Chinatowns have been part of major North American cities since the first ones were established in the Bay Area around 1850. While Chinese neighborhoods in Boston, San Francisco and Toronto remain major tourist attractions, other cities like Brooklyn, New York, Houston and Richmond, British Columbia, have Chinatowns that remain more off the beaten path, even though they’ve eclipsed their more well-known counterparts in size and variety. Chinatowns are no longer just places to get late-morning dim sum and soup dumplings around the clock. Whether you’re looking for regional Chinese classics or award-winning Vietnamese food, here are 10 Chinatowns you need to visit in North America.
Boston
Boston’s Chinatown is sandwiched between Tuft’s Medical Center and Interstates 90 and 93. Start at the gate and head west on Beach towards Washington, and you’ll find four short blocks (and side streets) densely packed with Chinese bakeries, medicinal shops, bubble tea cafes and smaller restaurants.
Because of the proximity to South Station, you’ll often find visitors making Chinatown their last stop on the way out of town to get egg custard tarts from Great Taste Bakery, which are a must-try. On the savory side, Hong Kong Eatery is a popular spot for grilled meats, from roast duck to soy sauce chicken. For a more upscale experience, try Hei La Moon, which starts serving dim sum daily at 11 a.m. (and 10:30 a.m. on weekends).
Flushing, Queens, NYC
Thanks to the Long Island Railroad, you can get to Flushing from Midtown as fast as you can get to Canal Street by subway. And once you arrive, there will be no mistaking where you are. At the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, you’ll see sidewalk vendors hawking fresh durian, jackfruit and mangosteen in front of the Asian grocery stores where locals shop. Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao started in Flushing and is now one of the go-to soup dumpling spots, from the East Village to the Philly suburbs.
While Flushing has no shortage of restaurants, you’ll do just as well eating at one of the food halls, which range from the modern Tangram to the more compact food court at the New World Mall. Established restaurants like James Beard-nominee Zaab Zaab and Xi’an Famous Foods have locations in Flushing, as does Japan’s own Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, where small plates are served on a conveyor belt while robots serve drinks.
Houston
This one is on a whole other level. Unlike most of its United States counterparts, Houston’s Chinatown is not walkable. But nearly every restaurant is part of a strip mall, where parking is never an issue. It’s so big and spread out that there’s a Little Saigon within the six square mile neighborhood, where red and yellow South Vietnamese flags fly proudly along Bellaire Blvd, the area’s main thoroughfare.
While Chinese restaurants like Mein and One Dragon are popular go-to spots with large menus, it’s the niche eateries that make Houston’s Chinatown one of the best in North America. Tao Rice Roll, Momo House and San San Tofu are self-explanatory, while Cajun Kitchen and James Beard semifinalist and Michelin Bib Gourmand Nam Giao are where you go for regionally-focused Vietnamese food. And as Houston is the Viet-Cajun capital, you can’t leave town without trying a bowl of crawfish.
Manhattan, NYC
NYC’s original Chinatown is a top tourist attraction that is constantly evolving. Chinese restaurants and bakeries still make up the majority of the businesses along Canal Street and East Broadway, yet the neighborhood is the most cosmopolitan of any Chinatown in North America. For every well-established Hwa Yuan Szechuan and Jing Fong, there’s a new and equally interesting spot like Parisian-style bistro Le Dive and upscale Mexican restaurant Corima, where the tasting menu is not posted online.
Thanks to restaurants like Curry House, Wok Wok and Kopitiam (meaning “coffee shop” in Hokkien), Chinatown rivals Elmhurst, Queens, when it comes to Southeast Asian food. At Kopitiam, sweet items like honeycomb cake, kuih talam, and kaya butter toast are as notable as Hainanese chicken rice or the flat noodle Penang street food classic char kuey teow (a rice noodle dish with shrimp and Chinese sausage).
Where to Eat in NYC’s Original Chinatown
Whether your budget is $10 or $200, you’ll find something to eat that will leave you wanting to explore more
Oakland, California
If San Francisco’s Chinatown feels a bit touristy, head across the bay to Oakland. At roughly twice the size as its more famous and only slightly older counterpart, Oakland’s Chinatown is large enough to have three parks and the Oakland Museum of California.
