Immigrants have been drawn to London's Soho for many centuries.
Chinese were among the late comers who came in large numbers
after the second world war, when property was not too expensive.
Today, there are more than 200,000 Chinese living in Britain,
and 80,000 live in London.
China Town has since developed into a thriving community,
where chinese people come to practise traditional customs,
beliefs and celebrations. It has also become a common
| China Town |
place of meeting for other
Chinese who may be residing in other parts of London.
Chinatown earned its initial fame by putting its tasty
chinese food up in the market. Gradually people wanted
to learn more about cooking Chinese food at home and shops
start popping up selling ingredients and utensils for
cooking Chinese food.
Today, apart from restaurants, coffee shops and mini-markets,
you may also find Chinese medecine shops. They have also entered
other areas of the market like bookshops, barbers, beauty parlours,
travel agents and more. You may also find a meditation centre
in China town. You are bound to find more than 60 delicious
Chinese restaurants. Some restaurants may serve pre-cooked food,
which doesn't really taste as good as freshly cooked food. New
World in Gerrard Place and Chuen Cheng Ku on Wardour Street
are examples of such restaurants. So people prefer visiting
smaller restaurants for the better taste.
Here's a list of places you may like to visit or order your
food from if you are located nearby:
China China, 3 Gerrard Street. Tel 020 7439 7502
Chuen Cheng Ku, 17 Wardour Street. Tel 020 7437 1398
Far East, 13 Gerrard Street. Tel 020 7437 6148
Food Harvest Fish & Meat Market, 14 Newport Place. Tel 020
7437 0712
Fung Shing, 15 Lisle Street. Tel 020 7437 1539
The Garden Café Restaurant, 51 Charing Cross Road. Tel
020 7434 0737
Golden Gate Hong, 14 Lisle Street. Tel 020 7437 0014
Harbour City, 46 Gerrard Street. Tel 020 7439 7859
Joy King Lau, 3 Leicester Street. Tel 020 7437 1133
Kowloon, 21-22 Gerrard Street. Tel 020 7437 0148
Lee Ho Fook, 15-16 Gerrard Street. Tel 020 7494 1200
Loo Fung Supermarket, 42-44 Gerrard Street. Tel 020 7437 7332
London Jade Garden, 15 Wardour Street. Tel 020 7437 5065
London Hong Kong, 6-7 Lisle Street. Tel 020 7287 0324
Luxuriance, 40 Gerrard Street. Tel 020 7734 3718
Mr Kong, 21 Lisle Street. Tel 020 7437 7341
New Diamond, 23 Lisle Street. Tel 020 7437 7221
New Hoo Wah, 37-38 Gerrard Street. Tel 020 7434 0540
New Mayflower, 68 Shaftesbury Avenue. Tel 020 7734 9207
New World, 1 Gerrard Place. Tel 020 7734 0677
Newport Supermarket, 28-29 Newport Court. Tel 020 7437 2386
Poons & Co, 26-27 Lisle Street. Tel 020 7437 4549
See Woo Supermarket, 18-20 Lisle Street. Tel 020 7439 8325
Sun Luen Bar, 14 Little Newport Street. Tel 020 7734 5095
Wong Kei, 41-43 Wardour Street. Tel 020 7437 8408
Yming, 35-36 Greek Street. Tel 020 7734 2721
Young Cheng, 76 Shaftesbury Avenue. Tel 020 7437 0237
Opening Timings
Chinatown is not a time restricted
place. It is the name of an area where you can find all Chinese
people and Chinese goodies.
Directions
By Tube: Leicester Square, Oxford Circus,
Tottenham Court Road, Piccadilly Circus
By Rail: Charing Cross
By Bus: 3, 6, 12, 13, 15, 23, 88, 94, 139, 159
You can also walk here from Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus
& Charing Cross
Contact Info
Leicester Square,
Central London
Admission Prices
Its an admission price free locality.
Enjoy your day out.
