An Insiders’ Guide to Seattle’s Chinatown

The diversity of Seattle’s Asian community is best captured in its name. In 1999, a city ordinance changed the neighborhood previously referred to as Chinatown to the Chinatown-International District (C-ID). After all, the neighborhood technically comprises of Japantown, Manilatown, and Little Saigon, in addition to its Chinatown.

“This is one of the only cities where it’s really called the international district,” chef Melissa Miranda, founder of Seattle’s Musang and Kilig, told Travel + Leisure. “It’s really beautiful to see that there’s the move to represent all the different communities.” (Miranda herself mindfully chose the location of Kilig, which opened in the fall of 2023, in an area where there once was a thriving Filipinotown, as part of the efforts to revive the C-ID’s Filipino community.)

It’s small businesses like hers that play such a crucial role in the rich culture of the neighborhood, especially as the C-ID was named one of America’s 11 most endangered places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation last year, constantly under threat from infrastructure and public transportation projects. That’s why it’s been so important to spotlight and support the local shops, as Laura Clise has been doing through Intentionalist, a robust online resource to guide people toward more intentional spending at small businesses in diverse communities.

Clide guided me through C-ID, starting with a taste of the delectable flavors of Miranda’s Kilig, where the Sinigang wings were a highlight, followed by a stop at Mam’s Books, one of the only Asian American independent bookstores in the country, which double as a cozy living room-like community gathering space.

We also visited the historic Kobo shop and women-owned Sairen, both with thoughtfully-curated gifts and specialty products, reflecting the Asian community. We ended with the Thai street food at the bustling E-Jae Pak Mor, with people all clamoring for its namesake dish, a steamed rice flour wrap. Afterward, I venture off to Henry’s Taiwan Kitchen, in search of stinky tofu, and am welcomed by the chef who has perfected the recipe to the point that the scent doesn’t radiate, but is robust to the taste.

Taken by the diversity of experiences, I returned the next day, starting at Hood Famous for its rice porridge and an ube latte and then visiting the Wing Luke Museum, where I fortuitously caught the Historic Hotel Tour, on which our group was led behind locked doors into an old convenience shop and hotel. I topped off my visit with a plateful of dumplings at Ping’s Dumpling House, served with a dose of welcoming hospitality. 

“Exploring the C-ID through the lens of local businesses is an opportunity not only to experience different flavors and cultures but also to connect with and get to know the people and stories behind them,” Clise told T+L. 

Denise Moriguchi, president and CEO at Uwajimaya, a family-owned Asian supermarket chain with four locations in the region, agrees, and told T+L: “Everyone has a different background and story but we all love the neighborhood and come together to support its health and vibrancy.”

So we talked to insiders like Clise and Moriguchi to recommend their top eight favorite spots to visit in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. Here are their picks.