2008 Woodie Awards
Chinatown
Uptown Girl
Suzy Kenly
Issue date: 12/8/04 Section: Features
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Many Manhattan College students have managed to navigate their way through the twisting streets of Chinatown, which takes up roughly 2 square miles bounded by Lafayette, Worth, Grand and East Broadway streets on the Lower East Side. They are probably impressed with the sights like the signs in Chinese, the unusual smell of food wafting out of restaurants, and the bargain prices.
Even some lifetime New Yorkers, however, are not familiar with the facts of Chinatown. Its history and where to go for the best dim sum or tea are also inside a secret closet, eager to be opened.
Chinatown was booming along with the rest of the country's economy back in the late 1990's and 2000. Then came September 11, 2001 and effects that crippled Lower Manhattan. Privately owned businesses, restaurants, and stores went bankrupt, and eventually shut down. The rents went to an all time low in the lower end. Even Wall Street employees who usually ate lunch in Chinatown on their breaks during the workday avoided Chinatown after 9/11.
This past April, a campaign began to help New York's troubled economy, funded by the by the 9/11 fund and the LMDC (Lower Manhattan Development Corporation). As the end of this year approaches, Chinatown's economy has picked up considerably since the attacks. New restaurants have opened in place of old ones and the rents have sky rocketed. Both New Yorkers and tourists are crowding the streets of Chinatown once again.
Dim sum, translated "a little something to touch your heart," is a variety of Cantonese cuisines including dumplings, steamed dishes, rice rolls, and sweet tarts. At Dim Sum Go Go (5 East Broadway), there are dozens of choices of dim sum at very reasonable prices. Siu Mai (pork dumplings), pork spare ribs, and hargow (shrimp dumplings) are extremely flavorful, delicious, and filling, albeit their small size. For dessert, the custard egg tarts are sharp and sweet, with a light crust. Other popular desserts are Malaysian rolls, and coconut cakes, which are exactly like jello. Dim Sum Go Go's décor feeds the visual appetite through a more modern looking restaurant. Large white rectangular lights attached to the wall descend down from the ceiling, winding around the restaurant. A painting exhibiting a street scene in China, vividly in red and white hangs proudly above a sleek counter wrapped around the interior and along with curved chairs. A red tapestry covers the lights in the middle of the restaurant, giving off a red glow.
Even some lifetime New Yorkers, however, are not familiar with the facts of Chinatown. Its history and where to go for the best dim sum or tea are also inside a secret closet, eager to be opened.
Chinatown was booming along with the rest of the country's economy back in the late 1990's and 2000. Then came September 11, 2001 and effects that crippled Lower Manhattan. Privately owned businesses, restaurants, and stores went bankrupt, and eventually shut down. The rents went to an all time low in the lower end. Even Wall Street employees who usually ate lunch in Chinatown on their breaks during the workday avoided Chinatown after 9/11.
This past April, a campaign began to help New York's troubled economy, funded by the by the 9/11 fund and the LMDC (Lower Manhattan Development Corporation). As the end of this year approaches, Chinatown's economy has picked up considerably since the attacks. New restaurants have opened in place of old ones and the rents have sky rocketed. Both New Yorkers and tourists are crowding the streets of Chinatown once again.
Dim sum, translated "a little something to touch your heart," is a variety of Cantonese cuisines including dumplings, steamed dishes, rice rolls, and sweet tarts. At Dim Sum Go Go (5 East Broadway), there are dozens of choices of dim sum at very reasonable prices. Siu Mai (pork dumplings), pork spare ribs, and hargow (shrimp dumplings) are extremely flavorful, delicious, and filling, albeit their small size. For dessert, the custard egg tarts are sharp and sweet, with a light crust. Other popular desserts are Malaysian rolls, and coconut cakes, which are exactly like jello. Dim Sum Go Go's décor feeds the visual appetite through a more modern looking restaurant. Large white rectangular lights attached to the wall descend down from the ceiling, winding around the restaurant. A painting exhibiting a street scene in China, vividly in red and white hangs proudly above a sleek counter wrapped around the interior and along with curved chairs. A red tapestry covers the lights in the middle of the restaurant, giving off a red glow.