My Favorite New York NEIGHBORHOOD!

The chung yau bing is one of my favorite Chinese dishes. Our mom? Yes, sir. In Shandong. That's why I said it. That's how you knew. One of the best slices of pizza in New York City. It's the best. It is the best. See? This is one of your first times in New York, right? What do you think about the area? I just want to eat right now. What's going on, guys? As you may or may not know, we live in New York City. And the number one question that people usually ask you is, what neighborhood do you live in? Now, as far as building, we live in the one Manhattan Square, which is right behind us. And we actually made a whole video touring our apartment. But in this video, we want to tell you that we actually live at the intersection of three amazing neighborhoods, South Seaport, Chinatown, and the Lower East Side. Let's take a food tour of the three neighborhoods that are within walking distance of our building, South Seaport, LES, and Chinatown. Let's go. All right, you guys. We have arrived in the Seaport District. As you saw, it was a very short scooter ride. This is a historic district that was important in New York's history for 400 years. But really, since the 80s and 90s, And some of the best restaurants in New York City are now opening in Seaport District. And of course, seafood. Let's check it out. All right, you guys. We're at the brand-new Pier 17 building at the Seaport. Now, it almost feels like bottom of the Venetian. They got all these brand-new concepts from all these high-end chefs. You got David Chang and Momofuku, Andrew Carminelli with Carne Mari, and of course, Mr. Dips, a bacon barbecue burger, dirty dip waffle fries. This is called a hot bay chicken. Of course, you got the S'morning Glory s'mores. They executed it just like the pictures. I'm going with the burger. OK, OK. I'm going to go for the fries, then. It's got, like, chili flakes on it, cheese, green onions. Mr. Dips. Oh, we're about to get a little messy. It really gives you those Americana throwback vibes. And I feel like that's what Mr. Dips was going for. They don't use no ordinary fries. They use waffle fries. Very crunchy. What I really like is actually the chili flakes. Take one of these hot bays. Hot bay chicken tenders. I've never had chicken tenders look like this before. Crazy. Not a lot of places that caramelize hot honey on chicken tenders. Last but not least, we got the S'morning Glory. Probably the most aesthetic soft-serve ice cream cone I have ever had in my life. Whoa! That's crazy, bro. Man, this was really good. But we're at the seaport. I want to go get some seafood. This was really the foundation of New York. This is where all the ships came in. This is basically, you know the cobblestones over there? This is cobblefish. So we played off of that a little bit. There was a lot of water. The whole area was kind of decadent. For about 35 years, nobody wanted to live down here. You have to look at some of these homes here, the 16th, 17th century homes. You can't even get your hands on them. Right now, it's one of the biggest, hottest places in New York City. Jack, a sea captain, a historian, can we get some lobster rolls over here for these guys? Now I know one thing in LA that's not that popular is lobster rolls, right? Lobster roll. You know what, now I realize too? Lobster rolls, they're always better on the pier. They have excellent execution here at Cobblefish. This has got to be one of the best lobster rolls I've ever eaten. And it's mainly due to the bread. Yeah, you wouldn't think that. You wouldn't think that that would be the highlight. So good. You guys, they adopted something from LA. They said they never had fish tacos in New York City piers until now. Buy fish tacos. In a way, I like the grilled fish tacos more than the fried battle ones. For sure, it still gives you some of that tasty, umami vibe, but it tastes lighter, right? From Cobblefish onto the Cobblestone. You guys, right across from Pier 17, we are in the South Street Seaport Museum, Cobblestone District. Man, it's already a way different vibe. I actually never been here before, so, I mean, this is all new to me. This is only like a five-minute walk away from OMS, and even though OMS is very much in a neighborhood place, this actually is giving you some tourist vibes. Let's see what cookies they got. Funny Face Bakery, they sold out the Drake cookie, Kanye cookie, 50 Cent cookie. Who is that, Noah? The VP? Yeah! Shout out to the VP. I thought they did a pretty faithful reproduction here at Funny Face. Guys, it's a solid sugar cookie. These are fun, great gifts. You can get custom cookies. Oh, you can get a cookie that looks like your face. I'm telling you guys, man, the Seaport District is such a fascinating place. It almost feels like we're in Europe right now. This is a totally different vibe. I'm just saying, messy with PSG now. I'm watching all the games here. Overall, the South Seaport is just a nice switch-up from the rest of the area with a completely different vibe and crowd. For a second there, you might think you're in Nantucket wearing a Nautica polo and Sperry top-siders. Just a two-minute scooter ride away, though, is one of the oldest, most diverse, and most trendy neighborhoods. If you've seen our videos, you're no stranger to it. The Lower East Side, a.k.a. the LES. I personally think one of the most unique things about the Lower East Side neighborhood, you see people, you see kids, you see families. It's easy to feel like you lack that neighborhood vibe. But here, it's like 3 p.m. right