SOHO AND COVENT GARDEN - London - page 132

ODEON, LEICESTER SQUARE
CHINATOWN
Leicester Square. MAP
A self-contained jumble of shops, cafés and restaurants, Chinatown is one of London's most
distinct and popular ethnic enclaves. Centred around Gerrard Street , it's a tiny area of no
more than three or four blocks, thick with the aromas of Chinese cooking and peppered with
ersatz touches. Few of London's 60,000 Chinese actually live in Chinatown, but it nonethe-
less remains a focus for the community: a place to do business or the weekly shopping, cel-
ebrate a wedding, or just meet up for meals - particularly on Sundays, when the restaurants
overflow with Chinese families tucking into dim sum. Most Londoners come to Chinatown
simply to eat - easy and inexpensive enough to do. Cantonese cuisine predominates, and
you're unlikely to be disappointed wherever you go.