And who doesn’t love third-generation owner Harry Chan? I admire Harry because he’s always there to greet his guests and make sure they have a good meal. I always order beef chow fun and fried chicken wings. I like Tai Tung for classic Chinese-American fare, and the mid-century vibe. In celebration of the neighborhood, particularly right now, we asked local experts for their favorite things to eat there. By the 1980s, the newcomers were mostly from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

In the 1960s, Koreans and Pacific Islanders flocked to the area. The ID is resilient, and has seen waves of change over last century. Maneki is doing takeout for the first time in 116 years, and mom-and-pop shops are selling frozen dumplings by the bag from behind boarded-up windows. Now here we are, in the middle of a pandemic that has been tinged, including by the president, with anti-Asian overtones, and restaurants in the ID are hurting badly. The ugly side of Seattle’s past includes anti-Chinese riots, discriminatory laws, and the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. The history of the Asian communities in Seattle isn’t all just barbecue pork buns and egg tarts. The ID may have historical importance, but the neighborhood continues to draw restaurateurs like Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, who admits to “keeping a close eye on the perfect spot to open a restaurant,” before opening a branch of his Momosan ramen mini-chain there last September. Seattle Reign legend Megan Rapinoe, for instance, says her favorite restaurant here is Tamarind Tree, an institution in the city, where she gets fresh rolls with peanut sauce and the vermicelli bowl with lemongrass beef. To the east of Interstate 5, which bisects the neighborhood, is “Little Saigon,” where Seattleites will find the city’s best Vietnamese food.

Also in the ID are gift shops, the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, hair salons, martial arts studios, the massive Uwajimaya grocery store, and a wonderful children’s playground. The venerable Maneki has served sushi since 1904, and Tai Tung, the oldest Chinese restaurant in town, was Bruce Lee’s favorite. The ID, however, is where you’ll find the restaurants with longest legacies. In the tech-driven eastern suburbs of Bellevue and Redmond, the population is one-third Asian, and these cities are where you can find truly wonderful Chinese and Taiwanese food: Taiwanese pork burgers at Facing East, fresh soy milk and fan tuan at Tofu 101, juicy xiaolongbao at Xiao Chi Jie. “The Ave” (University Avenue), next to the University of Washington, is lined with cheap eats from around the world, a nod to its diverse student body. These days, the best Chinese food in the city isn’t confined to the neighborhood. Walking around its compact blocks today, you’ll hear lots of languages - Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, to name a few - and that variety is reflected in the range of cuisines that the neighborhood’s restaurants and markets serve. “The ID,” as locals call it, is the historic heart of Seattle’s Asian American experience, located just south of downtown and the Yesler Terrace neighborhood. Chinese settlers arrived on the waterfront, and as the frontier town grew, moved inland to the neighborhood now known as the International District. Asian people have been a part of Seattle since the Pacific coast city was founded in the 1850s.

Seattle chinatown dim sum