Why Chinatown is Always in Fashion

Twenty-eight years of Szechuan chicken, volcanoes, and fun traditions. 

// By Jenn Rice
// Photography by  ERIN BURK

Chinatown is a family-owned-and-run spot that has been cherished by locals and visitors for its delicious and affordable menu since it opened in Grand Teton Plaza in 1997. In April 2015, a fire in Chinatown’s section of the plaza destroyed the restaurant as we knew it. (It was the neighboring business, Habitat Re-Store, that suffered the most in the fire; the damage in Chinatown was mostly from smoke and water.) For 16 months, Jackson Hole was without the restaurant. In August 2016, it reopened after being renovated and enlarged (the space increased from 3,500 to 4,000 square feet). While the new interior lacks the charm of the old one—pre-fire, there was a koi pond just inside the entrance—the restaurant became even more popular than it was before. It’s one of the few non-fast-food places in town where a family of four can get a great meal for about $70. 

With the exception of two hand-carved wooden arches close to the entrance, the Chinatown 2.0 decor is no frills, and that’s part of the appeal. The dining room tables are dark wood, and chairs and booths are upholstered in pleather. These, along with the wood coffered ceiling and wall-to-wall carpet tiles make the space feel like Anywhere USA. The arches—carved and painted in red, gold, and black—suffered only minimal damage in the fire. They were refinished and reinstalled. Former owner Salomon Ly (he sold most of the business to a cousin six years ago) told the Jackson Hole News & Guide he thought the arches originally came from China.

The strategy at Chinatown should always be to order enough food to cover your table’s surface. The extensive menu offers authentic Chinese cuisine spanning Cantonese, Szechuan, Hunan, and Peking dishes including sesame chicken, Mongolian beef, and egg drop soup. Everything is made with fresh ingredients and traditional cooking methods to ensure the best flavors. The service is always friendly, and no matter when you call, the answer to how long takeout will take is always “20 minutes.” The answer to “can I make a reservation?” is always, “just come in.”

In my opinion, these are the three best ways to experience Chinatown:

A Holiday Celebration with Friends

When I became a full-time resident of Jackson, Chinatown became synonymous with holiday gatherings—a celebration with friends who were stuck working over the holiday break at various resorts and restaurants during the peak busy season. We’d make a reservation for 20 people on Christmas Eve, and they’d push several tables together to create an extended dinner party setting. Volcanoes—large ceramic tiki bowls filled with a variety of rums and juices, with the center lit on fire for effect—dotted our holiday tables as decor. One boozy Volcano, four people, four straws, one race. I don’t recall what the prize was for the winner, but it was always a good time. As Chinatown puts it: “An eruption is more than this establishment wants, but when you sip from a conjugal volcano bowl with fire in the center, the manager will understand.” It was the most fun, nontraditional celebration and a ritual I looked forward to year after year.

The Best Takeout 

The Chef’s Special Chinese Family Dinner, at $20 per person, is enough food to warrant next-day breakfast leftovers with a fried egg on top. It’s always a hit for bad weather days and best enjoyed as takeout. The feast includes egg drop or hot and sour soup, several trinkets wrapped in aluminum to keep warm (think egg rolls and crab rangoons), egg fried rice, and a bevy of entrees to choose from, including almond chicken, sweet and sour pork, green pepper beef, moo goo gai pan, Szechuan pork, and kung pao chicken. The strategy is to get two or three people and order several different entrees.

Dine-In for the Special Dishes

Oddly enough, my takeout order versus dine-in order at Chinatown is very different. Dine-in, outside of the Christmas Eve celebration, is meant for savoring dishes that are better slurped up fresh out of the kitchen. This includes Peking duck noodle soup; hot and spicy kung pao shrimp with water chestnuts, mushrooms, and peanuts; shrimp, beef, and chicken combo lo mein; and bean curd with Chinese vegetables. There will always be leftovers. JH