LAist: The Neighborhood Project: Chinatown

guest

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:02:00 -0800

John Low, not John Yee, was the owner of Yee Mee Loo. True, the drinks and Richard Mah migrated west to the Good Luck Bar, but sadly the GLB gets it completely wrong. Yee Mee Loo wasn't about waiting in line, seeing and being seen. It was about history. And a good cheap drink.

guest

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 16:12:20 -0800

I love love love these neighborhood posts, and how it brings out everyones faves and rememberances in the comments - GREAT post, thanks! Did I menton that I love that laist is doing this project(s)?

C

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:47:23 -0800

Awesome post, Ryan. Very well done. ©

guest

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 22:42:54 -0800

Thanks Elise. I do miss the cool bar at Yee Mee Loo, and the cool jukebox. But what I miss the most are the grouchy old waiters, the nifty celeb photos on the pukey yellow walls, watching the cooks through the front window, the 9pm employee sit-down dinners, and John Yee, who once remembered me after a 10 year absence (big points with the gf that night). -sigh- Somebody pass the pig's feet. Thankfully, Philippe's is a short block away.

Christine

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 21:18:45 -0800

Wow. This was an amazing post Ryan!!!!! Btw, I found out the hard way that the coffee at Philippe's is only 9 cents if you drink it in the restaurant. They charge a whopping 65 cents (I think) if you get it to go.

guest

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 20:12:51 -0800

it's official: hop louie = best secret danceparty you never expected!

Elise Thompson

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:24:53 -0800

Great post!!! For the poster who also misses Yee me Loo's, the bartenders and drink recipes moved over to the Good Luck Bar. You can still get the "blue drink" there. For the Militant: Try the curry meat pies in that hole-in-the-wall. I had an "adopted" Chinese grandma (Apo) from Trinidad who used to make them, and it is the only other place I have ever seen them.

guest

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 17:43:06 -0800

There's a very nice looking park near the Metro station. New, I believe. Though suitable mostly for lounging, walking, not heavy duty physical exercise.

Kemp

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:53:15 -0800

Bravo, Ryan! (standing ovation) Really awesome tour of the neighborhood, with incredible amount of history and insight!

guest

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:39:17 -0800

I love Hop Louie. As a matter of fact, the last time I went there, I danced for like 2 horus and it was a fun dance party.

guest

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:12:29 -0800

The CHINATOWNLAND sign stands on the inexplicably vacant lot formerly occupied by the Grandview Gardens restaurant (hey, even the sign's still there!). GG was notable not only because it was the first place I ever ate dim sum (back in 1976 -- in high school -- wow I felt so sophisticated!), but more importantly because it was designed by one of the most acclaimed mid-century modernist architects of the Northern California, Hamilton Harwell Harris. I miss it -- whenever I eat dim sum from someplace that ISN'T Grandview Gardens. Plus, if I ever make it rich(er), I'm going into F. See On and just buy EVERYTHING. Wave my arm like Sheikh Yamani and take it ALL.

Militant Angeleno

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:36:37 -0800

The Militant normally cringes when LAist tackles an ethnically-designated community, but this is perhaps the best and most thorough LAist community profile to date. The Militant is glad Young mentioned important historical data like the Chinese Exclusion Act and the importance of the benevolent associations. Those factors were very important in establishing this and other Chinatowns. The only thing the writer forgot to mention was that Los Angeles' Chinatown, like most American Chinatowns, was established by Cantonese-speaking Chinese, whereas the SGV is primarily inhabited by Mandarin-speaking Chinese, many of them from Taiwan. The Militant's secret hole-in-the-wall submission: That little nondescript place in the alley near Phoenix that sells cha siu bao to go.

Lindsay William-Ross

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:01:58 -0800

Ryan--stunning work! I'm totally high fiving you right now! :)

guest

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:54:26 -0800

Is there a page with links to all of the neighborhoods you have covered? It would be great reference for weekend adventures.

guest

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:49:00 -0800

"Chinatownland" is clearly a reference to the "Hollywoodland" sign. (While it may just say "Hollywood" today, it originally said "Hollywoodland")

guest

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:27:10 -0800

Bookmarked. Great pictures, but it's the comprehensive and informed narrative that seals it. Ryan, have you ever been to Watts?

Callie Miller

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 13:22:52 -0800

I was just waxing poetic on Phillipe's this morning and now I simply MUST walk down there for dinner tonight. I pass by Phoenix bakery all the time and have never been in. Shame on me. Thanks to your post, I'll check it out. And I'm sure it goes without saying but bears repeating nonetheless -- amazing, stunning, gorgeous, wow-of-a-post!

guest

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:46:05 -0800

these are so fantastic. i can't wait till you do echo park. chinatown is pretty great. hop louie has a surprisingly good jukebox...somehow every time i go there it ends up turning into a rad dance party--if only with four other people. also a good place to take advantage of the wishing fountain and ride some mechanical animals.

polaroidgirl

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:37:46 -0800

The only thing better than this fantastic post would be for someone to magically appear at my office with a sandwich from Phillipe's and some sweets from Phoenix. Thanks!

guest

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:28:32 -0800

I still miss Yee Mee Loo on the corner of Ord and Spring.

guest

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:09:21 -0800

Chinatown also has a place in the history of LA's punk scene. Both Madame Wong's and the Hong Kong Cafe hosted many a band from the 70s thru the 90s, including X, Black Flag, Oingo Boingo, Wall of Voodoo, Fear, the Go-Go's, The Germs, Dead Kennedys, 999, The Plimsouls and countless others.