LA's REAL Chinatown (Los Angeles, Alhambra, Monterey Park: 2009, hotel, house)

[LASam]

I've explored a lot of the LA Metro Area and have visited Chinatown many times. Everyone keeps saying though that the REAL Chinatown in LA is to the East in Monterey Park and the surrounding areas. Seeing as how that's a fairly good distance from where I live, covers a pretty large area, and isn't very touristy, I could use some pointers on what the main commercial areas/landmarks are out there, and some of the better restaurants you guys have experienced. If someone is going to daytrip out to see our real Chinese ethnic enclave, what should be on the itinerary? Thanks in advance for your help!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by LASam

I've explored a lot of the LA Metro Area and have visited Chinatown many times. Everyone keeps saying though that the REAL Chinatown in LA is to the East in Monterey Park and the surrounding areas. Seeing as how that's a fairly good distance from where I live, covers a pretty large area, and isn't very touristy, I could use some pointers on what the main commercial areas/landmarks are out there, and some of the better restaurants you guys have experienced. If someone is going to daytrip out to see our real Chinese ethnic enclave, what should be on the itinerary? Thanks in advance for your help!

Sam, what is considered Real Chinatown now, I have no idea, but the area just north of downtown has always been Chinatown. For years, not only were there the few streets that were the tourist section, with shops, restaurants etc but the entire area was occurpied by the Chinese. If someone is saying the "real Chinatown" is east of Monterey Park I think it would be interesting for them to explain what they mean.. I know I would be love to know.

Nita

[LASam]

Nita, I think what people mean by Monterey Park being the real Chinatown is that that's where the bulk of the Chinese population have settled in the LA area. For example, look at the following demographics pulled form City-Data for Montery Park:

Races in Monterey Park:

Chinese (41.2%)
Hispanic (28.9%)
Other race (12.4%)
Japanese (7.4%)
White Non-Hispanic (7.3%)
Vietnamese (5.2%)
Other Asian (4.9%)
Two or more races (3.4%)
Filipino (1.5%)
Korean (1.4%)
American Indian (1.0%)

[uptown_urbanist]

I think it's not so much that the Chinatown by Union Station is not a Chinatown, but rather that the most of the modern action is now centered in the San Gabriel Valley. It's where more Chinese residents (both new immigrants and those who have had family in the United States for generations) live and shop. And although the Chinatown in LA does have historic Chinese roots, and still has plenty of Chinese residents and businesses, it does have more of a tourist veneer to it than do the heavily Chinese parts of the SGV.

Will you be driving? That will give you the best ability to cover a lot of ground and stop in and check out a variety of places. There's lots of grocery stores (99 Ranch Market, etc.), tons of restaurants, and businesses of all types. Others can probably give you better advice, but I'd visit Monterey Park, then head over to Alhambra and then to San Gabriel (and not Chinese, but if you have the time stop in San Gabriel to visit the Mission, too; it's worth a visit.). Some busy commercial corridors include Valley Blvd and Main Street in Alhambra and San Gabriel, Atlantic and Garfield Blvds in Monterey Park. Upscale areas include San Marino (mostly residentia, filled with Chinese and Taiwanese millionaires, but Lacy Park is a beautiful and might be a nice break if you want a stroll; non-residents have to pay a couple bucks on the weekends, though.) and Arcadia.

Are you familiar with Jonathan Gold's book, Counter Intelligence? Restaurants come and go, but I think many of the places in the book are still around. He features quite a number of SGV Chinese options.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by LASam

Nita, I think what people mean by Monterey Park being the real Chinatown is that that's where the bulk of the Chinese population have settled in the LA area. For example, look at the following demographics pulled form City-Data for Montery Park:

Races in Monterey Park:

Chinese (41.2%)
Hispanic (28.9%)
Other race (12.4%)
Japanese (7.4%)
White Non-Hispanic (7.3%)
Vietnamese (5.2%)
Other Asian (4.9%)
Two or more races (3.4%)
Filipino (1.5%)
Korean (1.4%)
American Indian (1.0%)

i thought that might be what you meant. Probably many have moved out of the area right on the border of downtown (at the end of the Pasa freeway) plus many have imigrated from China. Thanks,

Nita

[LASam]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I think it's not so much that the Chinatown by Union Station is not a Chinatown, but rather that the most of the modern action is now centered in the San Gabriel Valley. It's where more Chinese residents (both new immigrants and those who have had family in the United States for generations) live and shop. And although the Chinatown in LA does have historic Chinese roots, and still has plenty of Chinese residents and businesses, it does have more of a tourist veneer to it than do the heavily Chinese parts of the SGV.