now, so people are getting out of school, and it just really feels like an actual community. Donut Plant is arguably the most famous donut shop in all of New York City. And I got also a bagel with lox cream cheese from one of the most famous bagel spots in the city. So we got bagels, and then we got donuts. The circular ring of life. Wow, look at that cream cheese. Honestly, there's so much cream cheese. I wouldn't even usually put this much. This is crazy. I have to say, that's one of the tastiest everything bagels I've had, period. All right, so here you have their classic Wild Blueberry Bagel. This is one of their most famous ones. Here you have a Yuzu Bagel. They sold out. Here you have the Black and White, another favorite. Here you got the Brooklyn Blackout. Here we have the Double Chocolate Sourdough Donut. And then here you have the Pumpkin Seed Donut. This is seasonal. Also sourdough. I've never had a sourdough donut before, and this is a seasonal flavor. Yours is the Dark Chocolate, and here is the Pumpkin Seed. Bouncy, spongy. Slight little sourness. Oh, my God. Delightfully surprised. I think sourdough donuts are the next wave. Look out for it. Hey, so now on the Lower East Side, you got Target, you got Trader Joe's, you got mom-and-pop shops. You got something for everybody. Like we said on Grand Street, you can get all of your favorite New York classics. Donuts, bagels, pizza. With Grand Street Pizza open, now you're getting very high-quality, super-thin crust, classic New York-style pizza. David, that is the Tomato Garlic Slice. Here we have a Cheese Slice, and here we have a Pep. This is almost the thinnest pizza I've ever seen in my life. You've got options. You want new stuff, you want old stuff, old-new stuff. Andrew, we're in a very particular portion of the L.E.S. right now. This area is actually called Dimes Square. Not officially, but that's just because Dimes was kind of the first hip restaurant in this area. And it's very, very energetic down here. All right, you guys, the food has arrived here at Servos. Andrew, these are Portuguese-influenced prawns, so check them out. Man, I hope there's peri-peri sauce. I'm just gonna eat it with the shell on. Mmm. Very deep seafood flavor. Prawns were very, very tender. I like that dish a lot. I'm gonna go for this lamb burger with anchovies, guys. I've never had fish on burgers. This is a brand-new item here. I've never had Portuguese mackerel. Wow, surprisingly, that anchovy adds a lot of umami, slight bit of that fermented funk to it, but it kind of all goes well with the lamb. I'm not used to eating mackerel in this context. They did a really good job flipping it on its head. Mackerel, sometimes it has a very gamey taste to it as a fish. None here. Andrew, finishing off here at Servos, we got the manila clams and, of course, garlic oil butter. And what I really love about this area is that they actually block off the street, so they close a part of Canal during the weekend so that people can sit out in the street, and it really makes it like this cool open-air scene where there's a lot of people skating, there's people having drinks, people on dates. To be honest, I would say it's very hipster. Dude, these manila clams are good. Guys, this is a very poppin' part of the LES. But, of course, Andrew, the LES is known for cheap eats. We are in line at Scars Pizza right on Orchard Street. It's right around the corner. It is so close to where we live. One of the best slices of pizza in New York City. It's the best! It is the best. See? All right, you guys, you gotta come to Scars early. They're so popular, all they had left were square slices. Andrew, you have a pepperoni with garlic, and I have a sausage with garlic. A lot of people consider this to be the best slice in New York City. A lot of herbs and a lot of details and a lot of textures. They make their crust crunchy, crispy. It's got a nice bite to it. It's not too fluffy. It strikes this very interesting balance between artsy pizza and just tasty pizza. How lucky are you to have one of the best slice spots in the city right up the street from you? Here at Sunday to Sunday, joining us, we got Crystal here from L.A. I mean, Crystal, this is one of your first times in New York, right? What do you think about the area? I just want to eat right now. And the key is that everything here is either vegan or pescatarian, right? Which you still are to this day. Yes, since 2009. All right, Crystal Zhao, what are you going for first? Is it okay if I get sweet first? Go for it. Here we have their French toast. Here we have their avocado toast with a poached egg. Here you have your pink hummus. And then here you have your shroom toast. And then here you have your Casio de Pepe popcorn. As a vegetarian or a pescatarian, what are you looking for from a good avocado toast? Because I'm sure that's got to be something you've had multiple times. Spices and pickled vegetables elevates it so much more. So much flavor, there's sourness to it. There's pomegranate. It's just a great mixture of flavor. Yellow onions rind in something. Well, this is what's really cool about Sunday to Sunday, is that one of the owners is Indian and one of the other partners, I believe, is Filipino. And they're kind of doing their own take on brunch food out here. And they're right across from an Australian spot called Dudley's. And then one of my favorite delis slash bodegas, Gourmet Deli over on Broom Street. Here I have the Casio de Pepe popcorn. I thought it sounded interesting. It's got a little Parmesan cheese, a little salt