Manhattan's Chinatown is already pretty crowded on weekends, so imagine what it's like when 50 restaurants offer food samples for $1-2 a plate. The threat of rain didn't seem to deter anyone from venturing downtown today for a Taste of Chinatown.
I took my lead from Gothamist and headed straight for Mott St.; walking from Canal, it took me about ten minutes to reach Tearrific Café, my first stop. At this point, it still wasn't raining but a dance was taking place in the middle of the street. People were shoving each other impatiently, but if they had taken a deep breath and looked up, they would have seen a bright blue dragon head swaying in soothing circles. Patience is the spice of life.
I got a plate of fried appetizers from Tearrific for $2. I liked the savory, crispy edges of the fried vegetable dumplings and will go back soon for a plate of these. The spring rolls were pretty bland, so I skipped these and finished off the shrimp toast. It started to rain so I took my first taste into a corner and watched a woman paint the name "ALLISON" on a sheet of paper. Rain had gathered on the edges of her tent cover and tumbled suddenly onto the pavement. Some of it splashed onto her paper and smudged one of the letters.
I continued walking down Mott and picked up some more dumplings and chicken skewers (delicious!) along the way. Most places have an abundant supply of dumplings, noodles, and spring rolls, but if you're patient, you'll get a taste of more elaborate treats. At Pecking Duck House the line for the duck was at least a block long. It moved briskly, and the generous portion of duck they served for $2 more than compensated for getting completely soaked. I also enjoyed my plate of fried tofu and rice at Silkroad Mocha Cafe. The rice was remarkable: a mix of various grains of rice with flecks of diced peas, carrots and red peppers (fresh not frozen) and a splash of lemon.
The real special treats, like sauteed shrimp in pumpkin sauce (Sweet-n-Tart) and Peking duck (Pecking Duck House) run out fast, but at 4:30PM several places were still bringing out more food. My last stop was Buddha Bodai, a kosher restaurant at the end of Mott, where one of the vendors was calling out "Tsimchoni!" (Hebrew for vegetarian). At this point, I was so stuffed that I could go no further. I brought home a taste of General Tso's (vegetarian) chicken and green tea sticky rice balls to savor later. You do fill up quickly on a few tastes, so my advice is to go very easy on the dumplings, spring rolls and chicken skewers and wait in long lines—the food at the end is worth the wait.
