GCCA Yard Sale

Right now until the 17th the Greater Chinatown Community Association is collecting new or gently used items for its yard sale. It's a great way to sneak in a last minute tax deduction. Donating old items also makes me one to fill my closets with something new.

In NYC, the terms vintage and consignment is very in. I'm sure that there will be lots of hidden treasures sold at this event. All the proceeds also benefit the GCCA which works for bettering the Chinatown community.

The event will take place on April 18th from 9am-3pm. It will be held in the Transfiguration Courtyard across from the GCCA. (105 Mosco Street)

Attend with friends for a fun afternoon of bargain shopping! Hope to see you there!

CREATIVE SIGN PROJECT

The kids at CPC Division street have been redesigning our banner and awning. Today marks the end of their final design! The CPCers of course had to party with ice cream to celebrate!

I was blown away by the creativity of these elementary schoolers. When they grow up, I may one day be out of a job!

We should be celebrating our "sign make over" the first week in May! Stay tuned!

TWITTER

CICF would like to announce that it has finally started to Twitter!

ChinatownICF is our login name.

www.twitter.com

The Dining Room Management Group

Last night, I met up with a friend and a group of people for dinner and karaoke. Since I don’t like to sing in front of people, I went for the food. The place was called The Dining Room Management Group. It was the first place in Chinatown I have been to that has a formal and sophisticated name. Although its name stands out from the other restaurants in Chinatown, its cuisine was similar to most of the neighboring establishments. What was different and very cool about this place is their basement. There were 2 private rooms for dinner and karaoke- great for parties! Reservation was easy and the rooms were more than affordable; or borderline cheap. You don’t want to miss this! Check it out:

The Dining Room Management Group Inc.
102-104 Mott Street, New York, NY 10013
(212) 925-1118/6661

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles

Jennifer 8 Lee, author of the Fortune Cookie Chronicles is holding a party for the release of her paperback edition.  Powerhouse Books in Dumbo, Brooklyn will be jumping with a party that will also be featuring CICF ice cream and cupcakes.  (Now that's what I call a party! =) )

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles demystifies how the familiar Chinese American foods that we consume regularly came about. We know what General Tso's Chicken is, but who was he?  Where on earth did the idea of fortune cookies come from?  This is a total great read for any foodie!

Tonight, there will be a DJ, beer, ice cream and cupcakes that will be accompanying Jennifer 8 Lee's appearance.  

Tonight, March 11th, 7:00-1o:00 at Powerhouse Books

37 Main Street, Brooklyn

Please RSVP to rsvp@powerhousearena.com

CICF CAKES AT NY CARES

Our mini CICF Cakes made their way to the NY Cares 2009 Soiree.  

Despite the fact they were not laid out with marketing material, attendees recognized the cakes as being part of CICF.  They have already established an identity on their own! 

*Mini CICF Cakes available upon request.  For info, please email christinaseid@chinatownicecreamfactory.com*

BONE MARROW DRIVE

My friend Wincheng from my college days was diagnosed with Leukemia a few years ago. She went through a period where she was in remission and has recently relapsed. Wincheng is in need of a bone marrow transplant.

Wincheng's friends who love her very much have organized a bone marrow drive for her. We encourage you to attend or volunteer. Below details are listed:


Saturday, February 21st from 10 am to 3 pm at the Charles B. Wang Community Center in Chinatown (Canal St. Location)

You can learn more information about the National Bone Marrow Registry and what you can do to help out Wincheng and many others. You'll be able to join the Registry on site as well! Please feel free to invite friends, family, co-workers!! EVERYONE will be able to register for FREE!!!

If you are interested in helping out during the drive, please contact Bertha at: bertha.cheng[@]gmail.com. We do need help with publicizing the drive, manning the tables, and fluent translators. Please email any other questions to: all4wincheng[@]gmail.com.

If you are interested in joining the Registry, but are unable to come, you can sign up for a free home-kit at http://www.aadp.org/pages/register.php or http://www.dkmsamericas.org/category/marrow-donors/become-donor.

If you are interested in hosting a bone marrow registry drive at your workplace, school, etc. Please contact all4wincheng@gmail.com for more information. We would be more than willing to help!

Thank you for your support!!!!!


Every 5 min, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer.
Every 10 min, someone dies from blood cancer.
10 min of your time, might save a life.

DURIAN ICE CREAM

Yesterday, we were on Fox Five for a segment on exotic foods with medicinal benefits. They came in search of the durian ice cream with a world famous food expert.

Everyday you learn something new. Durian is surprisingly an aphrodisiac. For those of you unfamiliar with the spiky fruit, it is banned in many places in Asia because of its strong rotting smell. Despite its infamous smell, people find it irresistibly delicious!

With today being Valentine's Day, durian might just be our most in demand flavor!

