Hello intersectional thinkers 👋 Greetings from Milan’s Chinatown! When a Milanese friend of mine raved about this up-and-coming Italian restaurant near gentrified Chinatown, I knew I had to share this story from a month ago: Yesterday, I went back to Vancouver’s Chinatown with my mom for the first time in more than a decade.
Same in Toronto. We have two Chinatowns here, and the downtown one has suffered for a while but especially since the pandemic, both from reduced foot traffic and Covid stigmatization. I remember going to the herbal shops only once on my own, to buy ingredients for a chicken herbal soup. Even though I didn't know the names of the ingredients, all I did was to show the person behind the counter an instagram photo that I had saved of all the ingredients and the shopkeeper knew instantly what to get.
I wish I knew what half of those ingredients even do! Sadly, I feel it'll be a lost art very soon.
Same in Toronto. We have two Chinatowns here, and the downtown one has suffered for a while but especially since the pandemic, both from reduced foot traffic and Covid stigmatization. I remember going to the herbal shops only once on my own, to buy ingredients for a chicken herbal soup. Even though I didn't know the names of the ingredients, all I did was to show the person behind the counter an instagram photo that I had saved of all the ingredients and the shopkeeper knew instantly what to get.
I wish I knew what half of those ingredients even do! Sadly, I feel it'll be a lost art very soon.