July 15, 2006
I spent a whole afternoon roaming around Chinatown, up and down streets filled with yummy restaurants, funny signage, and all kinds of food for sale, both common and odd. Chinatown is also filled with street vendors selling fruits, veggies, cooked foods, and numerous tourist goodies, among other things. Take a look!
I'm guessing they make excellent pork chops.
Tourists. Haha.
Ping's is supposed to serve good dim sum - it's on my list to try.
Ajisen is a little Japanese restaurant in Chinatown.
Plastic models of food in front of Ajisen.
Sweet-n-Tart is another good dim sum place. I think I took my bro here last September.
Came here last fall with Matthew, Paula and my bro. Yummy Peking duck, served with scallions, hoisin sauce and pancakes. Delicious!
View down an alley.
One of the many shops selling souvenirs to tourists.
Is it "Fat Fat Enterprice" or "Fat Fat Enterprise"?? Either way, Fat Fat is a funny name for a shop.
Chinese Häagen-Dazs
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory - check all the people out front!
Mei Lai Wah sells the giant steamed buns I bought a few months ago, filled with all sorts of yummy savories.
Jing Fong is one of my favorite dim sum places here. It's a huge banquet hall inside, with 2 raised platforms, so that if you're seated at one of those tables, you feel like you're on stage.
There are numerous street vendors in Chinatown, like this one, selling cherries.
Here's another, selling dragonfruit, lychee, cherries and other fruit.
This one sells coconut milk, fresh in the coconut.
Different kinds of lychee, and more cherries.
A variety of veggies.
And lucky bamboo.
Baby turtles! (I later discovered that selling these cuties is illegal, but not before I adopted one for myself.)
Fish markets are a big contributor to the smell of Chinatown. It is particularly pungent in the summer!
Kung Fu figurines for sale.
A slightly different take on that classic image of the little girl on the beach with her dog.
Chinese street musicians perform on the sidewalk.
Dumplings are a very popular item here. I can easily think of 5 in this neighborhood, and there are a few more in other neighborhoods of NYC.
A happy store!
Asia Roma - is it Asian, or is it Italian?
Here's a second dumpling restaurant.
Tea cafes are more common than coffee shops.
Teariffic is one tea shot that sells the popular bubble teas, with the giant black tapioca pearls sitting at the bottom.
I treated myself to a green tea with milk
with black tapioca pearls, of course!
Just a few doors down is TenRen's tea and Ginseng shop, where you can buy different kinds of tea leaves and other healthy herbs.
And just down from that, TenRen has a tea shop where you can get more bubble tea! All those people in front are experiencing the joys of bubble tea.
Egg Custard King specializes in different kinds of egg custard tarts. Yum, one of my favorites!
This artist will paint your name with the letters made up of Asian imagery. Another tourist treasure.
Here, tourists can buy straw animals and decorations for your friends and family.
And if you need clean bras and panties, you can find some in Chinatown.
Somehow, in big cities, Chinatown is always right next to Little Italy. So along my tour of Chinatown, I made a little Italian detour.
During the summer, some of the blocks are closed to traffic, and restaurants set up outdoor dining, right in the street.
Little Italy also has street vendors. This one is selling Spumoni and Italian ices, popular treats on very hot days.
You can also get baseball caps,
Tshirts,
NY souvenirs,
little Italian flags,
and fruit and veggie magnets.
If edible souvenirs are what you're after, there's Vinny's Nut House, which sells nuts. Duh.
Well, Vinny also sells Torrone (Italian nouget candy), candied apples and biscotti.
Can't afford that $500 Fendi bag? Come to this table!
Get your trendy sunglasses here! You can find sunglasses vendors on the sidewalks of many other neighborhoods around the city.
It's summer in Little Italy! Viva Italia!
Look at all the people!
Mmmm, Italian bakery makes tasty cookies.
Back in Chinatown, Jazzi Wok.
Romantic Gift Shop - ooh la la!
Twins 99¢ Plus.
Dried or preserved berries, nuts and other things used in Chinese cooking.
Another dumpling joint. I've bought a few bags of frozen dumplings here before.
Look at all the choices! The ones we've tried have
been delicious.
More dried and preserved goodies.
Dried fungus, used in soups. These things are
touted for their many health benefits.
Giant dried mushrooms.
this tofu shop sells different kinds of tofu, from soft to firm to fried. They also sell soy milk.
Sweetly fruit.
Durian fruit, whether you love it or hate it, it STINKS.
Fresh rice noodles - the one on the left is plain, the one in the center is flavored with dried shrimp and green onions. It's delicious with a bit of soy sauce.
Rice noodles in thinner strips, for stir frying or in soup.
This street vendor sells stir fried noodles, made to order.
Watermelons.
Another smelly fish market.
Huge variety of fish and seafood.
And snails!
This woman sells zhung, rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo (or other) leaves and tied with string. Variations are sold, some filled with steamed peanuts, others with mung beans, chinese sausage and salted preserved egg. I prefer the latter. There's also a sweet variety, which I think has no filling, but the rice is sweetened.
This woman works for the previously mentioned tofu shop, and sells hot, silken tofu with a little cup of simple syrup. Healthy and yummy! She's always set up right outside of the subway station.
She also sells a firmer tofu, as well as tea eggs.
Roosevelt Park runs the length of Chinatown.
Lions guard the park.
Recent World Cup has stirred soccer frenzy in Chinatown.
Egg Custard King has a new, second location a few blocks from the original one.
Live blue crabs for sale. I watched one almost climb
out of the bucket, but the man with the tongs caught
him before he found freedom.
Wong & Lin Trading Corp is just a regular market, they are not trading stuff.
This is my original dumpling place, Dumpling House. I buy bags of frozen dumplings here and bring them home to fry or steam or boil. You can also get fried dumplings and eat them there, 5 for $1.50.
At Dumpling House, they also make delicious sesame pancake sandwiches, stuffed with thinly sliced beef and pickled carrots and jicama. Trust me, it's fabulous, and also only $1.50!
A few blocks down the street, another dumpling shop.
Puchao Temple.
Monks.
Do people still drink Ovaltine?
These clams are the size of my hand.
Under the entrance to the bridge, right under the subway tracks.
On the road along the bridge entrance, I discovered an endless outdoor produce market.
Cabbages, turnips, ginger and eggplant.
A box stuffed with ginger.
Giant winter melon, usually used in soup.
Empty crates and boxes.
Selling watermelons out of a truck.
The market goes on and on.
Boxes and boxes of Caribbean Sunrise papayas.
On the far end of Roosevelt park, no martinis allowed.
This side has a track and an open field, for all sorts of activities.
Some sort of martial arts practice was going on.
This guy was quite impressive with his jumps. Watch him in action!
This girl was also very skilled. Take a look.
And this girl was very quick. Check her out.
Back in the heart of Chinatown, a troupe of lion dances prepares to perform for a private party inside a restaurant. The drums and gongs, are said to scare off evil spirits, bringing good luck to the festivities..
Lion heads.