China Town

China Town in a big city outside China is basically a high energy enclave for the Chinese immigrants. The atmosphere here grants them a feeling of home away from home. Visiting this quarter, brimming with an action for almost 24 hours, is an exciting and rewarding experience for any tourist. Dixon Street marked by ceremonial archways, and guarding lions, and Sussex Street lined with traditional Oriental architecture is the heart of this neighbourhood, dotted with countless shops and arcades selling exotic Asian fruit and vegetables which are possibly not available in normal supermarkets. Gold jewellery, traditional costumes, herbal medicines, egg tarts and cakes, and of course Chinese tea, are few of the items that one can get here. Restaurants are in abundance, offering authentic Cantonese, Peking and Sichuan cuisine, from dim sums and pork dumplings, to varieties of seafood, meat and noddle dishes. The entire area is always filled with the aroma of food, which at times mixes with the smell of the burning incense sticks at nearby temples. Highlight of this precinct is the Paddy’s Market where locals and visitors gather to buy fresh produces, trinkets, souvenirs, and other merchandise, such as clothing, and watches, at bargain prices. Weaving through the Friday night market on Dixon Street is a popular excursion for sampling street food.