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Chinatown, NYC Restaurants
Just as the name dim sum, the small dumplings and pastries of Chinese breakfast fare, translates to "taste of the heart," the diverse Asian eateries in Chinatown have been taken to heart by New York's foodies.
To learn more about this fascinating neighborhood, we joined a half-day "Historical Chinatown" tour and visited the slum made notorious by Martin Scorsese's blistering portrayal of 1800's Manhattan, "Gangs of New York." What we native New Yorkers didn't know was that Five Points had developed on top of Manhattan's largest fishing hole. By the late 1700s, almost depleted and filled trash and waste, it had become known as Collect Pond.
Standing in the shadow of the former Tombs prison with our wonderful guide, Jameson Gong of ChinatownNYC.com ( 212/571-2016; www.ChinatownNYC.com for schedule information), we learned that the canal dug to drain Collect Pond was later paved to become Canal Street. It was on this unstable land, at the polluted five-point intersection of Mosco, Baxter, Worth and Mulberry Streets with Columbus Park, that decrepit slums were built - housing thousands in poverty - then later torn down to make way for a wave of immigration from China.
Nearby, about a block south of the Confucious statue, is the First Shearith Israel Cemetery dating to 1683, New York's oldest Jewish cemetery and oldest standing artifact. From here, we paused at the Chatham Restaurant at 9 Chatham Square to try what Guide Gong claimed was the finest cha siu chan bao (steamed pork bun) in the Northeast.
We continued on to study a fascinating collection of period photographs at the Chinese Benevolent Association building at 62 Mott (free entry; 2nd floor office.) The Museum of the Chinese in the Americas is a more formal exhibiton space at 70 Mulberry Street.
Of course, the 21st-century Chinatown is a thriving, bustling neighborhood of new immigrants from every country in Asia. Today, Columbus Park is filled with young basketball players dreaming of Yao Ming, old women under bright umbrellas telling fortunes, and men of all ages lounging around the park's chess tables playing Chinese checkers. Some of the favorite shops we encountered were May May Bakery at 35 Pell ( 212-267-0733), the place to buy superb frozen dim sum to take home and steam yourself; Ting's Gift Shop at 18 Mott for cheezy souvenirs; Golden Fung Wong Bakery at 41 Mott ( 212-267-4037) for fortune cookies at $1.50/bag; Pearl River department store at 477 Broadway at Canal for ceramic tea mugs with lids; and the acupuncture studio of Dr. James L. K. Gong at 14 Mott ( 212-406-4077) our guide's father and a noted specialist in the field.
Then it was time to eat. Although descendants of the early Italian and Irish street gamgs long ago moved to other boroughs, a few gelateria, cafes and pubs can still be found in the one-way streets north of Canal. But deciding where to stop -- and for what kind of Asian cuisine -- is a better challenge.
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