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Q: Best Chinatown in the world?
(Thanks to Scandinavian for the inspiration to ask this question.)
Outside of China - which does not qualify as a Best Chinatown in the World (and you know why) - what do you think IS the best Chinatown anywhere in the world?
Scandinavian suggested San Francisco.
In my experience, the Best Chinatown in the World is in:
Sydney, Australia! Great restaurants & pubs, clean streets, beautiful women, not far from the CBD, Glebe, the Rocks, etc.
San Francisco runs a close second, followed by New York, imho.
(Was in Vancouver recently and its Chinatown is toward the bottom of the list. Two streets maybe?)
Any other candidates for the Best Chinatown in the World?
I did not say San Fran had the best China Town, merely that it is cleaner than any city in China. It is somewhat of a guess as I have never actually been to Frisco, but what place outside China would not be cleaner than any place inside China.
Red_Fox:
True, true. Apologies for misinterpreting your comment. I'll be more careful in future. And I suppose you do have a point about the cleanliness factor...
Honolulu has a great Chinatown. Better than Sydney easily.
Red_Fox:
Never been, but take your word for it! So, for sh*ts and giggles, let's construct a Top Ten of Best Chinatowns in the World! Game?
So far, we have Honolulu and Sydney. Any other gamers?
I was talking to a Chinese guy in Canada about China and things like garbage, spitting. He asked if I had been to China town in Toronto and I said not for years. He said its just like China, garbage and all.
I haven't been there in years, but I think most Chinese live in Vancouver in Canada, maybe The Dude or nevermind can critique.?
I will have to agree and say it's San Francisco. I've been to that one and New York. I've also seen the one in Korea. By far from all the places I've been I would have to agree and say its. SF!
Canadas north, no wait, those aren't Chinese, they're Eskimos, but it would be a good place to send Chinese immigrants, partly cause no one else wants to go there and Chinese will eat anything.
TedDBayer:
Ooops, forgot that Chinese don't like cold food. They will never know the joy of eating frozen fish and blubber,
The two Chinatowns I've been to are in San Francisco and New York City.
SF CT is dirty, smelly, and tightly packed with angry Cantonese people who STILL stare awkwardly at non-Chinese because their community is so homogenous they've forgotten they live in America. Their lifestyle makes them seem like they're stuck in the 1950s, plus they still do that annoying "music" (extremely loud bullsh*t noises) to scare away "spirits" (anyone with ears). Of course tourists love it, though, because of Sinophilia and all that nonsense. Even the way the locals speak Cantonese is archaic. Worst of all, most of the restaurants are extremely overpriced, even by SF standards, and the affordable ones serve crappy food and/or are unable to communicate in English.
NYC CT is bigger, has more room to walk, and is more modern, plus the restaurants are cheaper and tastier, and the grocery selection is much better. They're also more accustomed to living in a multicultural society, which is nice - I don't want to feel like I'm actually in China when I'm just trying to get some cheap dumplings.
Well I have only been to San Frans and Philly,
Philly's is horrible, its basically non-existent, slowly fading away (just like my 76ers)
In comparison I would say San Fran's was pretty cool, I went there just before coming to China and it was eerily similar to real world China. They even had seedy pink light massage houses and my friend got a rub and tuck, told me she...........nevermind I won't finish that.
But SF CT is cool, you really feel like you are leaving America and wandering into China there. In Philly u just feel like u wandered down another crime struck street, deserted by locals.
t91camp:
That feeling of wandering into China is exactly why I don't like the SF one. 
At least we got the same feeling.
I visited the Chinatown in Chicago once before I came here. I had just started studying Chinese and was excited to test out some questions, but everyone there spoke mostly Cantonese I think. It was an interesting experience, but I'm not sure how it compares to more developed ones like the one in San Francisco that I always here about.
The best Chinatown would be in Vancouver. The "real" Chinatown however is to be found in the suburb of Vancouver call Richmond. This whole city is one giant Chinatown. You will find some of the best Chinese food outside of Asia here.
The best Chinatown would be in Vancouver. The "real" Chinatown however is to be found in the suburb of Vancouver call Richmond. This whole city is one giant Chinatown. You will find some of the best Chinese food outside of Asia here.
I''ve been to the one in London many times, and apart from having insanely expensive restaurants I was happy to find many markets that sold all the snacks and sauces I love in China.
