Hell's Kitchen Is A Growing Chinatown: Report

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — Is the newest Chinatown in Manhattan Hell's Kitchen?

That's what one food critic at EaterNY says, and he might have a point.

Senior Critic Robert Sietsema highlighted 15 Chinese spots along Ninth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen that, he says, have subsumed the neighborhood's old reputation as a top Thai destination.

Sietsema writes that "this neighborhood seems poised to become the city’s newest Chinatown," possibly because of Penn Station and Port Authority, but perhaps because of the new Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China on 12th Avenue and West 42nd Street, a friend suggested to him.

Or it could just be that Chinese cuisine is becoming more popular, he suggests, but whatever the reason, Hell's Kitchen is benefiting.

Here's a few of the Ninth Avenue Chinese restaurants on Eater's list below:

Chong Qing Noodle (796 9th Ave), a circa 2017 "Chinese pioneer," Sietsema says, is a spot where "noodles and maocai are the specialties, including aromatic intestines noodle, cowpea noodle, and chicken maocai, a stew that also bobs with tiny pork sausages."

Sietsema calls The Corner (698 9th Ave) "elegant" and "sophisticated," with a menu half "things that might be found at P.F. Chang’s, while the other half features dishes found at the city’s best Sichuan restaurants," like flavorful cumin fish fillet and "fiery" boiled beef.

Panda Express (663 9th Ave.), which, with over 2,000 locations, Sietsema calls it "inevitable" that one would come to Hell's Kitchen.

Some of the "best hand-pulled Lanzhou noodles in town" can be found at Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles II (648 9th Ave), writes Sietsema, adding that "it imbues Hell’s Kitchen with Chinatown authenticity."

To see the full list, click here for Eater NY.