This must be Chinatown
After a late-evening Amtrak back to L.A., I rolled my suitcase into Union Station and spotted a display featuring historic photographs of businesses emblazoned with Chinese characters. It turns out, as I learned while reading the text, my feet were on the hallowed ground of Man Jen Low, a three-story chop suey-style restaurant that existed in the 19th century.
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“The neighborhood is gone, but the memories of the community remain,” read the display, part of an exhibit called “Where You Stand: Chinatown 1880 to 1939.”
While L.A.’s Chinatown is now less than a square mile, snug between Elysian Park’s Dodger Stadium and neighboring Lincoln Heights, it used to be much bigger. For generations, it was home to families who struggled to find permanent housing elsewhere due to redlining laws. Over time, one Chinatown became three — Old Chinatown, China City and New Chinatown — and tourism became a key strategy for surviving economically. If you visit the Chinese American Museum, you’ll find old brochures and ads that describe Chinatown as a spectacle and show families exoticizing themselves to fulfill the fantasies of outsiders. For 50 cents in 1941, one could see “Outstanding Chinese talent! Magnificent oriental pageantry!”
Today, there’s tension around the question: Who is Chinatown for? There’s a fight to protect the neighborhood’s existence as a working-class immigrant ethnic enclave. Over the past decade, many Chinatown businesses moved to the San Gabriel Valley, where there is a larger Asian base. Some neighborhood staples have rapidly dwindled, like the swap meets that once spanned an entire block.
At the same time, a transformation has been underway — the long-standing Far East Plaza buzzes with energy from businesses like Filipino joint Amboy Burgers, cookbook shop Now Serving and craft coffee shop Endorffeine, all launched by a new generation of Asian American creatives. A number of new projects vow to protect Chinatown’s history, such as a mixed-use development that plans to preserve the fa?ade of the historic movie house Kim Sing Theatre.
On an afternoon in the neighborhood, I couldn’t help but feel that Chinatown can be for everyone. A group of 50-something aunties pulled their vegetable carts on wheels. As the “45 bus” stopped at Broadway and College Avenue, a flurry of people got off. Kids left the rec center to finish their homework while tourists trickled past street vendors with hats and knickknacks on display, not too far from jewelers and a sugarcane juice stand. Classic institutions such as Phoenix Bakery and Yang Chow still stand the test of time.
William Gow, author of “Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community,” explained in The Times that it’s easy for people to forget how Chinatown helped reinvent Southern California. “Too many people dismiss Chinatown’s pagoda-style roofs, fortune cookies and wishing well as inauthentic representations of Asia and Asian Americans,” he wrote. “Instead, we should embrace them as reminders that neither the popular image of Los Angeles nor the city itself would have developed as they are today without Chinatown.”
There’s plenty to see on a walking tour of the neighborhood — learn where it’s been and where it is headed.
Sample a modern sisig at Lasita Rotisserie & Natural Wine
Chase and Steff Valencia and chef Nico de Leon have developed a Filipino menu with dishes like pork belly lechon and chicken insasal. I was pleasantly surprised at how many vegan-friendly options there were — my favorite was the ginataag kalabasa, a roast kabocha with a lentil coconut sauce. If you come with a party of eight to 10, you’ll be served the Pamilya-style set menu, a thrilling feast for $52 per person.
Learn about L.A. history you won't find in textbooks at the Chinese American Museum
In an exhibit on the first floor, there is a trilingual timeline in Spanish, English and Chinese tracing events that shaped Chinese American history, from the involvement in the U.S. Civil War to L.A.’s first elected Chinese American council member. The second-floor re-creation of Sun Wing Wo’s General Store — operated between 1891 and 1948 for local Chinese to purchase silks, furniture and other imported specialty goods — stands out with its traditional medicine shelves.
Chinatown was once three neighborhoods, and maps in the museum remind us of how highways have cut through and the diaspora has expanded the Chinese American community to other areas like Monterey Park. There are gem artifacts, including a ribbon from a visit by former Chinese First Lady Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, as well as activist pamphlets. It’s odd seeing displays with words like the outdated “oriental” — but it reminds us of the resilience of people who have relied on their skills, talents and resourcefulness to survive over generations.
Slow down with a kung fu tea ceremony at Steep LA
While it’s best known for teas, Steep’s “after dark” cocktails should not be missed. The Verdancy drink with black tea plantation rum, lime, pineapple and coconut, along with hints of pandan and nutmeg, is refreshing and somehow reminds me of Christmas. While sitting at the bar, snack on chewy tofu crisps with house garlic sauce and enjoy a conversation with the many artists who gather in the space regularly.
Stock up on Asian ingredients at LAX-C Supermarket, a.k.a. 'Thai Costco'
If you’ve worked up an appetite after all that shopping, stop by one of the fresh food vendors out front. Mae Ting’s coconut cakes and papaya salad are not to be missed. The street stall has been at the locale for more than 15 years and, after a long bike ride, there’s something grounding about making a stop there for shelter and sweets.
Slurp a comforting bowl of of pho at Gigo’s Cafe & Deli
Standing behind the counter near the white-bellied laughing Buddha statue is Regina, one of the co-owners. She grew up in Vietnam and immigrated to California more than 20 years ago, speaking Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and English.
