Chinatown Center

I can find everything and anything here to cook Asian cuisines

This is probably the worst Chinatown in. the USA! Seriously. It’s a JOKE. There’s nothing here but a strip of Viet shops and a very bad and disgusting supermarket (MT). It’s really pathetic that Austin would call this «Chinatown». You’d think the asian food in Chinatown would be amazing but in all honesty you can get way better asian food elsewhere and cheaper in Austin.

The Good:
: it’s a huge shopping complex with lots of Asian businesses, from restaurants to jewelry stores to bubble tea spots
: plenty of parking available
: they hold Asian New Year festivities here every year. awesome!
: gigantic grocery store is here (MT Supermarket)
: delish restaurants like Baguette House and Fresh Tofu
: dim sum at Fortune Chinese restaurant
: awesome bubble tea at Short n Sweet
The Bad:
: need more diverse offerings other than jewelry stores, nail places, restaurants, and grocery stores. it would be nice to see some clothing stores, some shoe stores, some stores that sell housewares, etc.
The Ugly:
: it’s an Asian shopping complex. this means a plethora of fucking shitty Asian drivers. people not paying attention when they back up, when they drive through parking spots like it’s a street, when they drive fast around tight curves, etc etc etc. Seriously? WTF? the stereotype of bad Asian drives exists solely b/​c of this shopping complex.
Would I go back? Of course! I’m Asian, so I think there’s some kind of unwritten law/​understanding that I’m bound to visit this complex at least twice a week.
This place is IN.

If you’ve ever been to a real Chinatown, this place will make you laugh. It’s just a strip mall. However, it’s jam-​packed with awesome shops, eateries and the illustrious MT Market.
Personally, I think the funniest thing about it is the big welcome billboard by the entrance. It says «Welcome to Chinatown Center» in several Asian languages, as well as Spanish (and maybe even Portuguese, if I recall). But Japanese is mysteriously missing… that always makes me chuckle.
And a quick aside to everyone who thinks that the drivers here are crazy: Just observe and you will find that the rules of driving are simply different in this parking lot. It’s not the chaos you think it is… it’s just not the order you want to impose. ;)

You know you’re at Chinatown Center because of the nifty Oriental arch, easily visible from Lamar.
While not on the scale of other cities’ Chinatowns, it’s still nice that Austin has a place like this. All kinds of Asian businesses are represented here: restaurants, sandwich shops, video store, jewelry store, beauty salons and of course, a large Oriental grocery store.
Special events are held here, too. We’ve been to the Chinese New Year festivals in past years. My daughter actually had her birthday party at one of them. All the children wore red, toured MT Supermarket, watched lion dances, martial art demonstrations, musical instruments demos and for the finale, witnessed the dragon dance dramatically while loud firecrackers went off all around. Afterward, everyone had bubble tea from Short ‘n Sweet for birthday dessert. Gong Hay Fat Choy!

It’s more of a «Southeast Asia» center than a Chinatown Center… there are Vietnamese, Korean, etc. stores there. There’s a wide variety of eating establishments, which is awesome, anchored by MT supermarket. Well worth visiting for food or shopping.

The Chinatown Center on N. Lamar Blvd is a place I end up at very often since my wife is Chinese. She goes to the MT market almost every week.
We have tried all the current restaurants in the center. I will review them individually when I have the time. However, my favorite is TC Noodle House my wife’s favorite is 1^st BBQ. The newest restaurant to open is the Fortune Seafood where Kim Son used to be.
They have ample parking very large lot. They have Chinese, Vietnam and Korean stores and restaurants. They have travel agencies and hair salons as well as the large supermarket.
Definitely worth at least one visit, if you’ve never been before.

I have to say I was very happy when I found out that Austin received their own Chinatown. Granted, not as large as San Francisco’s, Chicago’s, or Houston’s (hence the word «Center») but I still love it here.
Whether I’m browsing fresh tilapia or looking to buy bakery items and Filipino goodies at the MT Supermarket… or stopping by Lily’s Sandwich for a banh mi… or going to the Short ‘n Sweet Café for a boba… it doesn’t matter. I could spend all day at this place (and golly gee whiz! I have!).
I’ve been here for the last two Chinese New Years celebrations and definitely enjoyed the entertainment. I can’t wait until next year!
I especially love the rampant Engrish at the MT! I had a good laugh when I read a sign on one of the shelves that had cleaners and scrub brushes behind it. It read, «Please do not care about this. Go to next stuff»!! LOL