March 8, 2012

Chinatown, and I was hungry again in an hour (part #1)...


The gig is up.  Yes, I've been on a mission to show the Better Half Philly's various 'hoods...and I admit my ventures make for some good photo ops too.  But, I've been exposed.   I'm not foolin' the Better Half anymore with my motives.  It became glaringly obvious when he pointed out that it took me 30 minutes to get OUT of the parking lot with my camera on our Chinatown excursion.  In my defense, it was a VERY cool parking lot with Chinese dragon sculptures along the perimeter.  So I would say if it was ONLY an excuse to drag him along while I take photos... it would have taken "45" minutes to get out of the lot!  I rest my case...now let's go get some Chinese food!



"Don't Forget to Take Your Ticket and Pay at the Machine"
Chinatown - Philadelphia


Philly has a beautiful and fun Chinatown, albeit probably a bit smaller in scale than other major cities.  It was founded in the mid 19th C. by Cantonese immigrants to the City of Brotherly Love, who opened up laundries and restaurants close to Philly's commercial wharves.  Today, it isn't purely Chinese as all the Korean, Vietnamese and Thai restaurants with their mouth-watering aromas filling the air can attest to.  It is full blown non-discriminatory East Asian deliciousness. Yum.






Philly's Chinatown sits north of Center City and is marked by "Friendship Gate" at 10th and Arch Streets.  It is a symbol of friendship good will and cultural ties between Philly and it's sister city of Tianjin, China.  Once you pass thru the gate the bombardment of vibrant colors and aromas begin.








So a funny thing happened on the way to a Chinese food lunch...




...after strolling down the streets and taking a "few" photos, we soon realized we had NO IDEA which establishment to patronize...the choices were overwhelming.  It was then, that I spotted one of Philly's finest strolling towards us.  As he approached I smiled and said "How are you doing?  Can you suggest a place for us to eat lunch?"  To which he replied "What are you in the mood for?".  The Better Half and I did one of those cartoon-ish double takes at each other, and then my brilliant Better Half replied...




"CHINESE!!!"

Master of the obvious :).


Chinese Proverb: "A hundred paths lead to a hundred difficulties."

Kathy Proverb:  "200 photos lead to 200 edits, lead to one long bugger of a post".


I don't need a fortune cookie to tell me that I took waaaaay too many photos, and I should really break up this post into two separate installments.  So I will post more about Philly's Chinatown next week after I do some serious editing.  But it is REALLY HARD!!!!! If only the Better Half didn't MAKE me be his personal Philly tour guide and drag me to all these fun places!


Joi gin,

--Kathy





40 comments:

  1. I love these photos!! Just marvelous!!

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  2. China town!!! I love Philly's China town! The pictures of the arch made me long to get on a train to visit pronto! My bat mitzvah Friday night dinner was catered out of the kosher Chinese place in China town!

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    1. Is it the "Chinese Vegetarian Kosher" place? If so, you might see a photo of it next week because the combo of the three cuisines on a sign made me smile :).

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  3. Great pics, so colorful and interesting!

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  4. I didn't think it was too long. I enjoyed it. The b&w photo is my fav but they are all great.

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  5. Looks like you had quite the photo adventure this weekend too! Love all the pictures but my favorites have to be the sculptures.

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  6. Wow...how neat. I've never been there. Great shots!

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  7. I've pretty much given up taking my husband with me when I want to take photos. Oi, he either walks into my frame or is so far off I feel rushed.

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  8. too funny - so what did you eat? Zài jiàn

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  9. This was awesome, never been to a china town before....and I totally get the 30 minutes to get out of the parking lot! ha
    Mine is not so 'happy' to go with me anymore, unless of course it would be for food somewhere. I tend to wear out my welcome....can't wait for #2...oh and I love the pic of the guy on the bike!!

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  10. Oh WOW...these are spectacular!! The first and third photos literally made me gasp (in a good way!). I haven't been to D.C.'s Chinatown yet, but I need to make a trip. It's very small, from what I hear...I'd really love to go to Chinatown in NYC. Thank you for sharing these - they are so fantastic. I can't wait to see the next batch!

