Chinatown

Talde's John Bush Talks Barrel-Aged Manhattans and Tequila Bloody Marys

That John Bush's name is stamped on cocktail menus around the city--his credits include Vig Bar and Mario Batali's Otto--is a testament to the time he's put in behind the bar here: After bar-backing and photographing bands all over the globe, Bush landed in this scene 20 years ago, and he spent 12 o ... More >>

Fire Breaks Out on Elizabeth Street, Six Injured, Five of Them Firefighters

A fire broke out this morning at 83 Elizabeth Street. All the residents of the six-story Chinatown building have been evacuated.

5 Great Food Events This Weekend

Friday, May 17 Sweet Leaf Tea's Be Sweet New York Sweet Leaf Tea will unveil a bottle cap art installation on the High Line in Chelsea tonight. The event kicks off the company's "Be Sweet Out There" campaign to inspire kind acts in New York City, and complimentary tea and entertainment will be given ... More >>

Fork in the Road's Updated Dim Sum Dictionary

Fo tiao qing, braised pork tendon Way back in 2009, Fork in the Road offered readers an original dim sum visual dictionary, our tool to carry with you as you seek out the best small-plate parlors in the city. It was intended to be a resource for identifying and enjoying the traditional dim sum dish ... More >>

Tired of Potato Chips? Have a Bite of Baby Clams

Why not give these a go instead of Doritos? Westerners have long been in a rut where commercial snacks are concerned. Walk into any bodega and your choices are likely to be limited to dozens of flavors of potato chips in a bewildering number of sizes and shapes, or dough-based snacks that have bee ... More >>

Report From Chinatown

Last Friday, a long line waited for the National Guard to arrive and distribute food and other disaster relief. (Click on any image to enlarge.) Meanwhile, trucks -- some bound for Chinatown -- are loaded at the 69th Armory on lower Lexington Avenue. Friday at 4pm Chinatown was a mess. A long li ... More >>

New York's Beijing BBQ Carts Branch Out in a Big Way

An assortment of brochettes from this innovative Chinatown barbecue cart is Dish #22 in our countdown. Welcome to 100 Dishes to Eat Now, the tasty countdown leading up to our "Best of 2012" issue. Tune in each day (weekends too!) for a new dish from the Fork in the Road team. It was only five year ... More >>

Where Should I Take My Boss in Chinatown?

John D. asks: My boss is flying in from St. Louis and he wants to eat lunch in Chinatown (they don't really have a Chinatown there). Where should I take him? Dear John D.: I'm assuming you mean Manhattan Chinatown - there are actually four other ones, two in Brooklyn and two in Queens.

Chinatown Buses Busted By Cops: Pros and Cons

Shortly after federal transportation authorities cracked down on Chinatown's charter buses, city officials have targeted cheap transport between Flushing, Queens and Manhattan. This seems to have started last week. Then, city officials began issuing fines and towing the large tour buses that had s ... More >>

Year of the Takeout Day 192: Stinky, Stinky Durian

Durian, from Chinatown supermarket

Year of the Takeout Day 168: Fish Sausage?

Uhm....

Year of the Takeout Day 165: Random Candy

Random Candy from Chinatown Supermarket

Year of the Takeout Day 166: Mixed Drink Suggestions!

Random Beverages from Chinatown Grocery

Year of the Takeout Day 135: Li's Restaurant

Chinatown Duck from Li's Restaurant (136 Avenue C, 212-677-6003)

Live: Little Dragon Plays "The Hottest Club On Planet Earth"

Little Dragon Le Baron Chinatown Thursday, May 3, 2012 When getting ready to see Swedish dance fiends Little Dragon at Le Baron Chinatown, I really only had one question: Would I actually get in? Yes, I was assured by one of the event's men behind the curtain, Fabien Moreau, but I didn't want to be ... More >>

Chinatown Property Owners Say City Illegally Charged Them BID Fees Before BID Even Existed

Some Chinatown property owners didn't really want to be part of a Business Improvement District in the first place. Now a group of them are claiming that the city illegally charged them fees corresponding to months before the BID even officially existed. The city told the Voice yesterday that it i ... More >>