Happy Valentine's Day and happy durian ice cream eating!

LUCKY CAKES DEBUT AT MAYOR'S RECEPTION

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg had his Lunar New Year reception. CICF was again given the honor of creating festive food for the occasion.

Our Lucky Cakes made their debut for Lunar New Year and were quite the hit of the night. The red velvet cupcakes will hopefully bring a year of luck to us all!

http://chinatownicecreamfactory.com/node/248

Missing Marilyn Feng

This past weekend, my friend Marilyn Feng was killed by a drunk driver as she was walking. She was coming from tango classes with her boyfriend. He is in critical condition. She was supposed to start work today at Chinatown's Manpower.

Marilyn was very involved in the APA community. She had formerly worked at the Borough President's office and for Asian Women in Business. Marilyn was only a few years younger than I and had already held a degree in law from NYU.

As I walked through the neighborhood today, I couldn't help but think of her. We girls had a list of things that we wanted to try out in the Chinatown area. We were planning to do everything from taking kickboxing classes, to getting a back massages and dinners. She was going to start work today, just down the block from where I am. There seemed to be so much time ahead of us. Now I realize and regret that our time was cut short.

I had just seen her a couple of weeks ago and she was perfectly healthy. A young girl with a love for the community and a bright future ahead of her.

The community and the world suffers a loss. I encourage people to be careful while driving and to be especially responsible when drinking.

We will all be missing Marilyn Feng...

CANTON KITCHEN

I have recently been exploring more new restaurants that have been popping up on the other side of Canal Street. A new favorite of mine is Canton Kitchen.

They have quite a variety of dishes. I like that fact that they offer something called "spa cuisine" which is a selection of very healthy items. Spa cuisine dishes include things like a variety of steamed vegetables, shrimp, and chicken to choose from.

The also offer the not so healthy alternative for some of my cravings. I love their fried chicken wings. Great for cold days like today to eat at home while watching some movies!

In this economy, their lunch specials are quite appealing. From 11am to 4 pm, you can choose from over 50 different items that come with a choice of either fried or white rice. They even somehow manage to throw in a soup! Now, that's what I call a bargain.

They are open 7 days a week from 8 am to 11pm. They also offer free delivery from 11am to 10pm.

Canton Kitchen
212-343-2623 ; 212-343-9496
Located at 171 Hester Street, NY 10013

The Notorious MSG Chinese New Year EXTRAVA-GANGSTER

On Chinese New Year Eve, one of my favorite bands is going to be playing in Chinatown.

Other performers will include Peelander-Z and Beluga & Gelatine.

Save the date: January 25th @ 100 Lafayette Street; 7pm. Admission $12. For more information check out www.notoriousmsg.com

LION DANCE COMPETITION

This Sunday will be the first annual Lion Dance Competition. Tickets run $10/$20/$50. What's great is that all the proceeds go to charities like the Greater Chinatown Association.

Lion dancing is a beautiful art that is an essential part of our lunar new year. I am excited to see the talent that comes out to Columbus Park for the showdown.

Come join me for some great entertainment while making a small monetary contribution to our community. That's how we should ring in the new year!

January 11th from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Volunteers wanted. Please email asianliondanceleague@gmail.com for more information.

Tickets can be purchased at BLT Merchandise Inc. at 77 Mulberry Street.

TRIP TO PHILLY

I just returned from my trip to Philly (aka Home of the Cheesesteak). What was really cool about my trip was taking the bus from our NYC's Chinatown to Phillly's Chinatown. I got a round trip ticket for $20 bucks! That's the price of a cab ride from Chinatown to the UWS.

I've known about the buses to Philly for a long time now, but never realized how convenient it is. They leave almost every half hour and the trip is oh so smooth.

My good buddy recently moved out there, so I ventured to find out more information. Before this visit, I haven't been to Philly since 4th grade.

Now that I realize that the bus is so affordable and reliable, I will be visiting Philadelphia much more often.

Also note that these buses also go to Ohio, Richmond, and other cities. The location of the bus office is on Division and Market Street.

Yello

Last night we I had some good food and drinks with lovely friends. These people also happen to be APA advocates from around the city. It was nice to bring them into Chinatown and chit chat about politics in the city.

I don't much alcohol but I do love the food at Yello. For a bar or even for a restaurant, the food is surprisingly good. I am a huge fan of their chicken wings and Belgium fries. My friends are also lovers of their quesadillas.

In this picture: Andy Woo (John Liu's Office, Brooklyn APA Advocate), Bonnie Duen (John Liu's Office), Me, Margaret Li (from Assemblywoman Ellen Young's Office, Kendra Lee (Executive Director Of the Greater Chinatown Community Association)

I'm super lucky to have such fabulous friends who are super involved in the community! We all love Chinatown!