Will you be driving? That will give you the best ability to cover a lot of ground and stop in and check out a variety of places. There's lots of grocery stores (99 Ranch Market, etc.), tons of restaurants, and businesses of all types. Others can probably give you better advice, but I'd visit Monterey Park, then head over to Alhambra and then to San Gabriel (and not Chinese, but if you have the time stop in San Gabriel to visit the Mission, too; it's worth a visit.). Some busy commercial corridors include Valley Blvd and Main Street in Alhambra and San Gabriel, Atlantic and Garfield Blvds in Monterey Park. Upscale areas include San Marino (mostly residentia, filled with Chinese and Taiwanese millionaires, but Lacy Park is a beautiful and might be a nice break if you want a stroll; non-residents have to pay a couple bucks on the weekends, though.) and Arcadia.

Are you familiar with Jonathan Gold's book, Counter Intelligence? Restaurants come and go, but I think many of the places in the book are still around. He features quite a number of SGV Chinese options.

Nice, thanks! Those are some great suggestions, and I do plan on driving out there.

[pbergen]

there are so many great chinese restaurants in the san gabriel valley (and plenty of mediocre ones, too).

jonathan gold's weekly series of restaurant reviews ("counter intelligence") on the la weekly website often highlights chinese restaurants in the sgv.

here's a link to his reviews, including older ones from the website's archives:
Los Angeles Jonathan Gold

one of his most recent reviews was about green village, which is a shanghainese restaurant in rowland heights:
Los Angeles Eat+Drink - The Green Village Preservation Society - page 1

green village is at the top of my list of places to try.

another recommendation would be a cafe called little bean in rowland heights, which serves some of the best boba tea i've had anywhere in the LA area - the tea is actually brewed on the spot (as opposed to lesser places which simply use a powder mix), and they use fresh, soft boba, too. if you're in the area, it's definitely worth checking out:
Little Bean - Rowland Heights, CA

in general, rowland heights and hacienda heights are two of the best sgv towns to check out for chinese food. in RH, colima road and fullerton road are the most popular and busy streets for chinese businesses. and there's a really great chinese strip mall called diamond plaza at the southeast corner of the pomona freeway and fullerton rd in RH, with tons of great restaurants, cafes, a food court, shops, etc. it's one of the area's best strip malls for hanging out and checking out the local scene.

in neighboring hacienda heights, make sure to visit the hsi lai buddhist temple, which offers great views from its location at a high elevation.

if you're not willing to travel that far out from LA city, you should stop by monterey park, alhambra, san gabriel, and arcadia. a great eatery in alhambra is 101 noodle express, which has awesome beef scallion rolls and dumplings:

101 Noodle Express - Alhambra - Alhambra, CA

just down the street from that restaurant is the intersection of valley blvd and del mar ave in the city of san gabriel. this intersection has a chinese strip mall on every corner, so it's a great place to walk around, people watch, eat, shop, etc. one of the strip malls even has a public plaza in the back with a nicely-manicured walkway and water fountain, much like you'd see at an outdoor shopping mall or in the downtown area of an older, well-maintained suburb.

in arcadia, check out din tai fung (but get there early to avoid the long waits):
Din Tai Fung Dumpling House - Arcadia, CA

there are plenty of other places i haven't mentioned or am unaware of. like i said, check out jonathan gold's food columns for more eating tips.

[the one]

the real chinatown is in LA city. it has a metro stop and is old and historic.

the NEW chinatown is a scattering of strip malls in the SGV.

for a nice centralized feel go to chinatown, otherwise you will be driving around mntry park tryin to find what you are looking for.

what the eastern chinatown has is a variety of restaurants that stay open late. if i am in the area (specially late at night) i might end up at one of the spots on valley. but otherwise, i dont feel a need to go there.

good luck.

oh and there was a thread a while back where a couple posters got into a debate regarding mntry park and houstons chinatown.

very interesting read...

[drshang]

If there's one place in the SGV to check out, I would go to Focus Plaza in San Gabriel. I think it's the largest Asian plaza outside of Asia. There are numerous other plazas and places within a 5-10 minute walk from this area on Valley Blvd (right across the street there is another large plaza with a Hilton hotel and another plaza right next to this one that has some good restaurants, massage places, etc.). There are restaurants, grocery stores and other Asian type shops. It's fun, although be forewarned that it's somewhat painful to find a place to park. Monterey Park has tons of restaurants and whatnot, but IMO the Asian community in the SGV is centered around Valley Blvd which extends from Alhambra to San Gabriel down to Rosemead.

Untitled Document

140 West Valley Blvd.
San Gabriel, Ca 91776

I don't necessarily think the best restaurants in the SGV are in this plaza, but it has pretty solid stuff. If you want a specific restaurant recommendation then it would be helpful to include the type of cuisine you want and if you want lunch or dinner. There are so many it's hard to even start.

[LASam]

Thanks everybody for the recommendations! That Focus Plaza place looks huge!