Public Opinion

Singaporean Auntie, who lives in the Ang Mo Kio area: She was there to buy Chinese goodies and products, but commented that it is indeed not the Chinatown that it used to be. She picked an example of how one would expect purely Indian products sold at Little India, Malay products at Geylang Serai, and comments that instead of that, she sees commercialized shops such as the famous Koi bubble tea, and many other shops that do not sell Chinese products. She states that to her, “there are a lot of nonsense”, such as an overwhelming stores selling handphone covers and keychains, that would not appeal to people like her who go to Chinatown specially for the supposed Chinese products that it is supposed to sell.

Tourist, from Australia: She was there to experience the Chinese culture in Chinatown, and states that she is pleased with showcase of culture through the physical structures of shophouses, and the array of food which displays the Chinese ethnicity prominently. However, she too, felt that there are stores which are not related to culture at all, such as the sales of “branded” perfumes and bags along the street. In all, she is pleased that she is able to feel the culture through traditional shops and buildings, but feel that some are too modernized and unrelated to the culture.

User “litekimchi” from virtualtourist.com: “Unfortunately, Chinatown has become a tourist trap, especially the market streets (Pagoda, Smith, Trengganu and Smith). But you can still catch glimpses in small mom-and-pop stores around.”

User “jlanza29”, from virtualtourist.com: “Well, I have been to several Chinatown's around the world in various countries and I'm really not a big fan of them, there all the same (except the one in Bangkok)(read my Bangkok travel pages) and the same goes for the Chinatown here in Singapore......Cheap souvenirs and cheap food abound, don't get me wrong if you have never exprienced a Chinatown anywhere in the world then come to the one here in Singapore and you'll experince what I'm talking about and if you ever go to a city with a Chinatown you'll see that there all the same, but I come to Chinatown looking for the odd souvenir's or odd art work and believe me you'll find it !!!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND it, if you never been in one, if you been in one, SKIP it....and do something else with your time, your not missing much !!!!!”