Canal Street, New York

Back in the 1980s, this street in NYC was the place to go for electronics, as every month Popular Electronics would publish DIY plans for hobbyist projects, and if one took those down to Canal Street, one could find all the components. Over time, the electronics shops faded out and were replaced with industrial plastics and consumer good knock-offs like handbags, fragrances, jewelry, watches, and designer fashions – all made China and brought via container ships.

It's still a fun place to shop, with street vendors hawking coconut drinks, durian fruit, and vegetables, homemade noodles, and other Chinese specialties lining pretty much the entire south side sidewalk as far as the Manhattan Bridge. Also, virtually every doorway leads to a store, and there are some wonderful, exotic shops for handmade Asian ceramics here, but also a good number of (cash-only) small shops with many more typical souvenirs, at only a fraction of the price you would pay in Times Square. Since they hate seeing people walk away empty-handed, vendors will always bargain and there are some good deals to be found.

At 200 Canal St, the NEW KAM MAN Supermarket (9:30am–7pm) offers 3 floors of Chinese grocery; Asian pottery; teapots; cast iron teapots; woks; rice cookers; handheld and decorative fans; chopsticks; traditional Chinese patterns of china; Japanese-style lunch boxes; cosmetics; loose and packaged teas; herbs; herbal medications and ointments. The upper level has been renovated to house an extensive Hello Kitty stationery; trinkets; sauce holders; sake bottles and cups; bags; blankets; lunch boxes; jewelry; wallets, etc., plus Japanese cosmetics and skincare.

There are also hundreds of exotic restaurants on Canal Street, and on nearby streets: mostly Cantonese, but also many others. Some of these can be authentic and/or VERY good. Usually, the prices at these eateries are reasonable for the quality of food they serve.

Tip:
Don't mind the weird whispers for backroom watches and handbags. If you're looking for a knockoff of a $1200 bag that is hit or miss close to real or totally cheap, this is your place for the low low price of about $20-$150. Again, haggling is taken to the extreme here and strange between-alley deals are happening all over the place. There's nothing intrisically dangerous about this – it's just a different world.