Shopping in Chinatown
I was looking for some last minute gifts for the holidays and Chinatown is perfect for some quirky and fun gifts, not to mention inexpensive. The main part of Chinatown is filled with gifts for tourists. But there are also some great stocking stuffers like good luck charms, bamboo calendars, and asian paper mache gifts. There are sake and hot tea sets in almost every store. You can even haggle on the higher priced items, just don’t waste your time trying to negotiate on the set of those 2 dollar chop sticks.
Realm in Chinatown
The one store that stands out (and also the highest priced) among the other tourist filled knick knacks is a place called Realm. It’s filled with custom designer glass gifts. Like plates, glasses, serving sets and more. They have all kind of books, unique candle holders and tea pots. You could spend an hr just browsing the aisles and flipping through the coffee table books.
Further down the road on Broadway is a place called Saigon Plaza. It’s sort of like an indoor swap meet with all kinds of random import items ranging from DVDs, to bubbling fountains, to t-shirts for $5. You can easily get lost amongst the aisle and aisles of cheap wares.
An alternative to Chinatown for xmas gifts is Olvera St right down Broadway at Main and Alameda. It’s chock full of leather wallets and purses, traditional clothing, sombreros and wrestling masks from south of the border. Fun gifts for the hard to find brother in law.
Chinatown
423 Gin Ling Way
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Olvera St
Olvera St at Cesar Chavez Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Thu, Dec 20, 2007
City Beat