Chinatown Centre

Lots of little shops all shop keepers friendly, not many places to get a soda tho and not to sure about the hygiene of the dried items in boxes out side the shops.

This Chinese mall has definitely seen better days (along with Chinatown — everything is moving to the northern suburbs). Many empty storefronts and mainly local residents frequent this place. Lots of cheap clothing and toy stores on the main floors. almost empty food court in the basement. All their pricing is essentially the same — four dishes for four dollars. Adequate food — unsure how fresh it is. Watch the grease and MSG.
Probably worth a quick gander — there is Internet and washrooms although they are not particularly clean.

Iv been to Chinatown center multiple times… Every time I shop at chinatown I will come here and look around and shop a little… this place sells a lot of suivioner Items… I bought a house warming gift in one of the stores inside the center… I think a plant like an orchid… bamboo… or fortune tree would be nice… Plants are considered good fung shui for home… So perfect for house warming gift! I also grab a few Asian munchies and bubble tea here… Theres a few cute little asian stores for teenagers such as a photo booth store… Place gets really crowed during the weekends… Parking is lousy… great place to walk around during the summer time… air conditioner is spot on!

Whatever vision the developer had for this mall back in the day, it is not taking form today.
Chinatown Centre is the better of the two shopping malls in Toronto’s Chinatown, atmosphere-​wise and in terms of stores. That though isn’t saying much for a building in decline. Even ten years ago it wasn’t like that, there was enough life for the mall to be a go-​to destination. But now it’s a sad uninviting version of its former self.
Like Pacific Mall, Chinatown Centre tries to bring a Hong Kong style shopping experience to Toronto, complete with bedroom-​sized retail spaces and an indoor and outdoor courtyard. Architecturally, the place has lots of questionable features that only add to the depression, like the sketchy entrance next to the parking garage, or poorly lit dark confusing corridors in the deep reaches of the mall. Not surprisingly those are where you’ll find the majority of vacant storefronts.
The third floor restaurant space had been empty for so long that it’s now a Super 8 hotel. Meanwhile, the stores that remain mainly sell cheap imported knickknacks and confectionery, bootleg Chinese movies, electronics and jewelry, as well as knockoff crap and fruity clothes I wouldn’t wear. Not much else. Hardly a soul in sight.
And then there’s the dark and dingy food court, which infamously was shut down by Toronto Public Health in 2004 for the kind of nasty things Chinese restaurants are stereotypically associated with. Yeah, I wouldn’t eat here either still, even if one place is offering four items for $ 4. «We fried your order» sure says a lot. Continuing the theme, many stalls have been empty for years (one since 2006 according to a green health inspection sign), and the three arcade game units by the entrance look like it hadn’t seen any love since Mel Lastman was mayor of this town. The food court now primarily serves as a hangout for the neighborhood oldtimers.
In such a prime downtown location, its a shame the mall management have not made any effort to improve the place and attract tenants and shoppers.

Use to be a decent place to shop, when it wasn’t over crowded with fake stuff all over the second floor. I’m not talking about the actual stores, it’s the ones that are outside (kiosk?) that poses a safety hazard. I hear it has been raided multiple times for pirate and counterfeit products, but business continues as usual. Where are the cops when you need them?

Well, I gotta say, it’s a pretty good mall for some selection, it used to have 2 – 3 animé/​otaku stores, and a couple of game stores and electronic stores, I give that a 4 out of 5 back in its heyday. And as of right now, there are cellphone providers that helps survive this whole entire mall, the cheap food court, arcadeshop (used to be, but now it’s part of the food court) and one electronic store that survive from the last 1.5 decades which is still a great landmark out of every store, so I give that a 3.5 out of 5… This is the best out of the 2 malls in Spadina Chinatown area. Needs some improvement somehow.

Chinatown Centre is the mall that is south of Dundas and not connected to the mini mall at the corner of Spadina and Dundas (Dragon Center). Above this mall are condos built long before the condo boom and are fitting to the area constructed as a medium rise building. Inside is a maze-​like labyrinth of small stores hawking cheap imported goods. There is even a passport photo shop that still has an old-​school photo developing machine. Beside that place upstairs is a knowledgeable TV shop. And in the basement is a food court that resembles more of a dungeon. The layout of the mall is interesting and suits the mystery that sometimes surrounds Chinatown. My fave stores are easily accessed from the street and are on my way thru the shortcut I take walking from Alex Park to Spadina. One is Princess Dry Cleaning and the other is Sweet Magic, an amazing import candy store that I can’t seem to love enough. At the mall front and center and up is a Super 8 Hotel. Although I haven’t seen inside, it had scaffolding in front of it for so long that grass and moss started growing underneath on the concrete. The scaffolding is gone, and maybe the hotel has improved, who knows? This mall is an important hub of Chinatown activity with its basement level outdoor courtyard hosting many locals engaged in mahjong. The mall is forthright, and a valued part of the neighbourhood.

