This may sound crazy but after having lived in the city for 3 years, I've never visited the eateries in Chinatown ... this is what I used to say until this month when I finally checked that off my to-do list (more like a must-do list!)
Let me just tell you that I've been missing out on some yummy food at super cheap prices. But one big reason why I had been reluctant to come down here was that I just didn't know where to go- Chinatown is pretty big and everything is in Chinese (surprise). But a friend of mine recommended some great restaurants (thanks Julia!) and I thought it would be fun and helpful to some of you out there if I blog about the places I visited.
The first restaurant I want to introduce is Shanghai Cafe on Mott st & between Hester and Canal st.
The most popular menu is the soup dumpling and I got to try the pork and vege kinds. They are served on steamed cabbage and each order comes with 8 dumplings. Only $4.95 for each plate of dumplings! There are other menu items like noodles, rice dishes, and desserts but I have yet to try these.
The next place I want to talk about is full of sweet treats - Fay Da Bakery! It's also on Mott, just below Canal street so it's only a block down from Shanghai Cafe. They have regular desserts like fruit tarts and cheesecakes, but they also have a large variety of Asian baked goods and drinks (bubble tea!)
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Their egg tart was still hot when I got them (left picture) and I loved its fluffy texture. Their pork bun (picture on the right) was pretty good but not as tasty as the ones from Jing Fong, which is coming up next. Both the egg tart and pork bun are a dollar each.
Jing Fong Restaurant is probably one of the more popular restaurants in Chinatown and despite its huge size, it can get pretty packed during lunch time, especially on weekends. A cool thing about this place is that the workers stroll around with carts full of different dishes and you can simply pick and choose the ones you want.
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| (Top left -pork buns , top right - shrimp dumplings, bottom left - Siu Mai, bottom right - chicken buns) Each dish was delicious and all of these were just under $20. That's a good deal. |
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| I just had to add this picture because Jocelyn (my BFF from college) kept saying that this shrimp dumpling reminded her of Finding Nemo. That was the most random and weird comment ever but that just shows how silly this girl is. |
So the next stop is just a small bubble tea shop called Bubbly Tea on Bayard st. There is nothing too special about this place but they do have an amazing 99 cent milk tea happy hour deal on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 A.M.-7 P.M.
I would like to share one last food experience from Chinatown. On Canal street, there are several fruit carts that sell coconuts and the vendor will crack open the top for you so that you can drink the coconut water out of the fruit. Maybe this isn't that interesting but I was really excited to find this since coconut is not that ubiquitous in the city and even if you find one, successfully cracking the shell is a whole different story. So try one of these if you are feeling tropical!
Yelp Ratings
Shanghai Cafe - http://www.yelp.com/biz/shanghai-caf%C3%A9-new-york-2
Fay Da Bakery - http://www.yelp.com/biz/fay-da-bakery-new-york
Bubbly Tea - http://www.yelp.com/biz/bubbly-tea-new-york
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