Construction Plans in Chatham Square

Jan who has been a long time customer and fan of CICF is also a well known community activist. He has always kept me in the loop of what is going on. So the latest news now is that there are plans demolish Chatham Square and complete redirect traffic flow on almost all the streets coming into the square. Why is this a big deal? Because the city wants to push through plans without getting consent of the people in the neighborhood. Many Chinatown organizations feel that the public hearings on the plans are being held so close to the release of the information and during the Thanksgiving and Christmas vacation times for many people, that there is not possibly enough time to review the data. In Jan's words, "The way the information is being released is almost to keep people out of the loop of what is going on." Construction in Chinatown is usually always terrible unless it is very well planned out. For the businesses as well as for the residents. As is, Chinatown has an overwhelming population with narrow streets. Many of our busiest streets are one lane. Several businesses in lower Manhattan, particularly around Ground Zero constructiuon sites have gone out of business because of prolonged street construction. Many waited for years for LMDC compensation which came too late, or was not enough to sustain them.

The businesses here suffer when it is difficult to receive or complete their deliveries. When the streets are hard to navigate, customers stay away from the Chinatown area all together.

Another problem is that Chinatown has a large elderly population. It is hard for ambulances and emergency vehicles to navigate with ease. These people are our family members, friends, and neighbors. We would like to them to be cared for as soon as possible in the event of an emergency.

During 1999, there was construction done on the water main in which they had to dig up the street. When it is unpleasant to commute to the area because roads are under construction, businesses go out. During this time many businesses had gone under.

Right now we are in midst of postponing construction until the public has been notified about all the details.

Chinatown Neighboring Businesses

The restaurant Yee Li on the corner on Bayard and Elizabeth street had a gas fire a couple of weeks ago. The noise was so loud that it woke up everyone in the neighborhood. A good portion of the restaurant was burned out and renovations are currently taking place. This restaurant is owned by the same people who own Hsin Wong mid block.

Today, I went to Hsin Wong for my regular "som bow fan," where you get 3 dishes over rice. The owner insisted on treating me to dinner because I had treated him to ice cream on occasion a few months before. I was very touched by the gesture. Even though one of his restaurants just burned to a crisp, he chose to offer me a free meal.

Chinatown is beautiful in that way. It is a real community that cares about each other. Even though not all of us physically live in the area, the space connects us all.

Best Date Spot In Chinatown!

A couple of weeks ago, Time Out NY called me. They were researching an article and wanted to know my opinion on the best date spots in Chinatown. With the economic slump in NY, guys are looking for new, cool and inexpensive places to take their dates on.

I may have already blogged about this in the past, but I think Chinatown is a fabulous place for a date!You can get a good meal at a restaurant for $5 and up. Also, Chinatown is nice and quiet in the evenings, great for walking and exploring the different streets.

If I had to name my favorite restaurant in Chinatown, it would probably be Hsin Wong which is located across the street from me. I eat there at least 3 times a week and always get a delicious and hearty meal for $5-$6.

Hsin Wong is especially good for non-Chinese guys to take their date to. They can order dishes that is unique to Chinese cuisine. Chicks dig guys who are cultured about food.

HSIN WONG RESTAURANT, 72 Bayard St, NYC, 212-925-6526

CUPCAKES FOR AAWW

The Asian American Writer's Workshop is having their Literary Awards Reception today and they requested for some of my CICF cakes.

My friend, Ken Chen is the Executive Director of the workshop. Ken has been making efforts to be more involved in the Chinatown community so when he asked for 200 cupcakes, I couldn't turn him down. ( I think it could also be the fact that in his past career, he was a lawyer and convinced me without me knowing?) Just kidding...

In short, I was up all night making pandan cupcakes. For those of you who are unaware of what pandan is, it's a Malaysian leaf used to flavor a lot of desserts. If you ever go to a Malaysian bakery and wonder why all their pastries are green, it is probably because they are pandan flavored. This cupcake I created was inspired by our pandan ice cream that has been a big seller at our shop.

For more details on the Literary Awards Reception, visit http://www.aaww.org/

CICF CUPCAKES FOR EL MAESTRO

CICF recently donated cupcakes and copies of “Saturdays in Chinatown” to the El Maestro Cultural Center in the South Bronx. They celebrated the renovation of their space with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

My friend, Mabel helped her friends with the renovations. They raised money and renovated in under 10 days! I am glad to see that people are supporting non-profits.

El Maestro was founded by two brothers, Ponce and Pedro. A real grassroots organization, they do not receive any government funding. Their goal is to provide the community with a place for sports (boxing) and education for adults and children.

I hope to continue to connect children in different neighborhoods across the city through children's literature.

Taylor Poarch with a copy of "Saturdays in Chinatown"