Getting to Know Your Neighborhood: Chinatown

A guide to eating, shopping, and hanging out in one of the Hub’s oldest neighborhoods

By Kimberly Cornuelle. Map by Edward A. Brown. Photos by Marie Cornuelle

From the outside looking in, Chinatown is the place to go for great food, tiny turtles, and perhaps a mini Buddha or two. But the neighborhood isn’t just a place to sip bubble tea. It’s the cultural epicenter for Asian-Americans across the region.

While you can still appreciate the culture as you stroll down Beach Street — in the restaurants, the markets, and the herb shops — the area is being gradually gentrified, with high-priced condominiums taking the place of old garment district warehouses.

That shift hasn’t stopped the festivities. Every year, cultural groups take over the streets of Chinatown for the August Moon Festival and to celebrate the Chinese New Year, complete with firecrackers and lion dances. New Year’s Day is on January 26, 2009. (Click here for information about the official celebration day.)

When you go to Chinatown, be sure to check out the following places.

Chinatown Park
160 Kingston St.
Just outside the Chinatown gate, the park includes Chinese chess tables, bamboo, a mural, and a fountain. The small park is a nice place to sit and reflect or to bring your takeout. The area, which was a highway exit ramp about a year ago, is one of the many parks and gardens that are part of the newly opened Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway project. The nearly mile-long stretch of parks and green space wending through Chinatown, the Wharf District, and the North End neighborhoods was created when Boston’s Big Dig moved previously elevated roadways underground and the city gained prime urban land.

Gourmet Dumpling House
52 Beach St.
With all the bustle on Beach Street, it’s easy to miss the Gourmet Dumpling House. Don’t let the unassuming façade fool you — inside this tiny restaurant is ginseng chicken soup ($6.95), sautéed watercress with garlic ($9.95), and, of course, dumplings. Try the pan-fried little soup dumplings ($4.75), but be careful to bite the top off to let the steam out, otherwise you’re in for a world of hurt. Entrees range from $2.50 to $36.95. For more information, call 617-338-6222.

Sun Sun Company
18 Oxford St.
Oxford Street is more an alley than a street, but it still has room for Sun Sun Company, a grocery store offering fresh vegetables, seafood, and spicy candy.

China Pearl
9 Tyler St.
The yellow sign of China Pearl calls lovers of dim sum upstairs, where they can pick and choose from pushcarts. Point to the dish you want, and the waiter will put it on your table and then stamp your card. If you’re a dim sum novice, it would be helpful to bring along a friend who speaks Cantonese — not all of the waitstaff speak English.

Vietnamese Sandwich
66 Harrison Ave.
Craving some bubble tea? Head to Vietnamese Sandwich, and you can get a coconut-, mango-, or avocado-flavored drink with the large tapioca balls in the bottom ($2.50). Then order up a set of shrimp spring rolls, with mint, noodles, and sprouts for $3.50.

Penang
685 Washington St.
Penang features traditional Malaysian cuisine influenced by Chinese and Indian food; among its offerings is roti telur, an Indian pancake filled with egg and onion ($6). The portions are large, and the atmosphere is cozy, with wood paneling and beams designed to look like a Malaysian hut. Try the prawn mee, with rice and egg noodles, sliced pork, shrimp, vegetables, and bean sprouts in a spicy shrimp broth ($7.50).

Winmil Fabrics
107 Chauncy St.
Clean, organized, and amazing, this mom-and-pop shop has a great selection of fabrics, tools, buttons, and patterns. Maybe you need material and accessories for that Halloween costume you’re cooking up or you want to reupholster grandma’s chair. You’ll find it all at Winmil.

Shabu-Zen
16 Tyler St.
If you like to add an extra challenge to your meal, try hot-pot style dining, where you cook an assortment of raw meat and vegetables in broth right at your table. Not sure if you want the beef or the pork? You can cook up both, with your choice of veggies.

Chau Chow City
83 Essex St.
Early morning is a great time to grab some inexpensive dim sum ($2.40-$6.20). And we’re talking early: Chau Chow is open until 3 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

My Thai Vegan Cafe
3 Beach St., second floor
The back stairs leading to My Thai may look sketchy, but for vegans, or vegan wannabes, the climb is worth it. The food is inexpensive, and the restaurant has ample room for large groups, with huge windows to watch the comings and goings on Beach Street below.

Silky Way Martial Arts
33 Kneeland St.
Silky Way carries books, DVDs, drums, and a large selection of martial arts accessories. Make sure to walk past the lion puppets and dolls on the first floor and find your way up the stairs to martial arts heaven.

Registry of Motor Vehicles
630 Washington St.
Okay, it’s not a historic site, and you certainly can’t order dim sum here, but the RMV branch is one of the first buildings you see when you step off the train in Chinatown. It’s the place to go for vehicle registration, for paying citations, and for getting a Massachusetts driver’s license. Open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Eldo Cake House
36 Harrison Ave.
Pastries, buns, candy — from guava to ginger — and other sweet treats can be found all over Chinatown, but no shop does cakes better than Eldo. It’s open daily from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Getting there: Take the Green Line to Boylston Street and walk down Essex Street, or take the Orange Line to the Chinatown stop.

Click here to explore other area neighborhoods.

Kimberly Cornuelle can be reached at kcornuel@bu.edu. Edward A. Brown can be reached at ebrown@bu.edu.

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