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Not-Chinatown / Fish-heads On Ice
Seattle, WA - aer suzuki - Tuesday, June 6th, 2006 : goo
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In Seattle, our Chinatown is called the International District. I think there are 2 reasons for this, the first is the possibility that "Chinatown" is no longer politically correct, although I'm not really sure. The second, as my girlfriend pointed out : the International District's shops and restaurants are not just Chinese, they are Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, and more. On the other hand you're not going to wander through the I.D. and find a Jewish deli, or an Italian cafe, or food from Morocco, Chile, Scotland or any other non-Asian country, so far as I know, so why call it the International District? Well. I don't know, but they do. "Asiantown" would just sound dumb, admittedly. Anyway, a trip to the International District...
An alleyway in the I.D. Why are the backs of things often more interesting than the fronts...The brickwork here is common to this area as well as the nearby Pioneer Square area. It's these older, more historic districts of downtown Seattle that really feel city-like to me.
Matryoshka dolls, also called Russian nesting dolls. The coolness of this photo owes itself to the skill of the craftsmen who carved and painted these, but I'm stating the obvious. Not sure what they were doing in a tent at an Asian festival, but it wasn't something I was too concerned about. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matryoshka_doll
Fish-heads, Fish-heads. If you saw the title of this article and thought you were going to witness some sort of surrealist ice-capades I apologize, it would have been cooler to see giant fisheads skating in a rink, it's true.
About as fresh as fish can get. Still alive, in fact, swimming in a grocery store.
What more do you want after a nice afternoon walk in a cool place? Taken at Yummy House Bakery.
The glaze and the red stamp really impressed me. I picked this one because it was cracked and somehow looked that much better than the others...tasty too.
This article has been viewed 3025 times in the last 59 months
elaine: 6th Jun 2006 - 10:38 GMT
nice post. in london our chinatown is still chinatown, but then i think it really is actually chinese. it is very central, and i think the chinese residents have enough of a time trying to live there, let alone anyone else. i live near brick lane in east london which has had various waves of immigrants over the past two millenia, and it's biggest group now is bangladeshis, and they have named it banglatown, which i think has a ring to it.
aer suzuki: 6th Jun 2006 - 11:43 GMT
banglatown definately has a ring to it, sounds exotic. nice to meet you elaine, thanks for speaking up.
I.T.U.C.: 6th Jun 2006 - 13:58 GMT
It is believed that the Chinese community in Liverpool Uk, is possibly the oldest in the world. The first Chinese people are supposed to have been Merchants and Sailors, who worked the trade routes to the US. The area the community settled in, has always gone by the name of "Chinatown". But unfortunately Liverpool's Chinatown was a benighted place. This was until the top of Bold Street became popular again in the late 1990's. Though I spent many many happy times (my Punk years); socialising in the small hot tea houses along Great George Street up toward Parliament Street. I still call in at Lou's, when I go back to Liverpool, for some tea and sweet cakes. I Now live in London, and find myself in Banglatown a lot too. As my Wife works in Whitechapel, which is just around the corner from Brick Lane. So a nice long lunch, cooled with lassi, followed by iced fruit sorbet is always a must. I like the comfort of being with like minded people, as I hale from nowhere, due to my family’s nomadic life. Outsiders are hopeful people and hopeful people are happy people, and mostly from elsewhere too.
I.T.U.C.: 6th Jun 2006 - 14:32 GMT
Sorry to use the heavy phrase "benighted". But I meant a community under sufferance from the local population's fear of outsiders. My apologies too all.
jack: 6th Jun 2006 - 14:35 GMT
they should call it 'asianation'. the fish heads are great for soups. thirty years ago a client of mine invited me to his daughters wedding. it was held at #1 canal street in chinatown, in manhattan. it was a 7 course dinner and i ate some great food. ever had bird nest soup? and some 40 years ago when i waqs in the army i met some people from uk and they invited me to come to uk to their town to listen to this new group called the liverpool beatles. well i passed on it and now wished i had seen them. the old hindsight wish. good pics aer.
elaine: 6th Jun 2006 - 15:10 GMT
ITUC, i was in liverpool from about 1979 to 1985, i went to art school there, which as you know is not far from chinatown. this was before all day drinking and there was a vibrant cafe culture. bold st got an international deli around 1982, which was fabulous, but it didn't stop me visiting the chinese supermarket where you could get a really fragrant jelly i don't remember the name of. london's chinatown used to be where the limehouse flyover is now. the entire place was eradicated and the community moved to the west end. it was feared that white women especially would get seduced by the dockland opium dens, and there may be mixed race children as a result. this caused a massive moral panic. there is a book called 'dope girls' which documents this iand is a gripping read if you like that sort of a thing.
jeeff: 6th Jun 2006 - 15:33 GMT
in toronto most of the various ethnic neighbourhoods just get the "little" tag - little portugal, little korea, little india, etc. and yet we still have 2 'chinatown' neighbourhoods in the east and west.
I.T.U.C.: 6th Jun 2006 - 16:24 GMT
Elaine, 1981 to 1989 were my Liverpool years. Did you shop down Berry and Duke Street, near the bombed out church for your jellies? The international deli you mentioned. Do you mean Mr "M"'s in Bold Street not far from the corner of Slater Street? Mr "M"'s is a must for anyone visiting Liverpool, as the fragrances of the fresh spices and veg are so heavenly.
elaine: 6th Jun 2006 - 17:55 GMT
yes i did. and yes it was. also rapid hardware was a fave haunt. i am told that that whole street is rapid hardware now, but even back in the day it was so big you could find whole new rooms and floors and lose your friends, and forget why you went there.
George T.: 6th Jun 2006 - 18:41 GMT
Too bad one has to squirm and agonize before saying 'Chinatown' or 'Japtown' or whatever. A Chinese knows that he is Chinese, for heaven's sake. 'ID' my foot - or should I say fish head. I still get chastised by my son for interchanging Asian and Oriental.
The saddest 'Chinatown' is the shrunken desolate one in Washington DC. Treasure the ones you've described in the preceding comments. I now have an overpowering desire to visit Liverpool for the Chinese aromas and tastes.
Peter: 6th Jun 2006 - 19:12 GMT
i love the brackish part of downtown nyc where chinatown and little italy literally run together... lots of italian flags and restaurants, but a huge majority of signage in chinese.
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