Chinatown (Manhattan) - Chinatown (Manhattan)

Disambiguation - For toponyms of identical name, see Chinatown (disambiguation).

Chinatown is a district of Manhattan in the city of New York.

To know

The famous Chinatown of Manhattan it is a very lively neighborhood where you will find cheap restaurants and shops. Among the products on sale there are also numerous fake articles or copies of other products all strictly from the China, plus all sorts of oriental oddities. Chinatown today is a much larger and more populous neighborhood than it was in the past and now covers most of the old Little Italy and a large part of the Lower East Side, north of Canal Street and the north side of the Manhattan Bridge. In truth by now it can be said that the center of Chinatown is no longer on Mott St. between Canal St. and Chatham Square, but has moved further north and east towards East Broadway between Chatham Square and Pike Street and Grand St. between Bowery and Chrystie St., where residents go to shop for groceries and find cheap produce. Chinatown has also diversified: it is no longer an exclusively Chinese enclave but has more of a Southeast Asian feel with a growing presence of immigrants from Vietnam, from Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.

Chinatown also contains what little remains of Little Italy, an area of ​​a few blocks of Mulberry St. north of Canal, plus a few streets perpendicular to Mulberry (such as the block between Mulberry and Mott on Grand Street, or a part of it). Little Italy is almost completely devoid of Italians now and is a sort of themed tourist area, but there are still restaurants of some fame. What used to be the northern part of Little Italy, now called NoLIta (it goes north to Houston St.), is a quiet residential area, not very touristy and very popular with New Yorkers.

How to orient yourself

How to get

Underground

In general, the lines D. or B. Subway to Grand St. are great for getting to Chinatown. The lines J is Z up to Bowery they leave you just north of downtown Chinatown. There F. to East Broadway leaves you in the eastern part of the neighborhood. The lines 6, R., No., Q, J or Z for Canal St. instead drop you a few blocks west of the neighborhood center but in the middle of the Canal St shopping area (the best stop if you are going to buy anything but groceries). In addition you can also take the lines 4 or 5 for the Brooklyn Bridge or the 2 or the 3 to Park Place and then go north or east on foot. The lines TO, C., or IS which stop at Canal and 6th Av. and the 1 which stops at Canal and Varick, are on the western edge of the neighborhood but if the weather is nice you can take advantage of it for a walk.

MTA bus

There are several buses that pass through Chinatown, in particular the M9, M15 and M103 lines.

Long-distance bus

Chinatown is home to many very cheap long-distance bus companies with the Fung Wah Bus^{[link not working]} which is the biggest and most important of all. You can take buses to Manhattan's Chinatown from other Chinatowns Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C and many other cities further away, including Atlantic City casinos. The ticket offices of the various companies are scattered throughout Chinatown; in addition to Fung Wah Bus, there are also Eastern Coach, Lucky Star Bus, New Century Bus, is Sky Express Bus.

On foot

Chinatown can of course also be reached on foot. If you come from Brooklyn, you can cross the Manhattan Bridge which for some years has also been open to pedestrians, be careful, however: the pedestrian crossing is protected by railings and you will have the view blocked by the trains of the B, D, N, and Q lines passing over the bridge; However, it has the advantage that you will arrive at Bowery near Canal Street, in the center of Chinatown. Another bridge that you can cross from Brooklyn to Manhattan it is the Williamsburg Bridge; after crossing it you will be at the edge of Chinatown on Delancey Street. The best and most beautiful thing, however, is to cross the Brooklyn Bridge and then stroll through the southern area of ​​Chinatown from the pedestrian exit of the bridge; you can also use the bike path on the Manhattan Bridge, while the Brooklyn Bridge walkway is also a bike path.

How to get around

What see

The main attraction of Chinatown is simply to walk through its streets, and visit the shopping streets mentioned above.

