photo courtesy: NYC Company

The Real Chinatown at Pacificana, Brooklyn

So, if you’re traveling to New York, you’ll want to visit Chinatown in Manhattan, of course.

Well, maybe, if you have the touristy time: “There are three Chinatowns in New York City,” says Jimmy Ching, host at Pacificana, opened in 2006 in the Sunset Park neighborhood. “The one the tourists go to these days is in Manhattan. But there’s a second one in Flushing, which is predominantly Mandarin-speaking Chinese.”

The third is one of the fastest growing communities in the whole United States, home to many immigrants from the Fukian Province. “The area 15 years ago was mainly Cantonese Chinese, but it has since changed and the Fukian immigrants have a dominant presence now,” says Ching, a New York University graduate who had emigrated from Hong Kong at 5 with his family.

At 813 55th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, Pacificana is known throughout the city for the Hong Kong Dim Sum. But 150 menu items are available: exotic Seasoned Soy Sauce Duck Tongue, Jumbo Shrimp with Honey Walnuts, Lobster Fresh Fruit Salad, Crab-meat Soup Dumplings, Peking Pork Chops and Lamb Chops with Garlic.

But be patient: Although Pacificana seats 398 for Dim Sum and Hong Kong-style cuisine, the restaurant hosts many parties, including weddings, and you may have to wait, as you do for the best Chinese food in Chinatown, San Francisco.

Wait.