CHINATOWN FOR FOODIES OF ALL AGES

Buy discount designer bags , watch Chinese opera on Sundays, buy 13 dumplings for $5, sample Dim Sum and red bean ice cream & Chinese teas, visit a Buddhist temple, buy I love NY t-shirts, explore a Chinese food market sells everything thing from noodles to live frogs, browse a hip shopping street, and finish with a well loved New York independent book store

Best time: All year. 

Length of trip: Keep you busy for hours. Satisfies everyone’s interests

Distance: Can be as long as you like - with lots of browsing

Suitable for: All age groups

Other Comment: Great for cheap gift buying

Advance Planning: Check www.chinatown-online.com for festivals and Chinese New Year celebrations - usually in January.

Further reading or films: "The Chinese Exclusion Act"a documentary by Ric Burns and Li-Shin Yu - can rent on Amazon at at other locations

The Tenement Museum blog also describes the Exclusion Act in their blog 

chinatown-online.com, www.explorechinatown.com 

According to Wikipedia the New York metropolitan area "contains the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia" and this Chinatown was the first their first New York City home. 

START: Columbus Park where on Sundays in Spring and Summer you can watch Chinese opera, the practice of Tai Chi, people playing board games or enjoying their caged birds.  Continue along the East side of Columbus Park until you reach Mosco Street and make a left.  Your first stop will be Bangkok Center Grocery at 104 Mosco (marked on map as B) - they sell incredible Jasmine rice and import frozen coconut milk and fresh curry mixes from Thailand. Sadly these sell out fast. 

Next door at Fried Dumpling at 106 Mosco that sells 13 tasty dumplings for $5. 

Continue to Mott Street make a left. Walk north to Pell Street, make two rights and you will find Doyers Street. This was one of the first areas in Manhattan to be settled by immigrant Chinese in the mid 1850s.  Most travelled on out to the West Coast during the Gold Rush of the 1840s and 50s or to work on the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad. Eager to work long hours and for less in order to provide for families back home, they quickly came to be viewed as job stealers and the consequences of this hatred followed. During the 1870's congress declared that naturalization would only permitted for blacks. In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act became law and was the first race-based immigrant act.  It banned current Chinese immigrants from becoming residents. Work permits were only granted to merchants, students or diplomats. In 1888 about 20,000 laborers who had  returned to China to visit family were banned from re-entry to the US. Wives and children of immigrants already in the U.S. were also prohibited from entry.  The act was only repealed in 1943.  Isolated and unable to enjoy the benefits of citizenship, Chinese communities set up their own trade and community organizations.  As black markets developed, gangs formed and it became a center for opium. 

From"The Chinese Exclusion Act"a documentary by Ric Burns and Li-Shin

Chinatown became known for violent gang warfare and Doyers Street was frequently the location for battles.  The street had easy access to a vast underground tunnel system and the bend provided a blind spot.  It was often said that this street was built so the straight-line flying spirits would be unable to pass through but it also became known as “bloody angle”.  Nowadays the focus of most businesses here is feeding good food to the crowds, many of the tunnels have long been blocked off - though keep an eye out for an entrance to the Wing Fat Shopping Mall at 5 Doyers Street which by all accounts has been closed to the public.

Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles is just down the street. 

For Dim Sum - 4 restaurants are marked on the map:

Nom Wah Tea Parlor on Doyers 

The Golden Unicorn - East Broadway (carts of dim sum circulate to tables)

Dim Sum A Go-Go -East Broadway

Jin Fong at 202 Court Street a longer walk north and the advice is to get there before 11am because it is very popular.  (carts circulate the tables)

Dim Sum locations with carts:

How it works: Dumpling carts circulate the tables. Stop the cart server when you see something you like - point to it. The server stamps your card as they give you dishes – best are steamed shrimp dumplings, shrimp rice noodles, fried meat dumplings or fried pork and shrimp dumplings - try the chicken feet! The greens are also good and are served buffet style, bring your card with you to be stamped. When finished - take your card to the cash desk near the exit.  It is fairly cheap.

When you reach the Bowery look at the map and make your way back to Mott Street via Pell Street. Mott Street is crammed with great small stores selling I Love New York t-shirts and cheap toys.  Kids love these stores.  Also bubble tea is always worth trying. 

After, walk north (take a right) to Bayard where the map shows a few other tasty things to sample.  It's worth buying at least one dish of take out rice noodles from Toni's Fresh Rice Noodle and sharing one or two roast pork buns from Mei Lai Wah bakery - all are delicious.   Across the street is Chinatown Ice-Cream Factory (chinatownicecreamfactory.com) at 65 Bayard Street (good dessert stop – especially since it was invented in China - for something different try the red bean, black bean, or sesame ice cream). 

Turn back to Mott Street for more exploring.

Mott Street: places to explore

Yunhong Chopsticks - 50 Mott Street(near Bayard)  has a large selection of chopsticks for sale  

Eastern States Buddhist Temple 64 Mott – peek in the window

Uncle Lou 73 Mulberry 

Ten Ren Tea and Ginseng Co. at 75 Mott where you can buy and sample plum tea. (great gift to take home) and learn about Ginseng and other healing teas.

Ten Ren Tea Time 79 Mott to sample the recent phenomenon of bubble tea (mangos is a good choice).

Bubble Tea

46 Bakery - at 46 Mott sells Cantonese tofu pudding - Story has it that around 202 BC Liu An, a prince who lived during the Han Dynasty was trying create a pill to guarantee eternal life and in error added gypsum powder to a soy milk. The mixture curdled and became silken tofu pudding. 

Explore the gift stores to find $1 billion bills

Walk north on Mott, cross Canal and continue north to Deluxe Food Market at 122 Mott Street - a Chinese grocery store – walk through to the exit on the other side – you’ll see frogs, turtles, eels (on your left before the stairs that exit to Elizabeth) and a wide range of dumplings and selection of foods. The store exits onto Elizabeth Street.

Frogs at Deluxe Food Market

If you still have energy you can extend the walk by following Elizabeth Street (one of the prettiest New York) north where you will find a wide selection of hip boutiques and stores – make a left on Prince Street and walk two and half blocks over to 52 Prince (between Lafayetter and Mulberry)– the home of McNally Jackson bookshop – a real find (http://mcnallyjackson.com)

Banh Mi from Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich at 369 Broome  Street - Cheap and delicious