Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The fact that CHinatown is super car unfriendly makes it inconvenient for the majority of people who in the tri state area. Pls remember more people depend on cars than those depend on subways
Especially for chinese families who need to do shopping and drive kids to schools
Okay, this conversation is so bizarre. Do you drive yourself at all? Ever leave Flushing? What makes Manhattan Chinatown so car unfriendly compared to Flushing? Parking may be a little easier/cheaper but is that enough to offset the additional driving time, gas, and tolls to get to Flushing if you live further away? Distance matters! Especially in this city where traffic is horrible throughout. And my god, downtown Flushing is not car-friendly at all. Tons of buses. Tons of pedestrians. It's hectic. In fact, I know some Queens/Long Island folks who pretty much avoid the heart of downtown Flushing these days. Instead they go to the stores and restaurants on Main close to the LIE, or some places on Kissena that are further away from the subway. And a couple who don't bother with Flushing at all and have been going to the places on Northern near the Queens/Nassau border (I think Little Neck, Great Neck). And there have been Asian markets popping up on Long Island (and Westchester and New Jersey) so that some people don't have to go to the Chinatowns as often for their grocery needs.
And remember my original point was as much about the weekdays as the weekends. Who has the time to go out of their way on weeknights? Most people eat and shop near their jobs or home during the week. That means for the many people who work in Manhattan, the Chinese businesses there are a convenient option. And I'm not talking about just Chinatown in this case but also the restaurants that have been popping up in midtown and downtown. For most of these restaurants, when I go, the clientele looks to be predominantly Chinese. Many of them probably live outside of Manhattan but eat there before going home. Manhattan is way more convenient than Flushing during the week. Even for Queens residents since there are plenty who don't actually live near downtown Flushing or off the 7 line.
Weekends are of course a slightly different story and I said as much earlier. I mean, there are people who believe it or not frequent multiple Chinatowns and where they go and when is driven by convenience! I don't understand why this is such a hard concept for you to grasp.
Weekends are of course a slightly different story and I said as much earlier. I mean, there are people who believe it or not frequent multiple Chinatowns and where they go and when is driven by convenience! I don't understand why this is such a hard concept for you to grasp.
The concept is hard to grasp for you, because you don't know any Chinese nor does it look like you ever been to downtown flushing. Grand Central Parkway, Van Wyck Expressway, and Whitestone Expressway makes it easy to arrive at SkyView Mall parking lot, when it first open parking was for free.
The concept is hard to grasp for you, because you don't know any Chinese nor does it look like you ever been to downtown flushing. Grand Central Parkway, Van Wyck Expressway, and Whitestone Expressway makes it easy to arrive at SkyView Mall parking lot, when it first open parking was for free.
Nope, have been going to downtown Flushing since the 90s. But nice try. And I used to park at that lot when it was free which was just a couple of years ago. It's crazy now on weekends. Long lines to get in and out.
Nope, have been going to downtown Flushing since the 90s. But nice try. And I used to park at that lot when it was free which was just a couple of years ago. It's crazy now on weekends. Long lines to get in and out.
Well, you can get your parking validated for you at some of the lots in Flushing, so that helps. I think he's just borderline right on the edge case of a family living in New Jersey going for an occasional day trip to Flushing on a weekend. It's not a common occurrence on a single family basis, but I think he's probably getting that impression of families on aggregate showing up and seeing a Jersey license plate in one of the few main parking lots and going "oh whoa, they come out from Jersey!" and extrapolating on that.
Well, you can get your parking validated for you at some of the lots in Flushing, so that helps. I think he's just borderline right on the edge case of a family living in New Jersey going for an occasional day trip to Flushing on a weekend. It's not a common occurrence on a single family basis, but I think he's probably getting that impression of families on aggregate showing up and seeing a Jersey license plate in one of the few main parking lots and going "oh whoa, they come out from Jersey!" and extrapolating on that.
People keep insisting convenience means strictly geographic location and view every Chinatown the same. As we have discussed before Manhattan Chinatown is very Cantonese, most Mandarin Chinese prefer flushing Chinatown. My opinion is mainly formed by the people I associated with mainly my wife friends and the chinese landlord (she lived in short hills, NJ and own apartment in downtown flushing).
People keep insisting convenience means strictly geographic location and view every Chinatown the same. As we have discussed before Manhattan Chinatown is very Cantonese, most Mandarin Chinese prefer flushing Chinatown. My opinion is mainly formed by the people I associated with mainly my wife friends and the chinese landlord (she lived in short hills, NJ and own apartment in downtown flushing).
Right, it's also about the cost and time it takes to get somewhere and what people are looking for. Flushing is much more of a destination as far as I can tell for Mandarin speaking families in New Jersey as a whole, but I think it's overstated how often that happens on an individual/household basis nor is it true that Manhattan Chinatown isn't relevant at all. It's still a pain in the neck for a family in a car to get to Flushing from New Jersey so I know it's an occasional trip to some. It's not like New Jersey is a barren wasteland with no Chinese community or East Asian grocery and retail. Fort Lee and Mitsuwa down in Edgewater are packed with Chinese people as is the 99 Ranch Market among other smaller grocers.
