chinatown food crawl

take out some cash and head to chinatown

Manhattan Chinatown is unlike any other Chinatown. In a time where many Chinatowns are shells of their former selves, hanging on by a thread, encroached by developers, visually changing with the city around them, Manhattan Chinatown is thriving.

New York City has several Chinatowns. In many ways, one could say that the Manhattan one is the worst one. The crowded streets littered with trash, dodging the vendors on Canal Street, gaudy souvenir shops hawking at tourists. The footprint is small, crammed into old buildings with layers of paint and tape residue showing the history of the storefronts. It’s complex, layered, confounding for those unfamiliar, all the streets start looking real similar.

You see, some Chinatowns are made for tourists. A caricature of what it is supposed to be. Built like a set made for western imagination of the east. Some Chinatowns are made for the community. Not meant to be seen or figured out or navigated by those without the literacy of the culture. Existing to support and sustain a group that was displaced, surviving in a new place.

Manhattan Chinatown has the weight of both in its claustrophobic blocks. It is a tourist destination, a neighborhood called out in all the tour guides, an obligatory stop on a first trip to New York, a landmark in the fabric of the city. But it also caters to the community, generations deep, families and elderly. Passing down real estate and rent stabilized apartments. A rhythm of markets and vendors and restaurants and bakeries that only recently have started labeling things more clearly in English, and perhaps only since the pandemic have entertained certain modernizations of credit cards, POS systems and order management systems. In recent years, there’s been an reinvestment of generational Chinese Americans, a renaissance of next-gen entrepreneurs, new money international students and an infusion of imports from the mainland.

Manhattan Chinatown is a fever dream. A place with supermarkets that feel too big for the cramped streets of lower Manhattan. A place where produce vendors line the streets with giant cabbages and supple pomelos and fruit that quite frankly has no business hanging out in the streets of New York but somehow thrive. A place with luscious plant shops and multigenerational pottery shops, and restaurants you can walk into and tell that most htings in the room are older than you.

It’s also the only neighborhood where you can easily get a decent meal for under $10. Which is why, in spite of being its own kind of tourist trap, it is a great place for a food crawl. Will any of this be the best Chinese food you’ve ever had? Of course not. Far from it. But will you be happy and satisfied with each bite? Absolutely.

So take out some cash and map out a food crawl.

Over the years, I’ve done many mini food crawls in Chinatown. Some more formal than others. Some were more food hauls than crawls. There’s no right or wrong way to do it tbh. Best to just go with the flow and if it’s a weekend, see how lucky you get with lines and wait times.

There’s no shortage of choice. Dozens of dumpling shops, noodle shops, Cantonese BBQ, dim sum and more. Street vendors and hole in wall eateries, counter serve spots with tables and plastic stools outside, sit down spots with tables crammed into a tiny room, food courts buzzing. Perhaps the only logic is to strategically sprinkle in sit-down spot for breaks. Maybe going in rough geographical order makes sense, but there’s really not all that much ground to cover so even if you double back a few times it’ll only be a few more minutes.

street eats

The classic category of food crawl food. Street vendors and takeaway only spots, where you best be prepared to eat on the sidewalk or find a bench.

Wah Fung No. 1 Fast Food: classic cantonese bbq meats, fast, cheap, over rice, and there is almost always a long line

May Wah Fast Food: no fuss Chinese and Taiwanese fast food, lunch boxes, etc

Yi Ji Shi Mo: fresh steamed rice rolls made to order, best to put in an order and hit up another spot before coming back to pick up

Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodle: another rice noodle spot with all the classic toppings and fillings

Cheong Fun Cart: a street cart dolling out rice noodles to order (you’ll see the queue before you see the cart

Grand Street Skewer Cart: for popular, well seasoned grilled skewers, chinese style

Banh Mi Saigon: no frills vietnamese sandwiches

Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich: they are hefty to get one to share

King Dumplings: northern style dumplings, large with thick wrappers, get the pan fried ones and douse it in soy sauce and chili oil

Jin Mei Dumpling: another popular spot for northern style dumplings

SIT DOWN

These are all places with tables to sit down for a break, some are counter serve, some have table service, all are fast enough to make it a stop within a food tour.

Shu Jiao Fu Zhou: southern style dumplings, peanut noodles, fish balls, classic fu zhou food

Spicy Village: henan thick pulled noodles, big plate chicken and more, a nice pit stop for a noodle craving

1915 Lanzhou Hand Pulled Noodles: noodles pulled to order, definitely more of a full meal but if you share you can use it as a nice sit down stop

Chang Lai Fishballs Noodles: fish balls and rice noodles, braised meats

Xi’an Famous Foods: the classic NYC institution, sure they have them everywhere but for visitors to the city, might as well add it to the itinerary

The Original Buddha Bodai: vegan and vegetarian dim sum, it is a sit down restaurant but you can also grab some dim sum snacks to go

Joe’s Shanghai: a classic institution for shanghainese food, but for the purposes of a food crawl, just get some soup dumplings to go around and be on your way

Shanghai 21: old time shanghai restaurant, get the pan fried pork buns and wonton soup and sweet red bean pancakes for snacky items

BAKERIES

No trip to an Asian enclave is complete without a bakery stop… or several.

Mei Lai Wah: a bakery with bbq pork buns and other dim sum pastries, get the pork bun with the pineapple bun topping

Double Crispy Bakery: plenty of chinese pastries (mooncakes, etc) and egg tarts

Kam Hing Coffee Shop: old school canto bakery known for sponge cakes

Tai Pan Bakery: classic Cantonese style bakery

Bake Culture: modern Taiwanese style bakery

Keki Modern Cakes: japanese style fluffy cheesecakes

Spongies Cafe: classic castella sponge cake in a variety of flavors

Kuih Cafe: malaysian style desserts

Audrey Bakery and Cafe: Chinese bakery with lots of classic cakes

Pinklady Cheese Tart: cheese-cake filled mini tarts

DESSERT

Plenty of options for sweet treats for a break from the savories.

Soft Swerve: soft serve ice cream with many asian-inspired flavors and a lot of toppings

The Little One: kakigori and other japanese sweet desserts

Mango Mango Dessert: cantonese desserts, for sit down or to grab a drink to go (get the cream and mango filled crepe roll, or a mango pomelo sago)

Sweet Moment: asian shaved ice, many fruity flavors

Fong On: tofu pudding (sweet and savory), soy milk and herbal tea by the bottle

tea

The final stop of any Chinatown food crawl is tea. A bubble tea/boba tea for the road.

Teado Tea Shop: a local independently owned tea shop, that feels more cozy and nostalgic than the chain stores

Matcha Cafe Maiko: matcha lattes yes, but also plenty of other matcha-related desserts

Tiger Sugar: Taiwanese import known for brown sugar milk boba

Chicha San Chen: Taiwanese import known for quality tea (expect a wait because they brew each tea to order)

TAKE HOME

While you’re here, bring the food crawl home with some takeaway.

Zongzi lady: the cutest older lady selling bamboo leaf wrapped steamed rice and pork, in a variety of regional styles. get the shanghai style for the most simple version

Hay Hay Roasted: it’s a restaurant but come grab bbq pork and duck by the pound to take home