Winnipeg has an immense downtown for a city its size. Centred around Portage Avenue and Main Street, it includes Winnipeg's exchange district, The Forks, and Chinatown. We decided to explore Chinatown on Friday with fellow exchange students from the Netherlands, in hope of finding some exotic Asian treasures (i.e. food and groceries). There are 3 of them; 2 of Chinese and Indonesian descent respectively, that's why they were interested in Asian foodstuffs like us.
Downtown Winnipeg is very different from where we are right now - for once in my first week here, I saw high-rise buildings! And really, that's cos the university's located in a suburban area, so it looks like an ulu little town. Anyhow, majestic brick buildings and banks towered over us, finally breathing the slightest hint of a city. Strangely though, it still isn't as bustling as back in Singapore; there are fewer people, fewer vehicles, and definitely it still felt less busy and stressful.
But frankly, I can't say much right now cos I haven't really visited the must-see places of interest in downtown yet. So let me concentrate on narrating my founded treasures from Chinatown, which is really the intended highlight of this post! We saw an Oriental Market, and lo and behold, a whole array of familiar brands, foods, sauces and all lay before our very eyes, even mooncakes, which I have been craving for since MAF is coming! Anyway, I think it's a common thing to swoon about Asian stores man, I still remember Luyi and Kaykey rattling on about the Ah Chau grocery store with its frozen dim sum in Switzerland.. haha.
The street signs here have little hints of Chinese in them, with the lantern and even a Year of the Rat sign! Quite cute.. and the pic to the right below shows a cutesy Chinese telephone booth too.. haha.
Oriental Market, aka hua2 sha4
Yeo's, Maggi, Lee Kum Kee, Asian Home Gourmet... drinks include Vitasoy and other green teas, apple teas etc.! The Vitasoy even has red bean, yam and other "Asian" flavours..
Happily shopping, and then a good Chinese (albeit super alot of MSG) dinner at Wang Jiao restaurant
My treasures for today include my white lotus yolk mooncakes, winter-melon tea and 1 yan-yan, and oh, we bought 5 packets of Indo-Mie mee goreng too! hahahaha.
Some pictures of downtown for now:
Near Portage Place, and I like the picture to the right..
Some parts of the exchange district
Okay, more pics to come when I revisit Downtown again!