Chicago’s Chinatown aka Two Blocks of Restaurants

Chicago’s Chinatown is like any other Chinatown in the United States.  The first thing you notice is the smell of authenticity.

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It literally smells like stinky tofu.  The second is the number of gift shops that sell an abundance amount of useless crap.  The third is the number of rude Chinese people.   There was only one Chinatown in the world that is massively different than the others – Havana’s Chinatown.  It’s the only Chinatown without any Chinese people.  It was weird.

Chicago’s Chinatown is nowhere near the size of San Francisco, New York or Los Angeles.   It’s a small strip no longer than a quarter mile with an extension square on the other block — Chinatown Square.  It’s definitely worth checking out if you feel like being cultured for an entire 200 feet.  There’s a bunch of stores selling souvenirs, Bruce Lee statues and pre-written fortunes with lottery numbers.

Chinatown Square is a small plaza.  The noticeable thing is that they have statues of every zodiac sign in the Lunar year.  There are local favorite restaurants like Minghin Cuisine, Lao Sze Chuan and Joy Yee Noodles.  It’s definitely worth checking out if you feel like being cultured and getting your lottery number picks from fortune cookies.

Overall, it was a good thing to do to kill time and add to the many Chinatowns I’ve been in the world.  The only draw back is the size of Chinatown and limited quality restaurants.  It’s literally a couple of steps then you’re handing hands and skipping back where you parked.

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