For some, Thanksgiving can be the same every year: turkey, stuffing (the dish and your face), cranberry sauce, pie, family togetherness, etc. But what about mixing it up this year and either taking a trip to pick up some exotic treats or actually eating your traditional meal in Chinatown?

This holiday just might be the perfect time for culinary exploration into traditional and progressive Chinese Thanksgiving cuisine. Recently, I had the immense pleasure of partaking in a feast fit for royalty at Golden City Seafood Restaurant (960 N. Hill St., Los Angeles; 213-253-2660).

The dinner started with a whole roast turkey stuffed with sticky rice, mushrooms and sausage instead of what most of us know to be stuffing. The barbecue turkey is cooked in the traditional barbecue-duck style – brined in a unique soy sauce marinade and roasted, resulting in a crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, sweet and savory turkey.

And then came the side dishes, in no particular order: steamed Santa Barbara prawns, Golden Garlic Bean Curd (with fried garlic pieces everywhere), Bamboo Fungus and Black Mushroom with Snow Pea Leaves, French-style Filet Mignon (too good to be true). One deliciously unique item was the Dried Scallop Winter Melon Soup with assorted meat. Even though we were served roast turkey, we were still treated to Peking Duck, served with bao, scallions and a special sauce to make into little sandwiches.

All in all, this was an amazingly delicious twist on the Thanksgiving meal. If all this sounds too good to miss, you can either pick up a turkey or dine-in at these historic Chinatown establishments below:

CBS Seafood Restaurant

700 N. Spring St., Los Angeles

(213) 617-2323

Hong Kong Chinese BBQ

803-807 N. Broadway, Los Angeles

(213) 687-7238

Hop Woo BBQ Seafood Restaurant

845 N. Broadway, Los Angeles

(213) 617-3038

J&K Hong Kong Cuisine

724 N. Hill Street, #216, Los Angeles

(213) 617-0638

Lien-Hoa Deli

721 N. Broadway, Los Angeles

(213) 625-5001

Lucky Deli (Wol Deli)

706 N. Broadway, Los Angeles

(213) 625-7847

Master Chef Restaurant

937 N. Hill St., Los Angeles

(213) 687-3638

Ocean Seafood Restaurant

750 N. Hill St., Los Angeles

(213) 687-3088

San Woo BBQ Express

727 N. Hill St., #111, Los Angeles

(213) 617-1063

Spring Street Smoke House

640 N. Spring St., Los Angeles

(213) 626-0535

Yum Cha Café

638 N. Broadway, Los Angeles

(213) 617-8698

Peking Poultry

717 N. Broadway, Los Angeles

(213) 680-2588

Shang Lee Poultry

711 N. Spring St., Los Angeles

(213) 617-2635

Superior Poultry 750 N. Broadway, Los Angeles (213) 628-7645