• Museum of Chinese in the Americas, 215 Center Street. $ 7 adults, $ 4 students / seniors, children under 12 free. Mon 11-17, Thu 11-21, Fri 11-17, Sat-Sun 10-17, closed Tue-Wed. Exhibits on the history of Chinese communities in America. 
• Columbus Park, Bayard St (between Mulberry and Baker Streets). Great place for some relaxation. Early in the morning you can see people doing tai chi, and if you are interested someone might even teach you. Sometimes women are seen doing traditional Chinese dance with fans. In the summer, basketball tournaments are held. In the afternoon, after school hours, many young people are here. 
• Sara Delano Roosevelt Park, Chrystie Street (between Houston and Canal Streets). 
• Chatham Square (at the intersection of Bowery, East Broadway, Park Row, Mott and Worth Streets). In this square at the intersection of various streets there is an arch commemorating the Chinese-Americans who died during the Second World War. There is also a statue of Lin Zexu, a Chinese scholar who opposed the opium trade during the 19th century. 

What to do

• Mulberry and Canal Street. Many tourists when they arrive in Chinatown are overwhelmed by the smell of fish that is sold along the streets. As unpleasant as it may be, it is still an experience and is one of the very symbols of Chinatown. 

Shopping

Remember that many shops in Chinatown only accept cash. Canal Street east of Broadway is a haven for bargain hunters and folks on the hunt for top-brand counterfeit items, especially clothing and accessories. So this is the way where you find a $ 30 Louis Vuitton bag to impress when you get home. also take a look at the shops they are in Mott Street between Canal and Chatham Square.

NoLIta has become synonymous with avant-garde boutiques in semi-abandoned buildings. Everything has its own particular charm, also because there are shops that seem to sell absolutely nothing and yet they are always full of people.

• Elizabeth Center, 15 Elizabeth Center. The ideal place if you want to buy Asian style accessories or dolls. As soon as you enter, take the escalators to go to the lower floor where there are many shops. 

Food

• Deluxe Food Market, 79 Elizabeth St. (between Grand and Hester, enter Elizabeth and Mott Street), ☎ 1 212 925-5766. This shop has everything you can think of, both raw and pre-made. Highly recommended. 
• Bangkok Center Grocery, 104 Mosco St. (between Mott and Mulberry), ☎ 1 212 732-8916. This small shop has a significant amount of Thai goods and also sells sweets and other food. Friendly service. 
• Asia Market, 71.5 Mulberry Street (between Canal St. and Bayard St.), ☎ 1 (212) 962-2020, 1 (212) 962-2028. Recently renovated from what used to be an old and dusty grocery store and transformed into a more modern and well-kept place. Here you can find many products and food. This is the classic "one-stop shop", ie those shops where you can really find everything, even fruit and vegetables, and have a very friendly staff. 
• Udom's Thai-Indonesian Store, 81A Bayard St. (between Mott and Mulberry), ☎ 1 212 349-7662. Often cheaper than the Bangkok Center Grocery, and sells products from Malaysia along with products from Thailand and Indonesia. Managed by a husband and wife, he is Thai and she is Indonesian, but both of Chinese ethnicity. 
• ^{[link previously not working]}Kam Man Food Products, 200 Canal St. (between Mott and Mulberry), ☎ 1 212 571-0330. 
• Aji Ichiban, four different shops: 37 Mott St. (near Pell St.); 23 East Broadway (between Catherine and Market); 167 Hester St. (between Mott and Elizabeth); 153 Center St. (between Canal and Howard), ☎ 1 866 833-3888. Geese Shops sells snacks in Hong Kong, popular with locals and tourists alike. 

Fake products

If you are looking for the classic Chinese "fakes" of big brands then all you have to do is look first in the shops on Mott Street south of Canal Street. There are other shops on Canal Street, but you may find them a little expensive. Remember that you get what you pay for: if a fake watch lasts for six months, consider yourself lucky, and don't be afraid to try to bargain with the shopkeepers.

How to have fun

When you are in Chinatown you must try the "bubble tea". It is a cocktail that owes its name to the tapioca / sago balls inside, sucked with a large straw or eaten with a spoon. This kind of tea is native to Taiwan, and in New York it has a reputation that extends far beyond the borders of the Chinese community and is essentially found in many places in the city even if most of the places you can try remain in Chinatown. of Manhattan and in other Chinese communities such as that of Flushing, in Queens.

