Belated Chinese New Year
MJ Back in the Day
Kenmare Street DMZ
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpchan/8737331568/
If there’s one place that always makes me a little worried about the future of Chinatown, it’s Kenmare Street between Mott and Elizabeth.
Here at the very northern edge of what you’d consider Chinatown, you can see the neighborhood’s past — and its potential future. On a low-key street mostly known for traffic coming from the Williamsburg Bridge, new luxury apartments bump-up against working-class walk-ups.
What’s next? I don’t know if anyone really knows. Gentrification may be an unstoppable force, but that doesn’t mean its impacts on neighborhoods are identical. I’m watching eagerly to see how Chinatown handles it.
Mister Hotpot
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpchan/8716916718/
Because I have a thing for spicy hotpot, restaurants with big lighted signs, and Sunset Park Chinatown, Mister Hotpot on Eighth Avenue shot to the top of my list when searching for Chinese food on Sunday night.
It was well worth the trip. The food was very tasty, service was good, and they were open late.
I wanted to compliment Hotpot Xiānshēng personally, but I think he’d already left for the day.
This Station Needs a Hachikō
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpchan/8542514048/
Flushing’s LIRR Main Street station is very lightly used compared with its nearby subway station, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve some sprucing up.
My recommendation, in all seriousness, is to put a dog on it. Just like how putting a bird on something can make it art in Portland, putting a Hachikō at a transit entrance can elevate an otherwise utilitarian space into something much more inviting. Maybe even inspirational.
A cat would be okay, too.
A New Chinatown Uptown?
From “Chinese Moving to East Harlem in a Quiet Shift From Downtown” in today’s New York Times:
It also thrust into violent relief an otherwise hidden demographic change in East Harlem: The population of Asian residents, mostly Chinese, has quietly ballooned in the last decade, doubling in the southern part of the neighborhood and tripling in the north, according to census figures.
I moved to Central Harlem from Brooklyn four-and-a-half years ago. I love my current digs, but I missed the convenient access to Chinatown that I had when living on the Q train, which passed through the heart of Manhattan’s Chinatown.
I used to eat and shop in Chinatown at least once a week; now it’s more like once a month. I miss the cheap and tasty restaurants, the cheap and fresh groceries, the easy availability of the “ying yang” tea/coffee drink I’m addicted to.
Given how Chinatowns have sprouted up around NYC, I’ve been hoping that new one would grow in Harlem or the South Bronx. If this article is accurate, it looks like it might finally be happening.
10/10
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpchan/8075192212/
I found myself surrounded by shouting Taiwanese from New Jersey and was instantly transported back to my childhood.
(Mulberry St & Mott St, Manhattan)
Magic Hour
The sun was setting spectacularly over Manhattan in the distance. But it couldn’t compete with the dancers in Sunset Park last night.
(Sunset Park, Brooklyn)
The Competition
I’m not sure exactly what these kids were competing in, but they were intensely focused at it.
(Flushing Mall, Queens)
Monday is Cat Week: Cold But Cool
It was 25F outside, but that didn’t stop this cat from having a grand old time on the hood of this parked car. He would lick the hood, then tumble around.I don’t know what he was tasting, but it must have been delicious. I’m just glad his tounge didn’t stick to the metal.
(Bayard St, Manhattan)
Closing Time is Cleaning Time
(Lai Heng Jewelry, Doyers St & Bowery, Manhattan)
Mysterious CCC
The first rule of Chinatown Cake Club is you do not talk about Chinatown Cake Club.
I forget exactly what the other rules are, but fortunately there’s none about photography.
(CCC, Manhattan)
Xmas in Ctown
(Deluxe Food Market, 122 Elizabeth St, Manhattan)
Dim Sumptuous
(East Manor, Kissena Blvd, Flushing)
This Ain’t Whole Foods, People
I love grocery shopping in Flushing, but you gotta be ready for some things you just won’t find at Fairway, both good and bad.
(Gold City Supermarket, Kissena Blvd, Flushing)
Sad Fish
(Hong Kong Supermarket, 157 Hester St, Manhattan)
Monday Is Cat Week: On Grand
I love dogs too, but they will just never be as cool as cats.
(Grand St, Manhattan)
Pork Front Feet
My only question: do the front feet taste differently from the rear ones?
(Gold City Supermarket, Flushing, NY)
The Angry Lady Is Back!
Apparently, my favorite Chinese hot sauce was banned from US shelves for several months because the jar cap didn’t meet our strict standards for, uh, jar caps. But now, spicy food lovers can rejoice in the news that the heat is back.
(Gold City Supermarket, Flushing)