I live in Chinatown. I love my neighborhood and community. I love it so much that I pick up litter and run a litter cleanup crew (@chinatowncleanup on Instagram).
Last Wednesday, I tripped and fell, breaking my ankle. I couldn’t pick up litter…and I couldn’t attend the No Kings Protest, even though it was within walking distance.
But do you know what I can do (and so can you): support the businesses in DTLA, Chinatown and Little Tokyo! The curfew has been killing small businesses that were already facing tough times even before the protests started.
You can find a great list of both shops and places to eat in Chinatown here:
[shopchinatownla.com](shopchinatownla.com)
My personal favorites are all in the Far East Plaza:
Ten Ren’s Tea: boba tea
Thien Huong: Vietnamese, bahn mi’s
Lasita: Filipino
And if you have any recs for businesses / places to eat in the area not limited to Chinatown but in the curfew area, please share below! I’m personally a big fan of Suehiro (DTLA) and OOmasa (Little Tokyo).
Picture credit: Chinatown Community of Equitable Development (CCEDLA). ❤️)
by Alarming_Grand6946
16 Comments
Thank you
The restaurant in this picture, Zen Mei Bistro, is one of my favorites in Chinatown and I’ve gone there multiple times. The food is delicious, lunch special is a great deal, and the atmosphere is very peaceful. On top of that, the owner (I think her name is Michelle?) is very kind and went above and beyond to help me when my car accidentally got locked in a a gated parking lot while having lunch there. She went door to door looking for someone who could help us get our car and translating for us until we found someone to open the gate. I’ve heard other stories as well about how she goes out of her way to help community members. I highly recommend supporting this place and eating their delicious food!
Damn now I’m really craving their beef stir fry noodles and sweet/sour fried fish 🤤
Are you allowed to go eat there during curfew? Like I’m not gonna have some fed doofus stopping me and harassing my family because we’re trying to eat dinner?
Long’s Bakery & Pho 87 (check IG if theyre open, they close early sometimes)
So if they didn’t get looted, they get screwed by the curfew? Great job guys. You did it!
I heard that a sushi restaurant in Little Tokyo near Japanese American Museum got looted 😭
We went last week around 3pm and it was eerily quiet. It made my Angeleno heart sad.
Went to Sushi Gen yesterday and it was incredible! They have live soft shell crab right now too.
They close at 8pm because of the curfew but take walk ins until 7:30 I believe
love me some zen mei
We ate at T.O.T on Friday in little Tokyo and if you love Tonkatsu, highly recommend. The cold udon and spicy ramen was also so good! Great staff and service
Peking Tavern in dtla is a great place to support. Great dumplings too!
Also, this isn’t food related but still counts as a business: another favorite is The Last Bookstore!! I’m a librarian so I might be biased but it’s an amazing place if you need a good book, used or not!
I lost 4 shifts this past week, and my restaurant straight up closed the last two days. When will this end???
Im not supporting any place that wanted me to wear a stupid slave mask a few years back. I support none of these businesses that did so.
Hit up LaSorted’s yesterday after the protests. It was glorious.
If you asked the owners of these restaurants what was the one thing you could do to help them they would all tell you to stop allowing sidewalk restaurants/vendors. A week-long evening curfew will have a small short-term effect, having dozens of street food vendors every day jeopardizes their ability to stay afloat.