The most popular blog posts in the past have tended to be the ones dealing with various forms of culture shock. As far as Hong Kong goes, though, the shocks have thus far been minimal. Having lived a block from Chinatown in Toronto, I now realize how authentic it really is in many respects.

First off: restaurant decor. I always assumed that the faux crystal, heavy drapes, and porcelain cats and dragons that you can find adorning many of the Chinese restaurants in Toronto were a low quality imitation of the stuff we'd see in Hong Kong. Turns out they're in fact spot on. One theory is that there is really only one Chinese restaurant furnishings shoppe in the world that has monopolized the market. As Nick put it, then they could just show up at any restaurant with the proposition, "Listen, we've got this great idea concerning dragons..."

Another thing that is instantly recognizable here is the food markets, especially for dry food. With heaps of salted fish, seaweed, and other pungent items, these are almost identical to those on Spadina and Dundas in Toronto. The wet markets, though, are a bit more elaborate here. Not just fish swimming in tanks, but also live frogs and turtles, are all for sale for tonight's dinner.

One thing that Toronto's Chinatown lacks for a real sense of authenticity is hawkers. Usually young to middle-aged men from India, these hover at the edge of busy streets ready to offer wares ranging anywhere from "custom-tailored shirt" to "fake rolex" and "copy handbag". Of a different variety than those I've run into in Egypt and Morocco, though, these guys realize there's no point continuing to hassle any given passerby once they've heard a "No thank you".

Finally, although Chinatown in Toronto does have its fair share of roaches, there is no comparing to the ones you encounter in a much more tropical climate. Although we haven't seen any fly yet, Monika gets really thrilled at how big, fast, and scuttling the ones we've seen out on the street are.