Philip Chong created Canal Street Market as a way to do something different with the 12,000-square-foot retail space at 265 Canal, which his family owns. The shopping half opened back in December with a mix of permanent and temporary vendors selling objets d’art, jewelry, bonsai, and so on. The food half opened with a dozen vendors, all but one of which are long-term. (One of the stalls is being reserved as a pop-up space.) It looks fantastic, more stylish than Hudson Eats at Brookfield Place, and if there’s an eerie lack of smell, it’s likely due to the fact that the cooking happens elsewhere, with dishes assembled on the premises. Given the location on the edge of Chinatown, the emphasis is on Asian cuisine—dim sum, Korean BBQ, ramen, bubble tea, and so on—but you’ll also find salads, Lebanese-inspired dishes, and grain bowls. If you live or work nearby, you can take your food back to the home or office, but anyone planning to eat at Canal Street Market may find the lack of seating—or even standing—to be a potential problem. There are a handful of high tables in back, some wooden bench seats, and a counter up front, and one vendor (The Izakaya/Samurice) has four dedicated stools. But that’s it. And the nearest outdoor seating is at Collect Pond Park, four blocks away.

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