Back to Chinatown

It’s been a while since my last post, and it’s safe to say that since then I’ve indulged in a fair amount of good eats… GREAT EATS!

A week ago, my mom came to visit (She goes by Mamabarbs.) I want to create a separate post for her trip to NYC, which will detail all the amazing food we consumed here and in Boston. But, before that, I wanted to share my first REAL Chinatown experience since moving to New York.

Disclaimer: JP doesn’t like certain foods, especially seafood. Any dish that’s served cold but looks like it should be served hot is a no-no. Anything that has more than two legs, tentacles or smells like the ocean, he won’t touch. So, naturally, Chinatown is not JP’s forte. (Not to say that all Chinatowns wreak of fishy smells, but not saying that they don’t, either…)

All of that to explain that I haven’t explored New York’s Chinatown because I haven’t had anyone to go with — until Ali moved to the city. Between the two of us, we share a love for a lot of the same things, including food, and we were both very eager to venture through the alleyways of Chinatown together. Our first stop? DIM SUM.

We posted up at the famous Nom Wah Tea Parlor (13 Doyers St., New York, NY 10013) one sunny Saturday, and were told that the wait was over 45 minutes long. With bellies rumbling, we resorted to Plan B, which turned out to be a real winner. I’ve been wanting to try this Shanghainese eatery that serves these perfectly Instagrammable buns that are crisp on the bottom and fluffy on top. 

We were instantly seated at 456 New Shanghai (69 Mott St. A, New York, NY 10013), and while service wasn’t spectacular, the food definitely was.

Our spread included stir-fried rice cakes (Korean dduk) with veggies, chicken and seafood (JP is gagging), as well as juicy Chinese eggplant wok-fried with string beans and broccoli. Of course we got those famous buns, and an order of soup dumplings (or xiaolongbao) for good measure. The best item of the meal? The Crispy Fried Pork Buns, which were picture perfect, and surprisingly a fluffier version of xiaolongbao! And, yes, I burned my mouth because it was such an unexpected “surprise.”

Crispy Fried Pork Buns

We were stuffed! And our bill was only $38...

After a satisfying lunch, we traveled down a few lanes that looked like they were plucked straight from a movie scene, and bought ourselves a couple of jade friendship rings ($5 apiece). We also picked up a bundle of grapes from a severe Chinese woman and perused a handful of trinket shops along the way. 

Chinatown Tip: Most Chinatown businesses only take cash. Some of the bigger restaurants accept credit cards, but the mom-and-pop institutions (the reasons why you go to Chinatown) are strictly cash. 

Once we got into the heart of Chinatown, things became more and more familiar to me. Barrels of dried seafood, fruit and nuts lined the perimeters of shops, spilling out into the sidewalks. Vendors yelled at passersby, hoping to scare them into purchasing something. Proven fact: In any Chinatown, no matter where you are in the world, there is a shop where you can buy all your medicinal remedies, as well as candy and rice by the sackfuls. (Chinatown: The true one-stop shop.)

I also purchased a few nostalgic souvenirs, including Ha Flakes, which brought back memories of going to Chinatown as a little girl in Hawaii and indulging in these delicate, sweet candies. They are still packaged exactly the same way they were all those years ago, and even taste as good as I remember.

Ali and I stumbled upon this cute Dollar Store that had everything you could possibly want, from notebooks and candles, to kitchenware and ice cream bars. We made sure to stock up on those infamously colorful bowls you find at Chinese restaurants, alongside a few other knickknacks. And when we didn’t have enough cash to pay for all of our loot (having spent most of it on Ha Flakes and other trinkets), the kind shop owner gifted us a few items (we were only $1 or so short, but STILL!)

Heading out of Chinatown that day felt like leaving something familiar, because although I’d never been there before, it was as if I’d never left.

Growing up as a Chinese American never felt abnormal to me, because Hawaii is blessed with a mix of so many different cultures — but I've come to recognize that there are distinct things that set us apart. I don’t think it’s just one thing, really, but a lot of little things that can be summed up in wooden barrels on the sidewalk and little shops with colorful gizmos hanging in the windows — each enticing onlookers to look more closely, and welcoming others back home.