20 Elizabeth Street between Canal and Bayard 212/964.5256 about $60 for two, without drinks, without tip ♥ ♥ You can’t miss Jing Fong with its shopping mall-style escalators. Sunday is the best day to go for dim sum to experience just one Chinese tradition in the middle of Elizabeth Street. There’s a lady at the…

113 Mott Street on Hester 212/966.6613 about $60 for two, with two drinks, without tip ♥ ♥ ♥ Updated, 2006: Joe’s Ginger has move to 25 Pell Street off Mott, 212/285.0333 There is now an alternative to Joe’s Shanghai. I come to Joe’s Ginger now to avoid the long wait for a table at Joe’s…

28 1/2 Bowery corner of Bayard 212/349.0923 about $10 for two, without drinks, with tip ♥ ♥ ♥ Noodletown is not only a restaurant, it’s an institution. When Chinatown becomes a ghost town, Noodletown, or Great N.Y. Noodletown, as their sign suggests, is still open and stays open until four in the morning. Asian kids who come from…

28 Mott Street south of Pell 212/227.1810 about $80 for two, with two drinks, without tip ♥ Peking Duck House is unlike any other restaurant in Chinatown because they actually put extra effort in their interior design. It attracts diners who are still skeptical of the hole-in-the-walls in the neighborhood. You will be served on…