Thank goodness for this app! A native New Yorker, I have been going to Chinatown for as long as I can recall day trips into the Big Apple, and I can count the number of Chinatown restaurants I continually frequent on my two hands, possibly even just on one. I am always baffled by those people who visit Chinatown on a whim, pick any old restaurant and just happen to stumble upon the best meal, and deal, of a lifetime. How do they know where to go? Walking past all the windows filled with hanging roasted ducks, and the promise of hand-pulled noodles and flavored bubble tea, how can they choose just one at random, and get it right?
However they did it doesn’t matter to me anymore because now I can too, and so can you with the help of this app! Super straightforward, Chinatown Chow Down NYC opens up to a list of Chinatown eateries in alphabetical order, each with a price indicator below the restaurant name. You can browse through “everything” or tailor your search according to your needs: search for “bakeries” or “dim sum” only; you can even narrow your search down to categories like “old school,” “wonton soup” and “late night chow.”
Each entry offers a generous, detailed description of what to expect in both food and atmosphere. When eating at Great NY Noodletown (a personal favorite), make sure to order the “shrimp wonton soup” and then “top off that soup with some fresh roast duck.” If you’re looking for dumplings, but would like to avoid the busy bustle of the heart of Chinatown, try Tasty Dumpling at the far end of Mulberry Street where “there’s plenty of space and almost never a line.” Basic details like each restaurant’s hours of operation, phone number and how pricey or cheap it is are always included, as well.
If the written word is not enough for you, check out the seemingly endless photos, replete with captions for each snapshot. The pile of spinach in garlic sauce at Fuleen Seafood left my mouth watering; and the juicy, shiny heap of ribs pictured at Deluxe Food Market made me actually consider ending my 12-year stint as a vegetarian.
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