Restaurants were packed to capacity

My family's tradition of eating out on Christmas day was thwarted this year by the sheer number of diners that descended on Chinatown. We have about a half dozen restaurants that we frequent with a few all time favorites, including Hop Lee at 16 Mott St., and Hop Kee at 21 Mott St., and the new Chatham Restaurant on Chatham Sq. We thought that out of that many restaurants surely we'd be able to fit 10 people in for dinner somewhere, Ha! I walked from restaurant to restaurant with my cellphone in hand, reporting back to my mom that every single one of our favorite places was packed to capacity.
We ended up eating at my mom's house, ordering takeout (which is so easy to do when you live amongst Chinatown's best restaurants) and enjoying a peaceful meal at home.
Chinatown's restaurants needed that injection of commerce to get things really moving as we enter the new year. It was great to see, and although we didn't get to eat out that day, it was encourageing to see Chinatown's restaurant business flourishing.

Christmas in Chinatown was CrazyBusy

Chinatown was buzzing during the week of Christmas! It's not unusual to see thirty or forty people waiting on line to eat at some of Chinatown's favorite restaurants during the holidays, and this Christmas season was no exception. The warm weather and clear skies brought thousands of tourists to Chinatown. Sinotique was open throughout the holiday. What made this year different than previous years was the plethora of European tourists not only browsing but buying! Yay! Bring 'em on! With the slow down in retail sales in general all over the City, the influx of Europeans into Chinatown is surely a welcome sight.

Jewelry for Christmas at Sinotique

Got our shipment of jewelry from India yesterday. Hand carved, polished horn, and ox bone make up the bulk of the collection. A color for every occassion, and at $35.00 for a necklace or choker you can buy one for yourself and a few for gifts.

Got really colorful bangles too, at two for $14.00

Photographer Dah Len

Taiwanese born photographer Dah Len has been a New York institution for years, and a great client of Sinotique's since the beginning. He's a world class photographer, shooting the likes of Madonna, Mary J. Blige, Alec Wec, and even my neghborhood friend "Spawn", a kid from Chinatown who got all the way to a billboard on Times Square!

Here are photos by Dah Len, with props he purcahsed from Sinotique. I absolutely love working with Dah Len, he's a fast decision maker, and he's very professional, and he's gifted with a truly hysterical sense of humor, and love of what he does. You can't help but be uplifted when he visits.

Juan Montoya visits

Some time ago I met world reknown designer Juan Montoya when he was guest speaker at an antiques show I was exhibiting at in Washington, Connecticut. I was honored that he purchased some items from me for his own home. He purchased a huge water wheel from South India (which was featured in Architectural Digest in a spread of his summer home), and a low music table. Some time during the show he had told me he'd love to see my shop and to my surprise he came within a few weeks. My feature in Architectural Digest is thanks to Juan Montoya, a true gentleman, and a man with an ever present smile and sharp wit. Although his projects usually entail multimillion dollar budgets, he is always willing to help small shops and promote small business all over the world. I'll be eternally grateful and continually encouraged by his patronage.

Chinatown - Portraits, memories, and recipies

Ann Volkwein's long awaited book on Chinatown has finally been released, and we're thrilled. I am selling it at my store. Ann invited the press and all the folks who were featured in the book to a wonderful opening at Fu Lam restaurant on East Broadway a couple of weeks ago. It was a festive occassion with great food, drinks, and lively conversation. Although Ann was very busy with every manner of media asking her questions, the guests entertained themselves by catching up on business, issues, and life. In Chinatown most businesses are so focused within that having a chance to catch up with neighbors is a rarity sad to say. So Ann's opening was a welcome respite from the day's work environment , and we all celebrated a book that is sure to become the standard by which stories will be recorded in this part of the world.

Ann focused a large portion of her book on families and individuals from Chinatown. We're honored to have contributed to this wonderfully photographed and researched book.

Ann will be signing her books for sale at Sinotique at #19-A Mott St. NYC 10013, 212-587-2393, on Friday Dec. 14th, 07 so be at my store by 6:pm and get your autographed copy !!! Great Gift! Ann will share her experiences about what it was like putting together this tastey bit of New York culture.

For more information on Ann Volkwein please visit her profile in HarperCollins