Ah, (almost) all the places I follow on Instagram. Don’t forget Lasita (little sister to the closed Lasa) with their crisp-melt-in-your-mouth lechon. Laroolou’s calamansi pie is better than key lime, and the owner was so happy when I told him. Don’t forget Endorffeine for a pick-me-up or Scoops, all in the plaza. Haven’t even touched the surface of Broadway, Hill, Ord St., etc.
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I so wish I could magically transport myself there to enjoy all the places Tejal has so lovingly described.
Are the zong wrapped in bamboo leaves or lotus leaves? Some Chinese restaurants in the UK offer something similar but they come wrapped in lotus leaves which give the rice a wonderful fragrance.
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Zong are wrapped in bamboo leaves, and are a different dish to the one you are thinking of. Lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice is usually filled with minced chicken and mushrooms, whereas Cantonese zong is filled with pork, Chinese sausage, peanuts, salted egg, and mung bean or chestnut. (There are sweet versions of zong as well.) Zong is a celebration food for the Dragon Boat Festival, but can be eaten year-round. Both dishes are delicious!
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@JW
also, zong are nearly indestructible. I have some from my mom that are sometimes years old in the freezer. Take one out, cover with water in a small pot and boil it for maybe 15 min and it's like the day it was made.
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I used to go to Chinatown a lot 30 years ago, when I first moved out here.
Unfortunately, traffic has gotten worse (and I've gotten older!)...the thought of spending over an hour, at minimum, in my car to get what is essentially a very casual meal in a barebones setting no longer appeals to me...and Chinatown never had great parking either, so tack on some more $$$ there.
Good for people who live in Glendale or Echo Park though.
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@Charles the gold line literally has a stop in the neighborhood and Union Station is within 1 block of same
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@Keith How is that making my trip any faster or cheaper? I don't live in Pasadena or Highland Park...and taking a metro from the Westside involves driving to the station (20 minutes...I live in the canyons), parking and then paying for the metro. Then I'd have to switch as well.
I'd be surprised if I could do it in under an hour one way.
When I lived in NYC, it would be the equivalent of going to Flushing from Soho.
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@Charles Oh ok, I get it now, you just wanted to let the entire NYT readership know that you're not interested in coming to Chinatown. Got it! Thanks!
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Thanks for sharing so many great businesses!
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Rao you got a way with words. Keep up the good work.
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Reading this makes me want to get on a plane & fly west!
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A long way to go to Los Angeles for one of the Americanized varieties of the numerous Chinese cuisines. Good luck to all gastro-tourists!
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I'm an almost a 50 year New Yorker. But I was proudly born and raised in and around Los Angeles, only leaving for what was to be a few years of grad school. I finished grad school but couldn't leave after I fell in love with New York City.
It is with this background that I can report just how many of us who are older LA exiles will see this reference to the excellence of Chinatown cuisine, feel a true thrill, and proceed to fall out of our chairs.
As a young man, LA's Chinatown -- for the most part -- served up a fully Americanized tourist facsimile of Chinese food.
What great news to learn that while I've been gone, the large scale immigration of Asians to Southern California -- already an extraordinary and enriching gift to California's social fabric -- has made its way to downtown.
If you've got the beef tendons, I'll get the plane ticket.
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@Horace Dewey I also grew up in LA, around the same time as you, and as a Chinese-American, spent most weekends eating and shopping for food in Chinatown with my parents. And yes, there was plenty of OG Hong Kong-style Cantonese there if you took the time to look. Even in the early 70s, one could easily find dim sum served from carts, classic 10-course banquets, and Cantonese "barbeque" (more like glazed roasts). Indeed, my family almost never ate Americanized Chinese (I had no idea what chop suey or egg foo young tasted like until I was an adult.). BUT--a lot of restaurants back then practiced a sort of culinary apartheid--when you walked in, you'd get either a Chinese or "American" menu depending on what you looked like. Sorry you missed out.
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BurgerLords in Chinatown have some of the best Vegan Cheeseburgers ever. And it's not your run of the mill "impossible" patty, they have their own grain and veggie patty that's hard to beat!
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Paso Robles, while in California, is not nearby. (205 miles)
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@dcmundy that farm has an extremely popular stand at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market and so its produce is locally available and "nearby."
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"chubby, flawlessly formed, and generously stuffed..." love it! Thank you for this article, every paragraph held a new inspiration. msg in a latte?! incredible! ....I miss my parents!
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I lived in LA in the late 1970s (I know). My favorite restaurants were in Little Tokyo, in downtown LA.
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The Atomic Café!
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Wonderful article! I've enjoyed many phenomenal meals there ovet the years. A close second? Grand Central Market a few blocks south on Broadway. You can feast for a month without leaving these locations.
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Little Jewel of New Orleans serves some of the best NOLA food outside of Louisiana. It was one of the first non-Chinese-cuisine places to open in L.A. Chinatown, and one of my favorite food spots in the city. Deserves a prominent mention in any roundup of L.A. Chinatown dining!
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Awesome piece! Can't wait to try these spots.
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Love Chinatown! Thanks Tejal. Would also like to see some of the older businesses highlighted - I’m never quite sure which ones to go to.
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@Greg, Try Phoenix Bakery, https://www.phoenixbakeryinc.com/history, mentioned briefly in this article. They make a outstanding strawberry whipped cream cake.
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@Greg
Jade Wok: their house special tofu is famous. Savory brown sauce atop braised tofu. not sure what's in the sauce but looks like mince pork, preserved veggies, black mushroom. Incredibly flavorful! They also have excellent chicken & corn soup.
Banh Mi My Dung: best Vietnamese sandwiches (banh mi) in Chinatown. I'd get the dac biet/cold cut special. I usually grab a couple mangoes for cheap while I'm there.
Zen Mei: they have really solid wonton noodle soup, and you can't beat the price.
I'm a fan of many of the places listed in this article but these old school joints could really use more patronage!
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Try Soban in Koreatown, Number 36 on Jonathan Golds list.
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Anyone near Chinatown ought to save room for a beef dip sandwich at Philippe's. Get it double-dipped and don't ignore the 4-alarm mustard.
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@Teller
It's always a contest between Philippe and Cole's as to which place invented the French Dip. Philippe's is the best in my book. Do they still sell coffee for a dime?
Yang Chow was always a Chinatown favorite back in the day.
And then there's Olvera Street...
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@Niall
We last ate at Yang Chow a few years ago and found it was in decline. But maybe it has improved lately, stimulated by all the new neighbors? I hope so. We walked around the neighborhood that night and found it pretty dead, so it's cheering to hear about all the new activity and new businesses.
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@Cordau Yang Chow appears to be hanging in there based on Yelp. I have been there maybe ten times and always enjoyed the food.
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Nice timing. I just happen to be in L.A. right now and may just try one of these. Then again, I'm also about 40 minutes away from that district, so I might just keep local (and I live in a very large Chinatown anyway). :-)
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There are small, old Japanese neighborhoods in Gardena and West LA --Sawtelle Blvd is especially good. East Hollywood has a huge array of Thai restaurants. Happy eating!
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