What's open in New York on Christmas: restaurants, movies and skating
This is the second installment in By The Way’s secular Christmas series. Read more about D.C., Chicago, Houston, Seattle and Los Angeles.
I grew up in San Francisco’s Chinese American community, where almost every Sunday — and traditionally on Christmas Day — it was a special treat to go out for dim sum with my family. As a child, I was fascinated by the servers and their clattering carts piled high with bamboo steamers bearing Cantonese delicacies. There were savory dumplings, bite-sized buns, copious sweets — and always tea.
Dishes might be steamed, baked or fried, offering eaters dozens of intriguing flavors, textures, shapes and colors, a delight for the eyes as well as the taste buds. It was so much fun to be immersed in the dining room chaos together with other Chinese families and friends. Nowadays in New York, my German-born husband and I continue the tradition, often going to Chinatown on Christmas Day for a secular celebration with friends who depend on me to guide them through the world of dim sum, which translates from Cantonese as “little things that touch the heart.”
Restaurants open in Chinatown on Christmas Day
Jing Fong
In Manhattan, where I live, Chinatown’s dim sum restaurants generally serve from 11 a.m. through the dinner hour, although historically the meal was exclusively intended for breakfast.
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I like to go to Jing Fong, where traditional dishes are served old-style from carts pushed by female servers in brightly colored Chinese tops. Jing Fong is known for the classics: siu mai (pork dumpling); har gow (shrimp dumpling); and char siu bao (BBQ pork buns).
Dim Sum Go Go
At Dim Sum Go Go, a more modern establishment, I adore their signature roast duck dumplings and mango shrimp rolls served with yummy house XO sauce and other condiments. I also love Go Go’s vegetarian three-star dumpling, a jewel-like creation filled with chopped jicama, cabbage and lotus root exquisitely wrapped in a delicate dough lightly colored with beet juice.
Vegetarian Dim Sum House
For staunch vegetarians, Vegetarian Dim Sum House is the first all-vegetarian dim sum establishment in Chinatown. Open day to night, their skilled cooks cleverly reproduce dim sum classics like shrimp dumplings, taro puffs and BBQ pork buns using mock meats. Not on the menu: my favorite watercress dumplings. Just ask.
Mee Sum Café
If you’ve ever wondered where the Chinatown locals really hang out, look no further than Mee Sum Café, a vintage coffee shop — complete with Formica countertops and vinyl stools — in business since 1967. Open from around 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Mee Sum caters to old-timers who might come for a cup of ginger lemon tea, a steamer of pork dumplings or a delicate sausage, Chinese bacon and scallion rice roll — the invention of owner Don Moy. Cash only, of course.
Where to see a movie in New York on Christmas Day
Battery Park Regal cinema
We often combine our Christmas meal in Chinatown with a stroll to Battery Park in Lower Manhattan, where you can sight-see and catch a movie.
Film Forum
The nonprofit Film Forum in Greenwich Village is a go-to for movie history buffs.
IFC Center
If you take a 5 minute walk from Film Forum, you can go to IFC Center.
Angelika Film Center & Cafe
The Angelika Film Center & Cafe in SoHo features “diverse mix of arthouse, independent and international films.”
Where to go sightseeing in New York on Christmas Day
Ting’s Gift Shop
If you’re starting out from Chinatown, be sure to stop in at Ting’s, a tiny emporium founded in 1957. One of the city’s most fascinating gift stores, Ting’s is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., selling everything from vintage children’s silk embroidered slippers to paper dragons and hand-painted snuff bottles. It’s like stepping back in time.
Renew Day Spa
From Ting’s it’s a short walk to 10 Bowery, where you can pop in for a 10-minute-or-longer nicely affordable foot massage at Renew Day Spa. I love to treat myself to this decadent pleasure; the best of all possible stocking stuffers.
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9/11 Memorial
My husband and I take frequent walks from Chinatown to Lower Manhattan’s Battery Park to watch the sun set behind the Statue of Liberty, a dramatic and inspiring sight at any time of the year.
At Ground Zero, we often pause for a moment of remembrance at the 9/11 Memorial reflecting pools located in the footprint of the two World Trade towers. Adjacent is the phenomenal Oculus, the monumental retractable roof of the WTC transit hub, a literally moving experience designed by Santiago Calatrava as a 9/11 tribute.
Also at the Battery is the selfie-worthy aquarium-themed SeaGlass Carousel, an immersive, ride-on fantasy of sound and sight kids won’t soon forget.
Rink at Brookfield Place
And for those who can waltz on ice, the Rink at Brookfield Place offers holiday skating overlooking the Hudson River — a cool way to end a festive day.
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