• Teariffic, Mott St. (between Bayard and Pell Street), ☎ 1 212 393-9009. One of the many places to try bubble tea. You can also order food because it does takeaway service. 
• Quickly Bubble Tea, 11 Pell Street (between Bowery and Doyer Street). 
• Experience Bubble Tea, 49 Bayard St (between Elizabeth and Bowery Street), ☎ 1 (212) 566-6833. 
• Ten Ren Tea Time, 79 Mott Street (between Bayard and Canal Street), ☎ 1 (212)732-7178. Sun-Thu 11-23, Fri-Sat 11-midnight. The best bubble tea in town, although the price is slightly higher than other places nearby. 

Where to eat

If you want to save money or if the day is nice you might consider grabbing something on the street, perhaps the fried chicken of the many retailers that are located along Canal or Walker Street near the triangle between Canal, Walker, and Baxter Street , or something ready-made like the things you can find at the Bangkok Center Grocery on Mosco Street between Mott and Mulberry, and then go eat in Columbus Park or any other park and improvise a picnic.

If, on the other hand, you want to sit down then know that Chinatown has the largest choice of cheap restaurants of all Manhattan. They range from rice lunches, soup and four side dishes to deep-fried dumplings for $ 5 to more full-service restaurants like Great NY Noodletown and East Corner Wonton, where rice dishes, noodles and other 5-a-side dishes abound. $ or even less. Then you level up to get to Oriental Garden seafood restaurants, but in general what Chinatown lacks are really high-end places: in fact, most restaurants (excluding Oriental Garden) go for $ 25 each.

Moderate prices

• Banh Mi Saigon Bakery, 198 Grand Street (between Mott and Mulberry), ☎ 1 212 941-1541. On the back of a jewelry store. Banh Mi Saigon (pork) and Banh Mi Ga (chicken) are excellent. Don't confuse it with Saigon Banh Mi So at 369 Broome Street which serves the same but not as good sandwiches. 
• Bo Ky, 80 Bayard St. (between Mott and Mulberry), ☎ 1 212 406-2292. Very cheap, good soups. 
• Coluck Restaurant, 16 Elizabeth St. (between Bayard and Canal St.), ☎ 1 (212) 732-6322. Cheap and fast, they make dishes that combine Chinese and American traditions. 
• Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, 65 Bayard St. (between Mott and Bowery), ☎ 1 212 608-4170. The best place to eat ice cream in Chinatown. They have a lot of different tastes and even sell the club's t-shirts. 
• East Corner Wonton, 70 E. Broadway (corner of Market St.), ☎ 1 212 343-9896. Very cheap Cantonese cuisine: especially rice dishes. 
• Fay Da Bakery, 83 Mott Street, between Canal & Bayard St .; 82 Elizabeth St, between Grand & Hester St; 191 Center St.. 
• Great NY Noodletown, 28 Bowery (Bayard's corner), ☎ 1 212 349-0923. Restaurant open late and very cheap (dishes around $ 5). 
• Joe's Shanghai, 9 Pell St. (between Mott and Doyers), ☎ 1 212 233-8888. This is the restaurant with typical dishes of Shanghai more famous than Chinatown but certainly not the best. It's cheap, and it's often very crowded, so the trick is to go at unusual times. 
• M Star Cafe, 19 Division St. (between Catherine and Market St.), ☎ 1 (212) 966-8988. Super-budget eatery with Hong Kong celebrity portraits on its walls. A successful mix of traditional cuisine and American flavors, it is one of the best places in Chinatown to eat for very little money. 
• Nice Green Bo, 66 Bayard St. (between Mott and Bowery), ☎ 1 212 625-2359. Stay on Shanghai food and don't try things like "Jalapeno Chicken". 

