Our Guide to New York City’s Chinatown
Emerging from the Canal Street station in Chinatown is an experience. There's not only the sensory overload—the aroma of roast duck, the striking visual of the neon green “hair” on hot pink rambutan in a fruit vendor's cart, and the cacophony of hawkers, passersby, and traffic—but also the uncanny warping of time. More than most of New York's other neighborhoods, Chinatown is a time capsule lined with generations-old family-run businesses. But it is undoubtedly one of the most dynamic neighborhoods in all of New York City; its long history is still being written as its streets evolve, with new ventures emerging between the storefronts of the old guard. It's this juxtaposition that makes Chinatown so intriguing.
But the coronavirus pandemic has been particularly harsh on the neighborhood. Beyond the ubiquitous business closures that erased decades of history, the racist stigma associated with the virus led to attacks on the city's Asian American Pacific Islander communities. But Chinatown—and its residents—are resilient. The next generation of business owners is already reshaping the bright future of the neighborhood, reviving some classics and introducing their own spins on cuisine, commerce, and culture. Before the pandemic, Nancy Yao Maasbach, president of the neighborhood's Museum of Chinese in America, told Condé Nast Traveler she believed "there’s never been a more exciting time for this neighborhood in New York City." And while she might not have predicted the challenges faced by Chinatown over the last 18 months, her sentiment is perhaps even more true today.
To help get you started on your own journey through the neighborhood, we've collected our favorite things to do in Chinatown below.
This article appeared in the September/October 2021 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.
All products and listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you purchase something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Andrew BuiThe greatest hits
On the corner of Mott and Mosco, down a dark flight of stairs, unassuming neighborhood stalwart Hop Kee has been serving up no-frills Cantonese fare since 1968—but the lack of fuss is exactly why you go (and why Anthony Bourdain loved it). Slide into a booth and order the crabs Cantonese style, served in a rich brown sauce, and the salted squid with spicy green pepper. Over on East Broadway, Hwa Yuan Szechuan’s white tablecloths are great for a dressed-up family dinner or a Friday night on the town; for something more low-key, Noodle Village on Mott is the perfect casual spot to roll into around 4 p.m. on a Saturday for steaming bowls of pork wonton noodle soup. On Doyers, Nom Wah Tea Parlor has been open since 1920, making it the oldest continuously running restaurant in Chinatown—and it’s still buzzing today, with locals and visitors who pack in each weekend for dim sum staples like shrimp shumai and Shanghainese soup dumplings. By contrast, Mee Sum Cafe on Pell Street feels like a place that time forgot, with hulking dun-colored cash register and metal barstools crowned with burnt-orange leather. Order one of the banana-leaf-encased sticky rice bundles, which sit by the dozens in trays on the counter, and a whole fish, marinated in soy sauce and scallions, if it’s available.
Andrew BuiNew kids on the block
Though Koreatown is technically three miles north, some of the best KFC—Korean fried chicken, that is—is on Pell Street, where Boka Korean Fried Chicken opened in 2019. Do a 10-piece order, along with a gut-busting helping of bulgogi French fries and a watermelon soju cocktail—served straight from a mini melon. Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodle on Bayard opened in October of 2019, though with its scuffed white floors, random stoner art, and half-empty boxes of supplies, it looks more like it’s moving out than in. But the young crew behind the counter makes you forget all that—as do the pillowy rice noodles, with fresh shrimp and roasted duck. Tucked beneath the Manhattan Bridge, Hak Box is a sliver of a store at all of 200 square feet, but its namesake Hak Rolls, rice noodles stuffed with scallions and coated in bits of Spam and dried shrimp, are worth the squeeze. Fong On, the next-gen incarnation of the shuttered neighborhood staple Fong Inn Too, sits on a quiet stretch of Division, with red floors and white tiles that feel unimposing but cool.
Andrew BuiIndulge your sweet tooth
Traditionally, Chinese meals end with something light, like a platter of seasonal fruit; full-fledged dessert items are typically reserved for snack time, and in Chinatown there is no shortage of snacks to be had. Start at Keki Modern Cakes on Mott Street, where the sweet scent of baked sugar hits you the second you step inside. The shop is known for its “bouncy cheesecake,” but the fluffy cream puffs, loaded with fillings like bright purple ube and delicate matcha, are every bit as memorable. Continue down Mott to Pinklady Cheese Tart, a tiny four-stool joint that sells exquisite tartlets (be sure to sample the nutty black sesame), delicately packaged in individual boxes, before backtracking to Alimama Tea, a hip café on Bayard with polished concrete floors, exposed brick walls, and a jumble of fairy lights hanging in the window that will delight Instagram influencers. Both the cartoonishly pink lychee rose tea and Onyx mochi doughnut, dredged in a shiny chocolate lacquer with flecks of gold and silver, taste as good as they’ll look in your feed. But on a hot summer’s day, there’s nothing better than heading a block west on Bayard for red-bean scoops (ideally in an M&M- studded sugar cone) from the Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.
%2C%2520who%2520runs%2520the%2520specialty%2520market%2520Po%2520Wing%2520Hong%2520with%2520her%2520father%2C%2520Patrick%2520Ng%2C%2520and%2520her%2520mom%2C%2520Nancy_Andrew%2520Bui_CNT_Chinatown-Po-Wing-Hong_026_Abui%25201.jpg)
Andrew BuiDo try this at home
To re-create the flavors of Chinatown in your own kitchen, hit Po Wing Hong, whose ruby-red awning—and the shopping attendant who diligently parks customers’ rolling carts outside—makes visits feel like a trip to the theater. Inside, the space opens up to reveal long aisles stocked with everything from bottled sauces and bagged noodles to purplish dried sausages and slick jellyfish slices. (You can also pick up dried goods like plums and sea cucumbers, sold by weight.) Aqua Best, on Grand, sells glistening fluke, branzino, and sea bass, all propped up on ice. If your day starts early, swing by the fruit stands flanking both sides of Mulberry Street near the intersection of Grand: Vendors hawk fresh oranges and just- ripe cherries, prickly dragon fruit, and unwieldy durian beneath multicolored beach umbrellas.
Andrew BuiShop till you drop
CT Seafood Mart, on the corner of Grand and Chrystie, is a clearinghouse for everything from fresh produce and seafood to pastel-colored bedspreads and bamboo-tile car-seat covers. On Mott, K.K. Discount Store is packed with silverware, rolling pins, and mocha pots of every size; there’s also plenty to covet at the tiny Ting Yu Hong Co., including wooden sandals, delicately wrapped soap bars, and (in a nod to its 1950s origins) the occasional cigarette holder. Now five generations in, Wing on Wo & Co. is Chinatown’s oldest store; make an appointment to browse its exquisite porcelain goods, suitable for everyday use (a turquoise soy bottle) and special occasions (a jade-handle mirror). Beauty haven oo35mm stocks slather-worthy tinctures like Beauty of Joseon Radiance Cleansing Balm. Other noteworthies include Chen’s Watch Inc., a spot that deals in shiny vintage pocket watches and grandfather clocks from the likes of Le Coultre, and Bok Lei Po Trading Inc., a martial-arts supply store with a trove of Feiyue shoes and Jing Wu three-button shirts.
Andrew BuiWalk it off
Head to Columbus Park’s Dr. Sun Yat-sen Plaza to watch elders play card games for a crowd, or stop at the Chinatown Fair Family Fun Center, a pitch-dark arcade on Mott, for a few rounds of ice ball. Don’t miss the Maya Lin–designed Museum of Chinese in America on Centre, which traces the history of the diaspora. Recently reopened after a devastating fire in January 2020, it’s free for all through September 19.
