Chinatown Walking Tour before the End of Summer
Ever since my trip to San Francisco and the fabulous, eccentric Chinese food I had there, I’ve been searching for the same taste…a.k.a bergamot leaf rolls and dumpling varieties. The Chinatown in San Francisco is the biggest in United States and it’s not much different from China itself, they say. Whereas in New York Chinatown consists of a few blocks and Chinese food is very much commercialized, spread all over the city and mixed in with various other cuisines.
If you don’t work or live in Chinatown it’s rare that you’ll pass through the neighborhood. The closest I ever get is Canal Street, which I try to avoid except for Pearl Art & Supply Store since it’s hectic and dangerous for bike riders. Therefore I felt I needed a guided tour, a special occasion for a visit to this small neighborhood. Foods of New York organizes gourmet tours of Chinatown that cost $65 per person, including tastings at the following locations:
- Dim Sum Go Go – A unique selection of Hong Kong Style dumplings and steamed pork bun.
- Peking Duck House – A whole Beijing Style Peking Duck with all the fixings.
- Fried Dumplings – Pork Dumplings (that’s all they do!)
- New Beef King – Two types of authentic Chinese beef jerky
- Ten Ren Tea House – A delicious Chinese tea
- Egg Custard King – The best egg custard tart in Chinatown!
I obviously did not have a budget for that so instead I took the weekend tour of Museum of Chinese in America, but kept a list of the above places for individual experimentation. The tour leaves from Mulberry Street, stops at Columbus Park which was built for the Irish immigrants living in tenements at the time, so that they would have a place to relax and stay out of trouble (see Gangs of New York, this is the famous Five Points).
The tour then takes you to Pell Street which is filled with Hair Salons and massage parlors. In 1882 United States passed Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibiting Chinese immigration for about 60 years. Those who came with the Gold Rush (1848) or were recruited for the construction of Central Pacific Railroad (1860) could stay but could not bring their family members from China. The Chinese population was extremely unbalanced, 2-3 women to 500 men. Men needed grooming and womanly service so hair salons became an opportunity for Chinese entrepreneurs.
On Pell Street I also found the meaning of my trip: food. Joe’s Shanghai was not on my list but offered us a generous menu, so generous that while ordering the waiter had to interrupt and say “that’s enough.” I would especially recommend the cold sake and they also have special dumplings. It’s incredibly crowded and you get to meet all kinds of people while sitting and eating eating at their round, community tables.
The tour ends on Confucius Plaza, right in front of the great philosopher’s statue. His engraved words start withw:
“When the Great Principle prevails the world is a Commonwealth…”
The day ended with a walk back to West Village, under the soft rain.
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