny.com
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
The Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is the place my brother and I would clamor to visit when we wanted dessert after dinner in the neighborhood. My favorite part? The Asian flavors on the menu like mango, lychee and green tea are labeled “regular,” while the Western flavors like chocolate chip, strawberry and coffee are the ones labeled “exotic.”
63-65 Bayard Street
New York, NY 10013
Online at chinatownicecreamfactory.com
Xi’an Famous Foods
Born as a Flushing food stand, Xi’an Famous Foods garnered an endorsement from Anthony Bourdain and has since grown to include locations across the city. Take the kids to the chain’s Chinatown outpost, if they enjoy spicy food, or sneak away yourself to enjoy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles or spicy and sour lamb dumplings.
45 Bayard Street
New York, NY 10013
Online at xianfoods.com
Your turn! Do you have a favorite hangout in New York Chinatown? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!
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