Average prices

• Hop Kee Restaurant, 21 Mott St, ☎ 1 212 964-8365. Decades old restaurant, Cantonese cuisine and typical dishes. Open late on weekends (4am), payable in cash only. 
• Lombardi's Original Neapolitan Pizzeria, 32 Spring Street (corner of Mott), ☎ 1 212 941-7994. This pizzeria in this version was opened in 1994, but is described as the continuation of the "first pizzeria in America" ​​(opened in 1905). Wood oven. 
• New Amazing 66, 66 Mott Street. Cantonese cuisine. Very good and in a very nice setting. 
• Nha Trang Restaurant, 87 Baxter St (between Canal and Bayard Street), ☎ 1 (212) 233-5948. Vietnamese cuisine, fast, efficient service and very affordable prices. Ideal for a quick lunch or dinner. 
• Ping's Seafood Restaurant, 22 Mott St, ☎ 1 212 602-9988. Restaurant specializing in fish. They also do dim-sum. On weekend evenings it is quite crowded. 
• Shanghai Cafe, 100 Mott St. (between Canal and Hester), ☎ 1 212 966-3988. One of the best restaurants in Chinatown. It's normal to have dinner for only $ 15 but it's just as easy to spend less. 

High prices

• Ajisen Noodle Restaurant, 14 Mott St. (between Mosco St. and Bowery - Mott St.), ☎ 1 212 267-9680. The best place to eat Japanese cuisine in Chinatown. Elegant and quiet restaurant, good sushi and fried ice cream is not bad either. 
• Nyonya, 194 Grand St. (between Mott and Mulberry), ☎ 1 212 334-3669. This restaurant is part of a small chain with other Nyonya and Penang, very popular and busy especially on weekends. But beware: if you are looking for real Malaysian cuisine like what you might eat in Kuala Lumpur, know that here you will find an Americanized version of Malaysian cuisine, far removed from the original. It costs around $ 25 each. 
• Oriental Garden, 14 Elizabeth St. (between Bayard and Canal), ☎ 1 212 619-0085. In a way it is luxury. Great fish. 

Dim Sum

If you want to eat dim sum it is best to arrive around 10:30 or 11:00 to anticipate the crowds and have the best hot dishes. Grand Harmony opens early and is a nice place to have breakfast between 9 and 10.

• Dim Sum Go Go, 5 East Broadway (at Chatham Square), ☎ 1 212 732-0796. $ 15-17 per person. More expensive than other places in Chinatown, frequented by Chinese and non-Chinese customers. The other dishes that are served are also good. 
• Golden Unicorn, 18 East Broadway (Catherine's corner), ☎ 1 212 941-0911. It occupies several floors and each hall is smaller than Jing Fong or Harmony Palace. It is also a bit more elegant and the prices are slightly higher than other places. 
• Grand Harmony, 94 Mott St. (between Canal and Hester), ☎ 1 212 226-6603. People often come for dinner as well as for breakfast and dim sum lunches. 
• Jing Fong, 18 Elizabeth St. (second floor, between Bayard and Canal), ☎ 1 212 964-5256. It has a huge room, try to find a table near the kitchen. 
• Ping's Seafood Restaurant, 22 Mott St., ☎ 1 212 602-9988. Average prices but according to some it is the best dim sum in all of Chinatown (although many actually disagree). 
• Red Egg, 202 Center St. (On the corner of Howard St., between Hester and Grand), ☎ 1 212 966-1123. $ 15-22 for dim sum. Mon-Fri 11 am-11pm; Sat-Sun: 10-23. Among the inhabitants of Chinatown it is regarded as one of the best places to eat dim sum cuisine. 

Where stay

Average prices

• Comfort Inn Manhattan Bridge, 61-63 Chrystie St.. Check in: 11. 
• Holiday Inn Soho, 138 Lafayette St. (corner of Howard St.), ☎ 1 212 966-8898. On the edge of Chinatown, just walk east to reach the center of the neighborhood. 
• Azure hotel, 120 Lafayette Street, ☎ 1 (212) 925-4378. Check in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. 
• Sohotel, 341 Broome St., ☎ 1 (212) 226-1482. 

High prices

• 40.716082-73.9968811 Best Western, 231 Grand Street, ☎ 1 (212) 925-1177, @[email protected]. $ 269-389 for single room. Check in: 16:00, check-out: 11:30. 

How to keep in touch

Internet

There are several internet points in Chinatown. Look for them on Mott Street between Chatham Square and Bayard and also on Eldridge Street between Canal and Grand just to name a few.

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Chinatown (Manhattan)
• Commons contains images or other files on Chinatown (Manhattan)

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