If you look up ‘Things to do in Ottawa,’ the Byward Market always comes up on top! People do love their food, and with such a variety of multi cultural food choices, they don’t have to look for long to find something delicious! Unique eclectic shops and boutiques make a day of aimless wandering so very interesting.
Byward Market, at the corner of St. George Street and Byward Street, is a great place for one-stop shopping. Vendors cluster around an old maroon brick building selling fresh produce, flowers, seafood, baked goodies and souvenirs.
One of the things you MUST try here are the Beaver Tails. Gooey dough that’s deep fried till crispy, with a range of topping choices like marshmallows, Gems, Maple Syrup and Cinnamon Sugar. I had the Nutella and Banana one (obviously, it’s the most sinful of the lot) and it was the food highlight of my trip.
Obama once stopped at this very outlet for a beaver tail on his way to the Parliament, so that’s probably why the entire place is full of pictures of him. There are stores that even have cookies named after him. That’s the dream!
I read some negative reviews of Byward Market having a lot of pushy panhandlers and pickpockets, but I can honestly say I didn’t see a single one.
Getting There – You will probably have to drive to get there, but there’s tons of on-street parking spots.
I thought Byward market was eclectic. That was before I stepped into Kensington Market. It has a strange, unique charm– in the mismatched clothing stores, the roadside grocery carts, the graffiti laden cafes, and people selling hippie jewelry like you find in Anjuna Market. One of the jewelry vendors was actually planning to rent a stall at the Anjuna Flee market and wouldn’t let us go until we gave him a fair bit of info on house rentals and food cost in Goa.
So, Kensington is located just to the west of downtown Toronto, bordered by Spadina Avenue, Dundas Street, Bathhurst street and College Street. This is one place that must be experienced to be fully understood.
Even if you don’t plan on shopping, I would suggest going and checking out this hipster-ish neighborhood. There are so many things that you don’t need but end up buying just because they’re hilarious. What do you think about these? Perfect gag gifts!
A wonderful thing about the street is that people from all walks of life come here – rich, poor, young and old, every ethnicity and nationality. Everyone bumps into each other on the narrow sidewalks and one way streets. There’s no parking and it’s a complete obstacle course. I love it!!
Literally just one street away, all the “flower child” vibe disappears to make way for dragons, lanterns and overcrowded sign boards in Chinese. Maybe it’s the Canadian Version of China Town because it was so clean and lacked the grit and bustle of touristy China Towns in other cities. Take time to walk around here, buy some knick-knacks, cheap T-shirts and memorabilia.
Bubble Tea is supposedly good here, but we were in a hurry and didn’t try some. I’m still curious to know what it is, though.
Getting around is pretty easy, if you’re prepared to walk. There are street cars that take you to downtown Toronto. It’s a good idea to get a day pass that is valid for all kinds of public transport.
Although it’s called China Town, there are all kinds of south Asian cuisine available with the menus given in Chinese (or so it looked.) We stopped at a little Vietnamese Restaurant and ordered Pho – a broth containing slivers of beef, glass noodles and herbs. It tasted much better than it looked!
TGG Tips:
1) Bring a camera
2) If you need to buy souvenirs, do it in China Town. Great stuff, good deals and really cheap.
3) Go hungry and try EVERYTHING!