I’ll comment on the Chinatown Centre food court. It has convenient access to the outside. Unfortunately it is dark, gloomy and a bit grimy. Too bad as it has lots of windows so could be a lot more pleasant.
There are several food outlets but some are vacant. The two that are open around 5pm are at each end, but appear to be the same outlet with exact same food. One outlet sports a large menu sign with the title «We Fried Your Food».
Both outlets offer a generous plate of 4 items for $ 4 (includes tax). What could be cheaper. The food items range from okay to inedible and gross. Sometimes you can’t get your teeth through the veggies, much less the meat. Tough as old shoe leather. Tofu is a good bet. Shrimps (heads still on with beady eyes staring at you accusingly) smell odd and sort of disintegrate when you try to peel them. Some meats are not what they appear to be, and are misidentified by the server. The «steak» may be spongy cow lungs, which I would normally like, but not in this case. In spite of that, I am strangely drawn to the place. Not for much longer, though — even my cast-​iron stomach can’t take much more of this.

Of the two almost-​malls on Spadina, this is the better of the two. There are some actual shops and some space to move around. Not at all sure why someone didn’t really take the time to create a full-​sized, proper Chinese mall. Probably a sign Chinatown today is more of a historical footnote.

When this place first opened, there were signs on the women’s washroom stalls: «Do not stand on toilet.»
I instantly thought, «Ho-​oh, cool! This place is authentique! Only new immigrants with minimal toilet etiquette are here! Woooowowowow!»
Then I got off my immature high horse, waited a few months, and realized that this mall was really nothing special and probably wasn’t going to attract the bustling crowds they’d hoped to achieve for a downtown centre.
This mall tries to be quintessentially Hong Kong, full of but it kinda falls flat on its face. When people come to Chinatown downtown, they want that old-​school experience, with the ramshackle shops and chaos. This mall seems better fit for the outer suburbs where people want to get in their car, drive somewhere, and get everything done in one place.
And it’s not like you can get EVERYTHING done here, unless your life just consists of pirated DVDs, tacky jewelery, and ugly clothing with weird Hong Kong embellishments.
However, it’s definitely a good place to spy on old Chinese men, who come by just to sit on random benches, stare at a television screen for 10 minutes, then go to another bench and do the same thing over again.

If you’ve ever been to Pacific Mall, or any Hong Kong style mall in the world, imagine a crappier version and you’ve got the Chinatown Centre. I mean, it’s basically all we’ve got in the downtown core, so it does its job.
They’ve got their share of cheap imported knock-​off clothes, display cases full of fake Chanel and Burberry bags, a couple travel agencies where you can get cheap casino bus tours, and a bunch of stands with TONS of jewelry and a lifetime supply of cell phone charms (I’m a sucker for those things).
Bring a bunch of cash, because most places don’t take debit or credit, grab a bubble tea and go wandering around looking for trinkets. The cheap clothes are great but don’t usually go beyond a size 8 so beware.
The food court downstairs offers stands where you can get a bunch of noodles in a styrofoam container for like $ 5, but you can do that almost anywhere in Chinatown so don’t feel obligated to eat here.

When C and I were trying to explore Toronto on our own, we saw this place was still open.
We decided to drop on in and check this place out.
It was pretty late at night so a lot of the stores were already closed.
We managed to find this place called L&M — another imported clothing shop but CHEAP!!!
The sales lady name Rain helped us and got C to buy loads of things. I didn’t see too many things that were my style since I don’t like to wear stuff that makes me look like a pansy.
There’s a little café in here that sells TEA EGGS for .80 cents! I love Tea Eggs!!! I know I know… what the hell are Tea Eggs? They are eggs that are infused with Tea and has a marbled appearance!
They were so addictive!!! But beware the lady there is more into gossiping on the phone than attending to her customers!
It’s cools if you don’t want to make rent!

This is where Auntie Fe and all the hardcore Filipinos in Toronto shop for ingredients for Pinakbet (Filipino Meat Vegetable Stew with Shrimp Paste) and other Filipino dishes as well. As always major cities must have their Chinatown — unique shops, vegetable stands, butcher shops, cash only restaurants, phone card stands, bootleg DVD’s, knock-​offs, and gifts /​specialty stores. And this was a great adventure with my Auntie Fe… to see her best kept secrets and hook-​ups. The sellers knew her well and always gave her the «discount». I found myself as the «carrying» boy as we ventured from vegetable stand to vegetable stand. After each purchase I was the one holding all the bags. I didn’t mind because this activity because it reminded so much of my grandmother. There were times I actually had déjà vu and almost called Auntie Fe by my grandmother’s name. The only thing I dreaded was her smiling at me and asking, «I’m going to buy a 50 pound bag of rice, you can carry it — right?»
Walter P Trip Advisory:
— Bring cash. It helps when bargaining.
— Backpacks are the way to go. I learned the hard way the first time. Those cheap plastic bags break easily — especially when carrying tons of vegetables.
— Parking: Forget it. Take the subway train and get off at the nearest stop. Walking isn’t far (about half a block away).
— Venture here during the late morning into afternoon. At night, it gets pretty ghetto.
!