Year of the Takeout Day 93: Chinatown Brasserie

Turnip Cake with Ham and XO Sauce from Chinatown Brasserie (380 Lafayette Street, 212-533-7000)

Spiny Softshell Turtles on Mott Street

The spiny softshell (Apalone spinifera) is available live in Chinatown fish markets along Mott and Grand streets. Those enjoy looking in those cardboard boxes (either approvingly or disapprovingly) that are used to merchandise live creatures on the sidewalks in front of Chinatown markets had a sur ... More >>

PARTY HARD

Andrew W.K. gets Webster Hall wet

Chinatown Restaurant Week

Chinatown has established its own restaurant week, which starts this Friday and runs until March 18. Check out the participating restaurants:

Robert Sietsema at Coluck; Lauren Shockey at Sao Mai and Xe May Sandwich Shop

Robert Sietsema wanders around the Chinatown Arcade and samples some Chinese-fusion café fare at Coluck: "Well, they'll feed you cheaply and copiously with foods that seem like a merging of neighborhood Chinese and the cooking of a culinarily challenged English mom who, strapped for time, pulls a b ... More >>

Congee at Coluck, With an Extra Surprise Cruller

Minced beef congee at Coluck -- mother in a bowl Also known as jook, the soothing rice porridge called congee is South China's favorite breakfast. The rice has been cooked into oblivion in some kind of broth till rice and liquid merge almost completely. Flavorings often include shredded ginger, an ... More >>

Anyone Seen This Fruit Before?

​No, it's not a potato, though it looks like one. Fork in the Road often finds itself turning to its readers for identification of foodstuffs we stumble on in area markets but can't figure out. We have another request. This fruit was being sold at the open air market in Chinatown at the cor ... More >>

Pulqueria: ¡Hola, los Cocktails!

Get sloshed on a different kind of breast milk

Fashion Week Approacheth! Here Are The Rules!

​Yes, there are rules. Disobey them and you become fashion-unfabulous in the drop of a hemline. *Run around Lincoln Center every day, telling strangers, "Gosh, I hate Fashion Week! I wouldn't be here if I didn't absolutely have to be!" This gives out the impression that you have some incred ... More >>

Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration, Chinatown

​Prior to the afternoon parade, the floats lined up on Mott Street. The Chinese Year of the Dragon began Monday, January 23, 2012. The new year is 4710. Today marked the 13th anniversary of the Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade, which has become increasingly popular each year, so that now the ... More >>

5 Best Dishes at Shanghai Asian Cuisine

​Shanghai-style lo mein at Chinatown's Shanghai Asian Cuisine This week Counter Culture sails into Shanghai Asian Cuisine, a comparative newcomer to Elizabeth Street in the most ancient part of Chinatown, next to the alley called Chinatown Mall. Here are the five dishes that my friends and I ... More >>

Banana Leaf: Here's Your Skanky Wallop

Brooklyn's Sunset Park goes a little more Malaysian

RedFarm: Dim Sum and Then Some

Find your fancy Chinese food in the West Village

Hot and Sour Soup at Inexpensive Delicacies, Dish No. 4

If you want to kindle a fierce debate among "bottom-feeding" foodies, as they're derisively called (and I'm certainly one), just ask what's the cheapest and best item of food for the money in one borough or another.

In Chinatown Markets Now: Sugar Apples

​Why is it called a sugar apple? Your guess is as good as mine. Surprising things are always appearing in Chinatown markets. Sometimes, it's an obscure herb or nut from a Southeast Asian country; this last weekend it was sugar apples.

