To local Angelenos, Chinatown is more than a Roman Polanski movie starring Jack Nicholson: it’s a historic neighborhood that features everything from authentic Chinese cuisine to outdoor bazaars and art galleries displaying a variety of Chinese art and designs. Because Chinatown Los Angeles is located in the heart of the city’s downtown, it plays host to millions of visitors each year.
Walking Tours
Chinatown Los Angeles provides the perfect opportunity to ditch the car and explore the neighborhood by foot. Held on the first Saturday of every month, Chinatown’s “undiscovered” walking tours take visitors into the best kept secrets of Chinatown, including exclusive shopping and eating destinations and special Chinese events and holidays. At $20 a person, the two-and-a-half hour tour takes visitors through Chinatown’s renowned temples, art galleries, herbal shops and antique stores.
Chinatown Cuisine
Unlike many so-called “Chinese” restaurants in other parts of the city, the eateries in Chinatown serve authentic Chinese cuisine that includes traditional Cantonese, Szechuan and Hunan dishes. Many of the local eateries pride themselves in serving traditional Chinese food as opposed to Americanized “Chinese Style” food.
One of the most popular restaurants in Chinatown is Hop Woo, typically packed with customers that want to get in on their world famous Hong Kong style barbecue. Hop Woo offers both traditional Chinese dishes and Americanized versions of Chinese cuisine for those that aren’t yet ready to get acquainted with the bold flavors of China. For those that are especially adventurous, Hop Woo’s famed “secret menu” which includes items like deer meat, soy sauce pigeon and alligator soup with Chinese herbs.
For those craving world-class dim sum, Chinatown Los Angeles’s go-to spot is Empress Pavilion. This restaurant is a local favorite with delectable fare such as as sesame rice dumplings, sticky rice in lotus leaf and spinach dumplings. Empress Pavilion is usually packed with hungry patrons, a reservation is recommended to avoid a long wait.
Shopping
Contrary to popular belief, there’s a lot more to shopping in Chinatown than just imported knock offs. Visitors can score a lot of great buys by bargaining with vendors in one of the neighborhood’s many bazaars, where haggling is both expected and an art form, but there are goods here that can’t be located anywhere else.
Popular shopping venues like Tin Bo, TS Emporium and Wing Hop Fung sell rare herbs, natural supplements and ginseng proven to help boost energy and maintain overall physical health. Chinatown Los Angeles is also home to many Vietnamese style bazaars and outdoor shopping venues that sell imported goods from China that include toys, clothing, books, incense, and foreign DVDs and CDs. Two of the most visited bazaars are Dynasty Center and Saigon Plaza.
