Chinatown Ottawa
July 27, 2022
In the mood for Dim Sum? Head for Chinatown. There are almost 40 cities in the US with a one, Canada has ten, one in Ottawa. In 1931 Chinese immigrants along Albert Street started Chinatown with 4 restaurants, 3 laundries, and 2 grocery stores. Years later all of those shops closed, forced out by commercial development. In the 1970s with an influx of thousands of Chinese immigrants a new Chinatown emerged along Somerset, where it remains well established. This version is a vibrant, multicultural area offering up Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Mexican, Indian, Korean, Japanese, Middle-Eastern, African and Brazilian cuisine. I was fortunate to be in Ottawa during the Annual 3-day Chinatown Night Market, an event celebrating Chinese culture with street food, peddlers, music, and performances.
Food was everywhere, so was smoke. Grilled beef, pork, octopus, scallops and probably a few other things I missed were the chosen foods on a stick for the day.
After walking around for awhile, and looking at all that food, I was feeling a bit peckish. although the offerings in front of me were tantalizing, I wanted to sit down in a restaurant. After passing through the Royal Arch I came across “Saigon Boy,” a small Vietnamese restaurant. The food was terrific, so was the beer. It was just what an old photographer needed.
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