Chinatown - NYC

I spent a lot of time in Museums while I was in New York City... Metropolitan Museum of Art...Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Chinese in America.  Saturday was the only day that I spent exploring an area.  I could not have picked a better day.  The sun was out (which meant I carried my jacket most of the day) and the streets were full of people...local and tourists. 

I arrived in the city at around lunchtime each day since my mornings were spent with JuWanda and the kids.  I came armed with my Jennifer 8. Lee list of Cheap Chinatown Meals in hand and set off for the Lunch Box Buffet.  I made a point to get things I've never eaten or couldn't recognize as something familiar .  I'll admit that the boiled fish head was my favorite thing.  For some stupid reason I didn't get a picture inside or outside.  For $4.25 you get rice and four dishes and grab a seat where you can find it, which will likely mean sharing a table with a stranger.  I think that just adds to the charm. Lucky for me I was able to use my right hand to eat, which eliminated the struggle of using chopsticks with my left hand.  I can do it, but it is a slow process.

Now happily stuffed, I made my way to MoCA, which recently opened in their new location.  This was a beautiful space and a wonderful interactive experience. There were a lot of intimate spaces where you felt in close contact with the stories that lead you through the museum.  I highly recommend this destination!

From MoCA it was time to have a little snack and made my way to the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.  What I really wanted to do there was try everyone of their interesting flavors, like black sesame and lychee.  I went for the ginger ice cream thinking I would return later in the day.

I walked around a bit and enjoyed the afternoon sun as it danced around on the face of the buildings.  This was another frustrating photography experience where I didn't get the images I wanted.  I did a little shopping but not much.  Though my arm in a sling acted much like a force field where people kindly gave me a wide berth, it also kept me from going in some of the small shops too.  I also felt a spending frenzy creeping up and was trying to control the urges by staying out of the dozens of places where my Amex card would fly out of my wallet.

I relaxed for a bit at a nearby park and watched kids and adults alike enjoy the beautiful day.  My favorite scene was watching a grandfather playing with his grand daughter who was only about 18 months old.  The sheer delight in his face was one of the best parts of the day.

More food...I made my way to Prosperity Dumplings where you can get 5 dumplings for a $1 and  I LOVE fried pork dumplings.  Love them!  I made my way back to the park and ate until I couldn't stand it.  More ice cream was out of the question at this point.  The sun was going down and I walked around a bit more and came across Aji Ichiban, a sweets and snack store.  They sell a lot of the things you find in the regular  Chinatown markets, but the bonus here is that you can sample everything.  What little space I had for more food was filled here with sampling half the store.  Yes, they are community dishes which can  be a bit scary, but I figure that's why I have an immune system.  My favorite was the shrimp covered peanuts and the Thai fish wafer, which made for great snacks on my flight home.

A great day in Chinatown.