I'll quibble with you on Mandarin Chinese in Manhattan though. Its convenience from people I'm around that live in Manhattan, including non-Canto or Fuzhou Chinese, can and does sometimes take precedent over the better non-Southern Chinese options in Flushing. You're not saying that's not the case, though I'm saying that it is.
Regardless, the original question of whether or not Chinatown in Manhattan is still valid seems to me has a pretty straightforward answer. I'm not sure how long that will remain the case and things would definitely change if the 7 train made it across the Hudson and the commuter rail trains acted more like a RER/S-Bahn system (as they should).
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 06-28-2018 at 08:21 PM..
Right, it's also about the cost and time it takes to get somewhere and what people are looking for. Flushing is much more of a destination as far as I can tell for Mandarin speaking families in New Jersey as a whole, but I think it's overstated how often that happens on an individual/household basis nor is it true that Manhattan Chinatown isn't relevant at all. It's still a pain in the neck for a family in a car to get to Flushing from New Jersey so I know it's an occasional trip to some. It's not like New Jersey is a barren wasteland with no Chinese community or East Asian grocery and retail. Fort Lee and Mitsuwa down in Edgewater are packed with Chinese people as is the 99 Ranch Market among other smaller grocers.
I'll quibble with you on Mandarin Chinese in Manhattan though. Its convenience from people I'm around that live in Manhattan, including non-Canto or Fuzhou Chinese, can and does sometimes take precedent over the better non-Southern Chinese options in Flushing. You're not saying that's not the case, though I'm saying that it is.
Regardless, the original question of whether or not Chinatown in Manhattan is still valid seems to me has a pretty straightforward answer. I'm not sure how long that will remain the case and things would definitely change if the 7 train made it across the Hudson and the commuter rail trains acted more like a RER/S-Bahn system (as they should).
I think you summarized it up well. I don't think there much more to say about the topic than what you listed. In my opinion it is much more enjoyable to discuss the vast diversity of Asian food than what Chinatown holds relevance.
I think you summarized it up well. I don't think there much more to say about the topic than what you listed. In my opinion it is much more enjoyable to discuss the vast diversity of Asian food than what Chinatown holds relevance.
Great! Have you tried the thai hot pot place in Jackson Heights before? It's pretty exciting. Place gets so lit that frou-frou fancy hot pot can't hold a candle to.
Or how about the Korean goat place in Flushing?
Also, since you seem to be a fan of Korean food, have you tried looking for any of the Uzbek-Korean places around? The Korean dishes are kind of interesting, but the Uzbek parts of the menu are fantastic. The juiciest dumplings I've ever had outside of a soup dumpling was a good Uzbek one. I think Central Asian food is kind of a sleeper hit. It doesn't have massive breadth, but after I ate it, I started really getting into it. Rego Park and Brighton Beach along with some other Southern Brooklyn places really got it.
Also, has anyone found this green succulent(as in plant type) in NYC that's served in Uyghur restaurants in China? It's usually served with a sesame-based dip. I had it a few times and I liked it, but haven't been able to find it since.
I haven't tried as much since we moved out of the area. The current phase is Michelin restaurants so I try to avoid going over budget by visiting Asian restaurants my wife recent favorite are Brooklyn Chef's table, Masa, Le Bernardin, and Eleven Madison Park. For me, Alinea in Chicago was the most interesting experience as it felt like eating at an amusement park.
Manhattan - Takashi was a interesting experience in terms of eating meat.
Flushing was more about lifestyle than fine dinning experience when I lived there.
Lifestyle -
Breakfast - Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao
Dim Sum - restaurant at the top of new world mall
Dim Sum - jade asian restaurant
Late night Dinner - Kings Cafe
Desserts/Snack - IRIS Tea & Bakery
Stinky Tofu - Basement of new world mall
Cooked hotpot - New York Food Court
Bubble tea - kung fu tea
Restaurant visited -
Xi'an Famous Noodle
Red Bowl
Little Sheep
Korean -
BBQ - kang ho dong baekjeong
BBQ - sansoogapsan
Flushing and Manhattan Chinatown have their pros and cons. Depends on what you're looking for. If you want old school Cantonese, or roast meats, go to Manhattan Chinatown. Flushing has better diversity in other Chinese cuisines. You also have bigger Taiwanese influence in Flushing and so the restaurants generally cater to certain tastes. You'll find better Taiwanese or Sichuan restaurants in Flushing. Main St. in Flushing is totally gentrified now, you have a modern mall, and west coast type asian eateries everywhere. As far as convenience, Manhattan Chinatown has always been so easy to get to via subway. The 7 has improved over the years, but the feeling you get when you're crossing the East river, and looking out the subway windows and seeing the different environment feels like you're investing more time to get to Flushing. Manhattan Chinatown, though it's changed alot still has that old school vibe in many areas which reminds me of NYC in the 70's and 80's. Can't find something like Wo Hop and Big Wong's in Flushing. And then the Taiwanese bakeries in Flushing/Northern Blvd destroy anything in Manhattan Chinatown.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
