Chinatown

Chinatown is slightly east and north of downtown and near Dodger Stadium. It is on Broadway Avenue. To be honest, L.A. Chinatown is much better seen in the movies – in reality, it’s 4 or 5 drab looking deserted streets at dusk with a few touristy looking Chinese gates and arches and hard-to-find parking (especially on weekends). There are very few actual Chinese people in Chinatown. There tend to be more white and Latino people strolling around Chinatown.

New first-generation Chinese immigrants have nearly all moved east to the "suburban Chinatowns" in the San Gabriel Valley. This region includes Monterey Park, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Hacienda Heights, and Rowland Heights where there are more modern strip malls and truly authentic Chinese restaurants and competitive prices for the immigrant community. There are very few white customers there.

So, with the exception of the Dim Sum in the Empress Palace, CBS Seafood Restaurant, or Hop Woo Restaurant, do not eat here in Chinatown unless you think TV-dinner quality fried rice is exotic. Chinatown also has several unauthentic "Chinese" restaurants catering for the white people, such as Plum Tree Inn, Yang Chow, and Mon Kee's. There are some amusing trinket stores and other gewgaw stores selling backscratchers and Chinese soaps but it’s pretty much nothing. Chinatown is really more Vietnamese than anything – so if you love Vietnamese pho noodles or Banh Mi sandwiches, you can’t go wrong with many choices.