whats Chinatown like anyways

[ekkles25]

Just wondering whats it like there and how do I get there?

[melvin82]

dude you should go someday. it start at the beltway and bellaire blvd and you can't miss it. Lots of great food.

[picachou]

Chinatown is not what people perceive, bad and dirty. The Chinatown here is fairly clean, orderly, and unique. You can see so much culture, language, way of life. I've been there a couple of times and I will always go back to eat and shop. Btw- I'm not Asian.

[shoppinggirl]

I like Chinatown. It is like home away from home

[admin1]

www.chinatownconnection.com All the information you need to know about Houston Chinatown.

[steve]

Chinatown is pretty cool. A friend of mine took me there for lunch and I really enjoyed it. The culture is so neat and you can see how everything is so tight knit.

[yanping]

I visited Houston Chinatown a couple weekends ago as a tourist. You see I am from Vancouver and I came down to Houston to visit some of my friends. They took me to Chinatown and my impression was that it is very organized (shopping plazas) and pretty clean. I see a whole lot of construction down here and I think it is a great place for Asian people to start their lives.

One suggestion though: Need to have some signs or a landmark that shows that people are entering Chinatown area.

[psyzch]

I heard from sources that Houston's Chinatown is getting a major facelift in terms of the shopping plazas, medians on Bellaire, etc.. Not too sure about the signs yet but that is what I have heard.

[kelsie]

We woke up this morning, got dressed up, and found our way to the Consulate for 9 (thankfully missing the morning rush hour). Even though we didn’t stay near the Consulate, I’m glad we tried to go yesterday. That way, today I knew what exits were coming and could prepare for them. Bing turned in the paperwork and they told her to come back for 2:45 PM to pick it up. So, we get to go kill a few hours.

It turns out that Houston has a Chinatown area. Bing went there with her friends when she evacuated for Ivan. Since she wasn’t driving though, she didn’t remember how to get there. In any case, talking with Bing at a nearby Starbucks, she said she wanted to go eat there. So, we got the idea of asking someone at the Consulate for directions before picking up the car from there.

Bing picked out a middle-aged woman to ask, and the woman said (in Chinese) that Chinatown was on Bellaire. Just follow her, she said, and she’ll point us in the right direction. Well, we pulled behind the blue Toyota, and followed it down several local streets. It certainly didn’t act like we were following (you know, signalling before changing lanes, and leaving enough room to follow). So, when we got on a multi-lane highway, I sped up to come in beside the car, which was being driven by a white-haired old man with a bushy mustache! We had gotten off track at the very beginning, it seems. Bing and I laughed at that - her to tears, even.

In any case, it was lucky we talked to the woman, because she gave us enough information that we could find Chinatown (along with a map I had brought along).

Houston’s Chinatown isn’t like the New York one you see in the movies. It’s a new place, made out of several strip-malls, with a bunch of Chinese signs, several Chinese groceries, plenty of Asian restaurants, and a variety of other types of shops. We picked out a Sichuan place, with Bing asking if I could handle the spicy food. Heh.

[yang]

We are considering moving to Houston and wanted to know where the majority of Chinese people live in Houston? Is it near Chinatown in Bellaire or is there another area with a large Chinese population? Also, is there a school for children that has a large chinese population? And what is the Chinatown like? Does it have groups or activities for families and retired Chinese people as well? Any information would be helpful! Thanks. ;D

[admin1]

yang said:

We are considering moving to Houston and wanted to know where the majority of Chinese people live in Houston? Is it near Chinatown in Bellaire or is there another area with a large Chinese population? Also, is there a school for children that has a large chinese population? And what is the Chinatown like? Does it have groups or activities for families and retired Chinese people as well? Any information would be helpful! Thanks. ;D

The majority of Chinese people live in Sugar Land/ First Colony area in Southwest Houston. It is near a major freeway, Hwy59, kind of close to Chinatown, and the schools there are top notch, particularly Clemens High School.

There is a Chinese school, very popular, in Chinatown. It is at the Chinese Community Center, www.ccchouston.org.

Chinatown is really nice. It is not like the Chinatowns in New York or L.A.. Here, the stores are in plazas and shopping centers, and right now, alot of new stores and plazas are being developed and it is just amazing to see how things have changed in a few years. So you coming here to Houston is the right time!

Regarding retirement, there are alot of retirement communities both for Asian and non-asian groups. They just built a retirement apartment for the Asian elderly peoples in Chinatown but that is now all full as you can imagine. But this place is the perfect place for the retired and elderly.

Lastly, if you ever need Houston Chinatown information or any information on Houston, visit out website, www.chinatownconnection.com. There you will find everything you need to know including Chinese restaurants, attractions, community events, etc..

Hope this helps and we hope you will like Houston as your next place to live!

[tm]

yang said:

We are considering moving to Houston and wanted to know where the majority of Chinese people live in Houston? Is it near Chinatown in Bellaire or is there another area with a large Chinese population? Also, is there a school for children that has a large chinese population? And what is the Chinatown like? Does it have groups or activities for families and retired Chinese people as well? Any information would be helpful! Thanks. ;D

Hello, yes there are a couple of schools that have a fairly large Chinese population. Clements High School and Bellaire High School. Both have very competitive cirruculums and both have very bright kids that goes there. Welcome to Houston!

[fling]

If you¡¦re an Asian food lover and are anywhere near Houston, Texas, you cannot miss Houston¡¦s Chinatown. This is where we shopped on a twice-a-month basis when we still lived in Lake Jackson, an hour south of Houston. We¡¦d get there really early before the shops opened (my hubby hates traffic and shopping in crowds), shop for a few hours, put everything in coolers and go grab some Chinese food. Eight years ago there were only a handful of shops and a couple of dim sum places. By the time we left, there were banks and other Asian businesses popping up all over the place. In 2004 when we made a trip down there, it almost looks like a small Asian city.

Only one restaurant¡¦s name sticks with me and that¡¦s Mei Mei, where we used to order the biggest and crunchiest shrimp balls. My hubby¡¦s aunt¡¦s favorite thing was their simply steamed broccoli rape, the only green thing to appear at our table whenever we ate there, but we¡¦d have several plates of the stuff, to accompany the other Chinese dishes we ordered, and if you knew Aunt Sue, you¡¦d know a few dishes is never enough! Of course, there are so many other choices these days, I wouldn¡¦t know where to start! The one thing I know is that if you live within a couple of hour¡¦s drive of Houston¡¦s Chinatown, make the trip! I can guarantee you it¡¦s worth your time.

Link: www.chinatownconnection.com

[miguel]

Here is a great link discussing the fast growing Houston Asian population:

origin.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/travel/14927305.htm?source=rss&channel=miamiherald_travel