Why I love Toronto's Chinatown

When I'm in Toronto and I need more than a couple dollars worth of groceries, I get on my bike (or sometimes my car) and head to Chinatown on Spadina. Many of my friends think I'm crazy for doing this, and they have some good arguments:

It's inconvenient: why bike a mile or so when there are at least 15-20 grocery stores within 5 blocks of my apartment (did you hear that, Ithaca? 15-20 grocery stores!)? It's dirty: you never quite know what you're stepping on, there are dead animals hanging in windows, and it's important to check berries for signs of mold. It's crowded and off-putting: stores are tightly packed and few people speak English.

And still others say that it's a relic of a bygone era that wasn't very nice to begin with: many immigrants with the means to do so shop at T&T (a Canadian chain that's sort of an Asian version of Whole Foods) or Pacific Mall in the suburbs, and there aren't even many markets like this left in China.

And yet, I still love it. Here's why:

It's efficient. The goal is here not to be polite, provide great service, conform to corporate policy, or work as slowly as possible until the end of one's shift. The goal, which somehow appears to be shared by everybody, is to sell a lot of stuff as quickly as possible. Classic example: if you're just buying one or two things and have exact change, just hold it up and make eye contact with a cashier who is processing somebody else's order. They'll take your money and you can go. No problem. The cash register software even supports this (they can shift between multiple simultaneous orders) at the larger stores. Ditto if the person in front of you is taking a while to pay; the cashier will start on your order and then return to the other person's. Amazing.

It's resourceful, with a refreshing sensibility that pervades everything. Nothing is wasted, and I don't feel like I'm paying for a show (note to Wegman's: the Irish music for selling St. Patrick's day beer was cute, but I'm still talking to you here).
Signs are often handwritten on cardboard. The produce isn't shiny. Stuff isn't unnecessarily refrigerated, periodically sprayed with water, or thrown away. Stuff that's ripe or very ripe is cheaper than stuff that isn't ripe yet. And they make good use of the weather: foods displayed on the sidewalk vary every day as the temperature changes (and are sometimes rotated inside to keep from freezing), and very cold days mean that all of the produce is inside, and frozen seafood is on the sidewalk. I respect that, and I'm pretty sure it saves me money too. It almost hearkens back to an era when refrigeration wasn't cheaper than labor, and energy cost real money.

Speaking of saving money, stuff in Chinatown is dirt cheap. Without getting into stereotypes, I may be genetically predisposed to enjoy a bargain (and I certainly like it a lot, even if it's not hereditary). Chinatown is very much a caveat emptor sort of world, but cheaper produce cannot be found in very many developed places on the planet. I find that I typically pay between 10 and 50% (I don't mean 10% less, I mean 10% of the price) of what similar items cost in supermarkets. Recent examples: Bean sprouts @ $.29/lb ($3.98 per lb @ Wegman's), quarts of strawberries @ 2 for $2, tomatoes @ $.59/lb, carrots @ $.39/lb, limes @ 5 for $1, atulfo mangoes @ 6 for $5, etc. It goes on and on.

It's educational. When stuff isn't clearly labeled and staff don't speak English, you very quickly learn to tell the difference between things like galangal, ginger and turmeric root (just ask anybody who tried the turmeric sorbet I accidentally made a few years ago-- oops!); thai basil, mint, rau ram and pandan leaves; etc. Yes, it's frustrating sometimes. But a bit of trial and error means sampling new foods and being better equipped for travel. I find it endlessly fascinating and there are still lots of things I haven't tried.

You can find just about anything. Durian? Sure. Rambutans? Yup. Mangosteens? Absolutely. With a little digging (and possibly some online research beforehand to find photos), it's possible to find just about anything in Chinatown.

And finally, it's fun. When I lived in Toronto, part of my routine for weekend visitors was to take them grocery shopping with me in Chinatown (and Kensington). They almost invariably loved this. Try taking your visiting friends to the supermarket with you and see what they say.