Our next stop was at the Chicago Chinatown. Though the streets were not as busy, it definitely looked like Binondo, Manila’s Chinatown, the oldest Chinatown in the world. (Yes, I googled it!)
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| Chicago Chinatown |
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| Manila Chinatown |
Just like Binondo, Chicago’s Chinatown is lined with Chinese tea shops, traditional medicine shops, jewelry stores, acupuncture clinics, a martial arts school (I only saw one but I’m sure there would be more had we walked farther).
There were also restaurants and grocery stores selling Chinese delicacies. It was already 2:00pm and I was getting hungry but we didn’t have time to eat so we decided to snack on curried beef, pork and chicken buns. I wanted to try some siopao but didn’t find any at the store we went in.
On the other side of the street is the Chinatown Square, a two-storey outdoor mall. It houses mostly restaurants, beauty shops and commercial offices. Among its main attractions are the twelve bronze statues of the Chinese zodiac and a beautiful pagoda.
It’s almost time for my appointment so we headed towards Downtown Chicago where the Philippine Consulate General is located. I was told it’s located in the busiest street in Downtown CHI and that traffic is really bad. (Again, sounds like Manila!)
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