Most of the dining options are close to Broadway, which serves as the neighborhood’s western border. If you’re planning to have a large meal at one restaurant, make it the 400-seat Peony Seafood. Dim sum is the main attraction, with the sweets being as memorable as the savory dishes. The pear-shaped fried pandan mochi will ooze warm, gooey sweetness when you bite into it. Peking duck is on the menu, but the flaky roasted duck puffs (served in the shape of actual ducks) are more fun.
There are plenty of smaller restaurants to try, including Battambang, which has been around since 1992 and serves popular Cambodian dishes like amok trei (steamed catfish custard) and the harder-to-find banana blossom soup.
Philadelphia
Philly’s Chinatown is so conveniently located that anyone arriving by bus or train has to try hard to miss it — there are plenty of worthwhile dim sum and noodle spots between 8th and 11th Streets. Ray’s Cafe & Tea House specializes in siphon-brewed coffee, handmade dumplings and Taiwanese classics like beef noodle soup. Philly institution Sang Kee Peking Duck has a proper location at 9th and Vine, as well as a stall in Reading Terminal Market.
Some businesses in the neighborhood stay open late and tend to be post-shift meeting spots for those in the food industry. Ken’s has private karaoke rooms and stays open until 3 a.m., serving seafood dishes, including various takes on jellyfish. For mille crepe cakes and Hong Kong-style desserts, check out Mango Mango, which is one block north of the Chinatown Friendship Arch.
Richmond, British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia, still has a Chinatown, but those in the know are getting their Asian food fixes in neighboring Richmond. From April to October, Richmond Night Market is the largest of its kind in North America, but you can find Chinese and other Asian food 365 days a year in the city itself.
How much you spend in Richmond depends on you. Chef Tony Seafood Restaurant is a popular upscale all-day dim sum spot, but if you’re looking to feast without spending a small fortune, stick to The Dumpling Trail and Richmond Public Market. At the market’s second-floor food hall, most savory items are less than $20 CAD. When it comes to sweets, you’ll see the longest line for Peanuts Bubble Tea’s wheel cakes. At Xi’an Cuisine, you can watch a former electrician-turned-chef make noodles from scratch in 60 seconds for dishes like lamb noodle soup and spicy wonton.
San Francisco
America’s oldest Chinatown is still one of the best in North America. Like in NYC, San Francisco’s Chinatown is densely populated and borders Little Italy (known as North Beach). And it’s the only Chinatown in North America you can get to by cable car or driverless Waymo.
For classic Chinese food, Jackson Street is a great place to start. The Szechuan-focused Z & Y Restaurant has been around since 2008 and recently opened a sister Peking Duck restaurant on the same block. The newer spot is more Beijing-centric, with display ducks hanging in the window. Peking duck is easy to find in most Chinatowns, but Chef Lijun Han takes it to the next level by serving a version with rich Regiis Ova Caviar. Less decadent but equally delicious are the grilled sea bass and avocado salad, the latter served in sesame oil with a dusting of sugar.
Sunset Park, Brooklyn
This one is still under the radar for many non-Brooklynites. As Sunset Park starts at the waterfront, you’ll want to focus on 8th and 9th Avenues, with the former being the most notable and the latter marking the neighborhood’s eastern border. There, 42nd to 65th Streets are lined with Chinese seafood restaurants, bubble tea shops and grocery stores ranging from bodega-style to ones with large parking lots that take up most of the block(s) they call home.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money here. Focus on the cash-only dumpling spots, and you can fill up for less than the cost of an evening in a DUMBO parking garage. Great Taste and Kai Feng Fu are great breakfast, lunch or dinner options along 8th Avenue. If you prefer chewier dumplings with thicker skin, go with Kai Feng Fu; they also have a slightly larger seating area.
Toronto’s Original Chinatown
Canada’s megacity is large enough to have multiple Chinatowns. However, the original one is still the largest and most historic within the city limits. Dundas and Spadina is the geographic center where the 505 and 510 streetcars cross paths.
At King’s Noodle Restaurant, you’ll see roast ducks hanging in the window facing Spadina Avenue. Barbecued meat is a good place to start, as the menu has at least one item for every day of the year that King’s Noodle is open. If dumplings are more your thing, you can’t go wrong with Dumpling House Restaurant or Juicy Dumpling. The latter is a no-frills, all-day dim sum spot, while the former has more than a dozen different dumplings with thicker-than-average skin and several stir-fried noodle dishes.
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