Chinatown, BA Style

Picture to the left: whole fresh sushi rolls for 5 to 10 pesos each. Of course we bought some for lunch tomorrow!

Buenos Aires Chinatown is fantastic. It should really be called Asiatown because there are a mix of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean stores and restaurants. It's not at all like Chinatown in San Francisco or New York - much smaller, quieter, and residential, in a really nice way. Lots of trees, cobblestone streets and elegant, old-fashioned buildings. But more important than any of that is the food. The restaurants, yes, sushi, wonton soup, miso, cha siu bao, etc etc. But the real variety is in the grocery stores where you can find tofu, whole wheat alfajores, a million different spices, genmaicha tea, Skippy peanut butter and even Newman's Own light italian salad dressing! I realize that if you're reading this from the United States none of that sounds too exciting. BUT IT IS.

The same amazing kitsch you would find in SF Chinatown. We bought paper lanterns and a hideously scary dragonfly plant ornament to act as a scarecrow for the pigeons that congregate on our balcony, but drew the line at a huge golden piggy bank (we wanted it but 35 pesos was just too much.)

Newman's Own! 23 pesos for a jar of marinara sauce, that's reasonable...