Chasing Sunset

Chinatown Food Crawl in the 2nd Biggest Chinatown in NY (it's not where you think).

I have to be there by 7:08PM.

I start my day at Yafa. Kenneth is working today, so I ask for the regular (I didn’t actually say this). I already had my morning coffee but I can’t resist their Dirty Tonic. Tonic with Cold Brew & Orange Blossom.

Have you guessed where I am? I’m in Sunset (Park) with a friend. (Park is in parentheses because everyone here calls it Sunset—I’ve already made this mistake). Coincidentally or intentionally, Sunset has one of the most beautiful sunsets in New York and a lively park scene.

You have to go to the park to catch the best view. Everyone has their favorite spots. The grass is filled with couples and families and laborers staring out into the water and the reflection off the bay. My preferred spot is an isolated tree on the highest part of the slope where I once laid under a hornet’s nest unknowingly (has since been removed) and was so relaxed in the grass that I napped immediately. That’s my tree. From there, you can see the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan, and New Jersey, and my favorite mainstay, Chinese grandmas gathered in pockets around the park dancing in sync to pop music within earshot.

The men in perfect synchronicity waiting for their wives.

I moved here with my partner a little under a year ago. Transplant New Yorker, Transplant South Brooklynite from the Hustling, Bustling, North Brooklyn. It’s been a big transition to move here. This neighborhood gives me a nostalgic familiarity of my childhood being surrounded by mostly immigrants speaking in their native tongue. Asian grandpas smoking cigs on their porch with a white tank top, aunties sitting together on red stools lining the streets, small kids sharing a single bike bombing the sidewalk while laughing at the top of their lungs. A tight-knit neighborhood where people work, live, eat, and play all within a few miles.

Everyone asks how it feels living here. The best way I can explain is by food.

So we’re at Yafa, planning out our itinerary bite-for-bite.

Chinatown starts on 8th Ave between 44th and 68th Streets so we head there to our first destination, Yun Nan Flavour Garden.

Yun Nan Flavour Garden, is a casual, no-frills spot, dim and demure interior, specializing in noodles and dumplings. They’re famous for their Crossing Bridge Noodles (long story—TL;DR unappreciative husband), but the best dish there is the Dumpling with Noodle in Hot & Sour Sauce (which is the best dumpling in Sunset). A dumpling noodle soup that’s a touch sweetened, with punchy acid and a light chili oil and a perfected-dumpling thickness with a juicy interior garnished with cilantro and scallions. This is a dish that can be shared but you won’t want to. Get 1 per person. Like many places in this neighborhood, it’s always best to have cash on hand. $9/person with tip. Cash Preferred. (A fun thread on a dumpling to rule them all).

The next location is the furthest we’re traveling today, but its a good insight into the energy of Sunset’s Chinatown. Walking onto 8th Ave is an immediate switch, the spoken languages shift to Mandarin and Fujianese and even the Chase Bank and Popeyes are donned in Chinese characters. It’s refreshing and hectic. Metal and Fabric-covered grocery carts deftly moving all around you. Street-cart vendors lining the block, sprawling fish markets, and the colored tapestry and hanging ephemera is mesmerizing. Everything feels rushed and haphazard when you first walk around here, but you realize there’s a structured madness to the constant movement.

We finally make it to our destination.

Dun Huang Beef Noodles, specializing in Northwestern Chinese food (multiple locations throughout the city), best known for their Beef Noodle Soup & Hand-Pulled Noodles but I’m here for one thing on this crawl. Spicy Cumin Lamb Burgers with their in-house spice mix. Hearty, not too spicy, supple lamb in a warm pita wrap wrapped in paper to prevent oil drippings. Kids rush in after school to grab one too—an ideal pre-dinner snack. $6.50/person with tip. Card/Cash Friendly. Now, we move back up towards the park and eye some sweets along the way.

Xin Fa Bakery, always absolutely packed with locals for good reason. Everyone comes for the egg tarts (sometimes stocked behind the counter, so you have to ask a worker), but my favorite is the sesame ball. Dairy-free, yet has this crispy, buttery-like golden exterior with lotus bean filling. Magical. I thought I was red-bean-filling-forever until I tried these. If they’re out of stock, check out Fortune Bakery across the street to scratch a similar itch. We grab one of the egg tarts and two sesame balls as a treat for when we get to the park. Cash Preferred, Card-friendly (after $10).

the glossy, chewy QQ emanating through the glass

The final stop before the park. Everything else was an appetizer leading up to this point.

Hainan Chicken House, a Malaysian restaurant that’s calm and quiet and much more Western compared to the other restaurants (ie: easy to bring groups). Fresh white tiling lining the walls with ceramic chicken imagery embedded throughout. The chicken tiles feel LL Bean-coded and we scheme on solutions to get one someday. My perfected order is as follows, Two Meat Combo w/ Chicken Rice (A Hainan Staple) & Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce. I’m up to debate but their best meats are the roast chicken and pork belly. (Pete Wells Agrees). Every order comes lined in paper with an array of 3 sauces—ginger scallion, darkened (lightly sweetened) soy sauce, and a tame chile-paste. Best of all, chicken broth bowl as an aperitif or digestivo depending on your mood. ~22$/Person with tip. Card-Friendly.

6:30PM. Content but sluggish. We walk to the park, leaving a small ether of belly-space for our sesame balls & egg tarts. It’s a bit too cold to lay out in the grass but what use would be my picnic blanket I’ve lugged all this way? We huddle for warmth, like everyone else here. There’s always open space in the park. Enough to feel connected, far enough to not feel claustrophobic.

7:08PM. A yellow & deepened orange gradient falls on the city. I feel calm. Happy to share a sunset at Sunset. We almost forgot about our desserts—we sit and eat in silence.

Eating, drinking, and living in Sunset. To come, more food-content on the heavily diverse area of Sunset (and Bay Ridge, eventually!), exploring the Puerto Rican, Mexican, Ecuadorian, Dominican-side here (and my extremely limited knowledge of their cuisines).

Let me know in the comments, if you’ve eaten here in the past! Any recs, fan-faves, ones to try.

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References

Sunset Park Demographic NYC