Originally Posted by
BlindPilot
Thanks for the input. Appreciate it.
Wow, I didn't even know that there are many China towns to choose from. It will be my first time in Toronto but I'll be hotel hopping during my stay (downtown, airport area and a hotel in York Mills road,not sure what neighborhood/area that is exactly).
Which of the China towns is the biggest (best?)?
Except for NYC and SF/Oakland, there's usually just one real "Chinatown" in each metropolis (mostly near downtown). Post-1980 Chinese immigration to North America has created a post-Chinatown environment typified by Chinese-oriented strip malls and small indoor malls mushrooming across suburban communities where immigrants concentrate (i.e. where new immigrants settle and old "Chinatown" immigrants resettle). This has confused traditional terminology to a point that in SF's South Bay, clusters of Asian businesses appear every half mile but there is simply no "Chinatown", while in Las Vegas, a strip mall is named (and recognized as) "Chinatown".
And you might need a rental car to get a real overview of these suburban "Chinatowns" since malls are scattered.
Not having been there for a long time, I'd start my search of Chinese malls with a store listing of the major Asian chain supermarket (which usually serves as a mall's "anchor" store) in Canada:
http://www.tnt-supermarket.com/main-e.php