With a drop in tourists and her elderly regulars moving out to the San Gabriel Valley or dying, Regina says that restaurant attendance in Chinatown isn’t what it used to be. A lot of investors are coming in and making land prices higher. “I love Chinatown and I want to stay here,” she tells a customer.
I post a picture on social media and Regina tells me she’s still trying to figure out how to get more young people to come in, as she’s unfamiliar with Instagram. “Your generation is really important. We need you to come support Chinatown,” she says.
I will do so gladly. The tofu in my bowl of pho was just right — slightly fried on the outside, still soft on the inside. And the whole dish was only $10.50. Another menu secret? The boba that you can add to your Thai tea is excellent.
Stroll through Los Angeles State Historic Park, a vast open green space in the city
Home to Los Angeles’ first public works project — the Zanja Madre, an aqueduct that brought water to El Pueblo from the Los Angeles River — the park hosts concerts, movie nights and even puppet festivals. On Thursdays, you can find the L.A. River Farmers Market from 3 to 7:30 p.m. on the side near North Spring Street. There, you can drop off your food scraps with L.A. Compost before grabbing some local fruits and veggies for the week.
Check out the work of artists before they blow up at Eastern Projects Gallery
With the growing population of homeless people in the area, Rodriguez says it’s been difficult to balance concerns of safety and inclusion at Eastern Projects, but he hopes the gallery can be a space for everyone. “I’ve had people buy art that have never bought any art before in their life, and that’s kind of like a triumph in itself,” he said.
Try the art of perfume-making at the Institute for Art & Olfaction
The magic of the classes is how they encourage you to trust your instincts. Instructors ask participants to smell different scents and immediately shout out what comes to mind. IAO also invites specialists with their own perfume lines to give lectures focusing on a particular ingredient and offers online classes to help people deepen their technical and scientific knowledge of perfumes. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different combinations of droplets. You might just create something transformative.
Find a plant friend at KimThai Garden
Aside from plants and pottery, the shop carries sculptures, crystals and T-shirts from its clothing brand, PlantDrip Los Angeles.
Have a slice of 'not too sweet' strawberry cake from Phoenix Bakery
The refrigerator near the entrance holds dozens of customer orders, while the cases display sweets like winter melon cakes, almond cookies and an array of tiramisu, matcha, napoleon and mango pineapple cake slices. Late brothers Fung Chow and Lun Chan served the community for decades, and their family still runs the bakery today. The shop gets busy during high seasons like the Golden Dragon Parade and Mid-Autumn. Make sure to put in a custom order for wedding or birthday cakes.
Grab a char siu bao from Long’s Family Pastry
If you’re a fan of dipping your Chinese doughnuts into hot fresh soy milk, sadly, they don’t have that here, but they do have an assortment of drinks in a fridge near the entrance, along with a big cart of almond cookies. Make sure to bring cash or you’ll have to spend $10 minimum on a credit card, which might not be too hard. Also, the Buddha cookies are for ancestral rituals, not for human consumption.
Eat a po’ boy at Little Jewel of New Orleans
After working in the film industry, Louisiana transplant Marcus Christiana-Beniger and his partner, Eunah Beniger, discovered the former Hoy King restaurant building. Blessed with a grandfathered smoker that likely was used for Peking duck, Little Jewel serves a variety of meats on imported breads from Leidenheimer Baking Co. and Gambino’s Bakery back home. The restaurant is a time capsule of sorts, capturing the neighborhoods and people that Christiana-Beniger grew up with and lost after Hurricane Katrina.
Christiana-Beniger eventually hopes to have a brunch jazz bar lounge with French Quarter elements. Be ready for things to be decadent and messy: “There’s no way to look dainty and dignified when you’re sloughing down gravy,” he said. “The [New Orleans food here] is about expediency. It’s about value. It’s about gravy. It’s about fried stuff. It’s about pigging out.”
Make a dish or vase with your hands at Clay CA
In the airy space, pottery wheels are next to shelves full of pieces waiting to be fired in the kiln. For experimental artists and hobbyists, the studio offers tiers of memberships ranging from $30 to $195 per month, which bring up to 24-hour access to shelf space, firing space and a variety of glazes, tools and other equipment. There are wheel throwing courses for beginners, and programming soon will include lamp wiring, biodegradable textiles and furniture building. On Sundays, the Clay CA staff puts on free sculptural workshops at Los Angeles State Historic Park. What’s lovely is that work from the studio often overflows into the neighborhood — you’ll find Clay CA ceramics being used at nearby businesses including Thank You Coffee and Steep LA.
Try an iconic (and massive) burger at Amboy
Situated in a snug corner spot inside Far East Plaza, Amboy (which is Tagalog slang for “American boy”) also serves special menu items designed by Cailan. The Krabby Patty Kollab is a Fancy DH burger with umami burger sauce, wakame seaweed salad and provolone cheese, served in a Happy Meal-style commemorative box as part of a 25th-anniversary celebration for SpongeBob SquarePants.
Find something uniquely upcycled at East/West Shop
At East/West Shop, you’ll find items like hair clips made of cloisonné (a handpainted enamel) from a Chinatown shop that closed down, handmade quilt coats and vintage sweatshirts embroidered with the brand’s rose logo. It’s best to revisit the store often — upcycled items are often snagged as they’re put up for sale.
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