5 Instagram Worthy Chinatown Spots in Chicago

One of my goals in 2022 has been to explore more of Chicago. I’ve been living here with my husband, Hart, for about 3.5 years. I’ve certainly done my fair share of exploring, but I feel like there is still so much to discover. I love fully immersing myself into different neighborhoods. There are more than 200 neighborhoods that make up 77 communities. Each neighborhood has its own vibe and is full of its own culture so I’m going to try to do “day trips” through the different neighborhoods in the city. First up on my exploration list is Chinatown.

We had a blast with our day in Chinatown. I spent a lot of time growing up in San Franciso’s Chinatown. This has led me to huge biases towards it and constant comparison whenever I’m exploring a Chinatown in a different city. We went to Chicago’s Chinatown a week after moving to Chicago on a whim and we hadn’t done a lot of research on where to go or what to eat. This was a mistake because what we didn’t realize at the time is that a lot of the restaurants are kind of hidden in a bustling alleyway. We missed so much.

The second time we went, I did some research. We spent the day eating our way through the neighborhood. Fortunately, I still have a long list of restaurants I want to try. We’ll back very soon! I thought it would be fun to switch up my travel guide style and provide the top 5 places you’ll want to pull your phone out at. Below I’ll share my favorite Instagrammable spots!

Kong Dog

I found out about Kong Dog scrolling through Instagram reels and knew immediately that I wanted to check it out. They’re popping up throughout Chicago and have earned a name for themselves through TikTok. The menu consists of Korean corndogs with colorful and unique toppings like Fruity Pebbles or potatoes. You can fill it with cheese, beef or a combination of cheese and beef.

I got the potato corn dog with cheese for myself and Hart opted for the churro corn dog with half beef half cheese. They were AMAZING. I would 10/10 recommend anyone try it – whether they’re at the Chinatown location or another one throughout the city. They’re the perfect balance of sweet and savory. Next time, I’d like to try the one with Fruity Pebbles on top.

Te’Amo

You can’t go to Chinatown without a stop at one of the many milk tea bars. We love milk tea. Neither one of us LOVE boba – it’s a texture thing – but we will still add it to our tea every now and again. Their tea was wonderful, as a I expected, but what makes this place Instagram-worthy are the re-usable memo cups you can purchase with with your tea. Once we had our teas and memo cups, we decided to continue walking and exploring Chinatown. The next stop on our “day trip” to Chinatown was Ping Tom Park.

Wall Murals

This leads me to my next two recommendations for getting a good backdrop for your Instagram. The first two places were food oriented, but you may also want to get a photo of you with a good background. There are a couple great mural options for you to go to in Chinatown.

Ping Tom Park

The first option is this beautiful mural wall in Ping Tom Park. Ping Tom Park is a peaceful just past the train tracks and on the water. It has a playground for children, a walking/running path for runners, benches for people watching and a beautiful floral mural for pictures. When you’re ready to leave the park, you can follow a red lined path to bring you back to the Chinatown gates. You can also do that path in the other direction.

You’re Beautiful

Just past the Chinatown gates, you’ll find a mural that says “You are Beautiful” in the Allen Lee Plaza. This is a very popular spot for photos so if you’re camera shy with a crowd, this may not be the spot for you. However, if you are needing someone to take your picture then this is the spot for you.

Sushi Rotary

Once we were pictured out and ready for more food, we set our eyes on Sushi Rotary. I had been wanting to check out this restaurant for months after spotting it (yet again) on Instagram. This sushi restaurant brings you sushi by rotary belt. The plates are color coordinated to indicate price and someone will tally up your charges when you’re ready to check out. You can order other menu items, like miso soup or even ramen, and it’ll be brought to you by robot! Unfortunately, we weren’t able to experience the robot while we were there but we did see it when we first put our name in.

Mango Mango

Continuing on my food tour, I wanted to stop by Mango Mango for a post-dinner dessert. After a day of eating, I knew we needed to split something. We decided to share a slice of mango crepe cake and get some mango tea to help digest. Let me tell you – it was amazing. What I was not expecting was getting my tea in the cutest Bridgerton-esque tea kettle and tea cup. The shop, which is a chain, is super cute as well. They have a boxwood wall backdrop and a mango swing chair – both of which are perfect for capturing pictures for your Instagram!

Well, that officially wraps my recommendations for Instagramming your way through Chinatown. You can watch a quick reel recap on my Instagram here. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!