On a cold Sunday we decided to walk from 23rd Street to Canal Street.
Our destination was "Excellent Dumpling" - the best dumplings in town.
This building - a little bit run down - is on Canal Street itself.It looks very Chinese.
This sign is on the corner of Lafayette and Canal - really cheerful looking.
Note the American flag behind it.
Lots of people are out on the street hustling handbags.
It reminds me of Marrakech and I want to say "Blesh" - "It's not necessary."
We realise we have learned the ins and outs of dealing with street vendors in Arabic rather well. not much intellectual conversation though.
In fact there are far too many people altogether on Canal Street.
Everything is amazingly cheap - but mostly the sort of thing that you wouldn't want if it was given to you.
For someone under the age of ten, it would be bliss.
Robert stands outside "Excellent Dumpling".
Here you get the fastest of fast food.
You sit at a table where the hot tea is already there in a metal pot.
We order scallion pancakes and steamed vegetable dumplings and a Tsingtao beer which arrive almost as soon as the words are out of our mouths.
Delicious. Best scallion pancakes in the universe.
Excellent dumplings.
We are handed our enormous bill - $10.36 -as we cram the last dumplings into our mouths.
As soon as the plates are empty, they are whisked away.
They make the service at McDonald's seem glacial.
It is early lunch time.
The tables are full -Chinese people, tourists,every ethnicity on the planet.
The servers are very busy and efficient.
People are waiting in line to get in.
We are back out on the street in less than half an hour.
It's a great place and totally worth it.
111 Lafyette St.