and pepper. You got to get your protein in somehow, right? I used to live in the Art District in downtown LA, and this has a similar vibe. It's very hip, but it's more condensed. It's a great mixture of people. Sure, you have a lot of your hipsters, your art school students, a lot of transplants, but you have a lot of local people. All right, we'll be honest. We've lived in the LES three different times in three different homes. It's in close proximity to all the other great neighborhoods that we love, including this next one, Chinatown. So let me show you a few gems in Chinatown that we have never shown you on our channel ever before. In the heart of Chinatown is one of the hottest barbershops in the city, 12Pell. Woo! That's a fresh skin fade. Here on Canal Street, you got Canal Street Market. It's a food hall that's trying to find new ideas and find new food concepts that want to move in there. This one is Joe's Steamed Rice Rolls Cheung Fun. This is fully loaded, $13, but it's got everything you could possibly want in it. And Joe's is probably the most popular and widespread rice rolls chain in New York City. Buttery, silky. I could never get sick of this. Now, I'm sure you guys know by now that there is a plethora of cheap Chinese food in Chinatown, but they actually have fine dining options as well. And we are outside of a gem in the neighborhood on East Broadway, something that you really wouldn't expect. This spot is called Hua Yuan, and trust me, with white tablecloths, the lighting, the flowers, it really feels like it's on another level. This looks like Shanghai. I didn't expect this to be in Chinatown. It looks nice. Actually, for the price, I want to tell everybody out there that they have to come here. Yes, thank you. You know, I was semi-retired, and I really wanted a restaurant business. So people knew about me. We opened this restaurant, and I did my job. Everybody said we're probably number one top restaurant in New York. My job is serving. My job is people enjoy their dinner here in Chinatown. If people want to find you, what should they call you? Chef? Chef Tang. I'll give them my card. Chef Tang. Tossing the noodles ever so lightly, and twirls it around the fork to make sure he gets a clean bundle of noodles. Guys, this restaurant has a history that dates back all the way to 1968. It's super famous. 1930s, 40s, 50s in New York City, these, like, fancy Chinese restaurants were all the rage. All the rage back when all the rage was a phrase. Let's go in on their world-famous cold sesame noodles. I've got to say, guys, these cold sesame noodles, ma jiang liang mian, it was just a little bit more luxurious than other versions I've had. This is only $80 at a restaurant this fancy for the entire Beijing duck. They're going to cut it for you by the table. This is actually a great feature here at Huayuan. I really recommend that people come and get this. I think it's a great thing to get with the price. All right, David, we have our Peking duck all nicely sliced up. We have our thin pancakes. This is a more traditional way to do it. Huayuan Peking duck. Cheers. The drumstick meat from Huayuan Peking duck is incredible. I can see why Huayuan won the Michelin Guide recommendation, honestly. The chong yau bing is one of my favorite Chinese dishes. Our mom's from Shandong. That's why I said it. That's how you knew. We're not deep-fried, we're pink-fried. All right, you guys, we are looking at a dish called tung po rou. All right, pick up one bone, open it. Put one fork right here. And I put it in the sauce. All right. The texture of that pork belly. When he said it was like tofu, he really means it, man. That was some of the softest pork belly I've ever had. That was the fattiest, softest, and cleanest-tasting pork belly I've ever had. This is the chef's favorite dish. Wow. That's really good. It's salty. It's spicy. I can taste the pepper. This may very well be the best mapo tofu I've ever had. Chef Tang, he's not here clout chasing. He is here for the culture. He's here for the food. He's here for his family. Honestly, man, this is some of the best Chinese food I've ever had in Chinatown. All right, you guys. We have arrived at the iconic Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown. Over the past 25 years, this place has morphed from a Chinatown local spot to a New York staple. It's definitely a spot you can take anybody to. I've still eaten here. I still get takeout from here sometimes. Joe's became famous for this gigantic, I would call this New York Shanghainese style. These are gigantic xiaolongbaos. Xiaolongbaos. I have the crab one. You can see a little bit of the crab roe. It's more yellow on the inside. As you can see, the pork one. More of a basic flavor. I think the preference is up to you. We are looking at three classic Chinese New York style dishes. This is yuxiang qianzi. This is garlic pork eggplant. Gongbao jiding, a.k.a. of course Kung Pao chicken. And Shanghai chow mein, a.k.a. Shanghai fried noodles. I made a little rice bowl here. It might be my Chinese, Southeast Asian side. Honestly, Andrew, we eat so much ultra authentic Chinese food. Sometimes it is nice to get the New York style. Joe's Shanghai. It's for everybody, man. All right, everybody. That's it for our neighborhood video. Please hit that like button. Click subscribe. I hope you found this video useful and can appreciate lower Manhattan like we do. If you want to watch our detailed apartment tour of the One Manhattan Square, please click on this video right here. And until next time, we out. Peace.