GUNG HEI FAT CHOY

I spent another delightful day Friday in New York for the start of the Lunar New Year celebration.  It was a lot of fun watching the lion dancers go up and down the street bestowing good fortune on the merchants.  Now you'd expect them to dance into restaurants and gift shops, but it kind of tickled me to see them in the Chase branch on Most Street.  It was an interesting juxtaposition between the sleek modern bank lobby and the ancient beauty of the costumes, music and dancing.  These groups are made up of mostly young volunteers.  Here is a shot of one of these groups staging up.  You really had to feel for them, as it was pretty cold and sort of dampish.

There were various celebrations around the area.  We visited a small fair nearby where we found this fellow, who I understand is in the garb of one of the gods of the New Year.  People were lining up to get their picture taken with him.

But the real treat came at the place my friend selected for lunch, where we had dumplings which were absolutely to die for!  I know there a lot of great restaurants in the district, but this is her favorite, and I can certainly see why.  The staff does speak some English, but having a Chinese-speaking dining partner will make it easier to navigate.  But I definitely and wholeheartedly recommend the place.  The name is Shanghai Helping on 104 Mott St.  They are on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shanghai-Heping-Restaurant/354325664598797

I had the opportunity for a little additional sightseeing on my way to the Path station.  It's an odd contrast that St. Paul's, one of the oldest buildings in the city

Is directly across from the newest

The Freedom Tower.

Oh, and I couldn't resist visiting one of the few exterior locations for the Castle TV show that's actually in New York (the show is filmed in and around Los Angeles).  This building is shown as Castle's loft.