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  11. Fabulous photos! My favorite is the black & white photo with and arch where it looks like East meets West and the colorful photo below it....vibrant and exotic. I've been to Chinatown in San Fran, NYC and of course Boston, but no Chinatowns in nw Ohio, just a couple of restaurants.

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  12. Great collection of shots ~ can't wait for the second installment! I don't think I ever visited Chinatown in Phili...I love that you are touring Phili neighborhoods, cause I get to see and learn so much about my first home town! My husband just adores it when I get my camera out too - pretty much constant "mocking"...oh well, I do it anyway! I love that dragon claw picture that opened your series - creepy and beautiful at the same time!

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  13. I want you to be my tour-guide when I come to Philly...we can ooohh and aaahhh together and take as long as we want to get out of the parking lot. Great pictures!!

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  14. Too funny. Your better half sounds as patient as mine. Dave has gotten used to the words, "Turn around. I've got to stop." I don't always do that when I'm driving alone, but with a chauffer, I can. :)

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  15. That first shot....wow! In fact you scored some brilliant photos on this excursion. I never did eat in Chinatown, but drove thru a bunch of time. Wish I had been a photog then. Your photos just rock!! I'll be interested to see the next installment. I too have trouble editing all I want to when I take a big glut of photos. If I ever get laid up, I'm going to back thru those wonderful many snap days and surely find some images I totally forgot about. Loved this post Kathy.

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  16. very pretty post I live in Wilmington De and have been to Philly a few times. Don't remember it looking that good yo make me want to go and get Chinese your newest follower from the blog hop. Tutorials would make wonderful reads just a thought

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  17. What an incredibly interesting place- so full of photo ops. Also- you now have me CRAVING Chinese food in a big way!

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  18. Great shots Kathy! Love Chinese food!!

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  19. Not only are these brilliant photos, but you are SO funny! Thanks for the great post!

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  20. Excellent photo's, each time when I see a Chinatown, I try to discover the city. I didn't recognise it because I haven't visited Philadelphia before.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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  21. That first shot looks as though it should be the inspiration for a creepy story. Great shots.

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  22. beautiful! wish we had something like that here. . . kind of boring around here even though. . . it's quite a big city (the twin cities, mn). doesn't make sense. i hear many great things and deals about most all chinatowns.

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  23. LOVE the photos - so colorful!

    Happy Favorite Things Thursday!

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  24. Amazing photos as usual! I am so blessed to see places I have never been through you and James Dean. Your lucky..my dear hubby would NEVER go on a shoot with me!

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    1. Shay...come to Philly and I will take you around! :)

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  25. Such great photos.. And once again you got me laughing.. I really needed that today. Thanks..

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  26. Oh wow! Looks like you had a lot of fun with your camera! really interesting subjects and great photos!

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  27. Kathy, Chinese food and fab photos! what a great post. I'm so happy you linked this post to the blog hop today xo

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  28. I just love the shot of the bicycler and all those red lanterns and streetlights!

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  29. I can't pick just one favorite. I seriously love them all. Can't wait for the next installment.

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  30. Absolutely LOVE this post and all of the shots! Sounds like you had quite an adventure! :-D

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  31. Kathy! your photos look like they belong in National Geographic! Fabulous photography!

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  32. Oh my gosh Kathy. I am absolutely in love with your post today. The shots make me feel as if I'm right there. It's like Kathy's travel guide. Brilliant, colorful and full of life photos. That first shot dragged me in and captured my attention right away. Great stuff

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  33. Oh, I love your blog with the big, gorgeous photos! How nice to find you through Katherine's Corner...
    Courtney

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  34. What a great post! I didn't know Philadelphia had a Chinatown. I hope you found a good place for lunch! I'm hungry just thinking about it - I haven't had good Chinese food since moving to Maine. Your photos are wonderful from first to last. I can understand your difficulty in trying to edit them down to just a few to post. Looking forward to more!

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