You Don't Know Jack About Jackfruit (Or Maybe You Do)

​The jackfruit currently for sale in Chinatown is of the soft and sweet variety, and hence probably better eaten raw, possibly with a little brown sugar. The improvised vegetable and fruit stands on the streets of Chinatown are always revamping their selection according to what is currently a ... More >>

Take Your Java Jones East: Asian Instant Coffees

​If you love the convenience of Starbucks VIA but find it a tad expensive for your instant-coffee needs ($10 for 12 sticks), pop over to your closest Chinese supermarket in Chinatown or Flushing to look for these cheap and tasty alternatives, by way of Southeast Asia. (IOG in Fresh Meadows, Qu ... More >>

Counterfeit Bag Ladies Could Go to Jail for Buying Fakes

​Today in a New York Post Exclusive we learn of a new law being proposed that would terrify us to our core if we'd ever purchased any counterfeit bags. But since we haven't done much shopping at all, in fact, since that old recession, we can breathe easy -- for now. Still, it might behoove you ... More >>

Ten Fascinating Ethnic Ingredients Chefs Should Get to Know Better

Sprinkled with sesame seeds, marinated jellyfish makes a memorable summer salad​ The last couple of decades have flooded NYC with colorful cuisines many of us never knew existed, and stocked ethnic markets with exotic ingredients that had strange names and fascinating properties. This influx ... More >>

Rich Old Woman Pick-Pockets Chinese People Because She Hates Them

​The New York Post has the sort-of Robin Hood story today of Ha Vasko, a rich 67-year-old Vietnamese woman arrested in Chinatown four times for pick-pocketing. "I hate Chinese people," she explained to the police. "They sell fake stuff, take the money, and send the money back home," she went o ... More >>

No. 5: Bamboo Pith and Sauteed Winter Melon at East Harbor

​This dish of pith and unsweet melon is as wan as a wintry day -- but the taste is supremely delectable. Bamboo pith is not a common ingredient in Western gastronomy. In fact, I've never seen it outside grandiose Hong Kong-style restaurants. Winter melon is more common -- you can see it in e ... More >>

Shorty Tang's Noodles Are Resurrected in Carroll Gardens

​When he was in the kitchen at Chinatown's Hwa Yuan restaurant, Shorty Tang cooked some of the most legendary cold sesame noodles in the city's culinary history. For a few brief, precious hours this afternoon, his grandsons Casey and Gilley are resurrecting the dish in honor of Chinese New Yea ... More >>

Posts of the Week

It's late Friday afternoon, and thus time to look back at the week that was ... Veritas's Rubén Sanz Ramiro talked about wines with energy and the restaurant's craziest bottle. Cops also have a thing for Magnolia Bakery. Our 10 Best Things to Eat in Manhattan's Chinatown.

Chinatown Cake Club Is on 'Extra-Long Hiatus,' But Is Available in Cookbook Form

Photo courtesy of Chinatown Cake Club​Last December, we were lucky enough to attend the very first meeting of the Chinatown Cake Club, a monthly dessert salon that pastry chef Victoria Howe hosted in her agreeably cramped Chinatown apartment. We liked what we ate, and looked forward to the inv ... More >>

How Not to Die in an Elevator (or on an Escalator): 10 Simple Tips

​You may not be aware of this (we sure weren't!) but it's National Elevator and Escalator Safety Awareness Week. As such, the Department of Buildings is providing a helpful educational program for first and second graders in Chinatown so that they know what to do, like keeping their shoelaces ... More >>

People No Longer Grossed Out By British Food; McDonald's to Pay Out $17,500 to Fattened Employee

​Peter Meehan on why he's really into Chinatown these days: Sichuan hot pot in a bag, tofu, and barbecued parts. [T Magazine] Royal Caribbean cruise line's newest ship, the 5,400-passenger Allure of the Seas, will house the first Starbucks outlet at sea. [USA Today] A recent survey reveals t ... More >>

Empire of the Bun at Golden Steamer and Baohaus

Steaming is a gas at two bao specialists

A Guide to the Curious World of Chinatown Bakeries

A (Chinatown) Fish Story

Hide the blackfish! State agents raid Chinese restaurants for puny, but tasty, swimmers

Sugar Shock

Channeling your Chinatown child in the East Village

Pedigreed

Short ribs surf gravy wave at old-style Chinatown Cantonese

Chop Suey Christmas

From lo mein to lobster in the city's five chinatowns

Getting Gooey

Secret specialty of a banquet hall in Brooklyn's Chinatown

Chinatown Elegy

Return of the Repressed