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Published: June 23rd 2017
Art Gallery of Ontario
Re-opened in 2008 and designed by local boy Frank Gehry. It is ranked as one of the best in Canada.Geo: 43.6667, -79.4167
Toronto prides itself as a multi-cultural city and as such there are many areas settled by various groups of immigrants. The most visible is probably Chinatown. Like many Chinese settlements overseas, food plays an important part. So, along the streets are Chinese restaurants of all descriptions with some Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese mixed in. It has a different feel to London Chinatown. For instance, there were shops selling dried sea food, which the Chinese are very fond of, in open barrels. This reminded me very much of Hong Kong. But as far as I know, it is not done in London. Perhaps it has something to do with health and safety. Everything would be sold in sealed packages.
Little Italy is a bit more out of town. The area used to be where the Italian community lived, but they have now all moved out into the suburbs. What was left were restaurants and road signs saying "Little Italy" on a tricolor background. To be honest, it wasn't exclusively Italian any more. I saw Ethiopian, Japanese, Spanish and Mexican restaurants in the area. Further along the same road was Little Portugal. Mind you, if it weren't for the guide book,
Henry Moore
at the Gallery of Ontario I wouldn't have known I had entered into a Portuguese neighbourhood. Yes, there were a few Portuguese cafes selling the ubiquitous custard tarts and a small area dedicated to Luis Camoñes. But I didn't get the feeling I was in Lisbon.
On the way there, I got off one tram stop further down the track and had to walk through a rather dodgy-looking, or as our local friends would say, “sketchy” area. The road was lined with big Victorian houses but the front gardens/yards were unkept and brown. But the most striking thing was the fact that they used the front porch as another sitting room equipment with sofa and coffee tables. Bizarre.
Kensington Market was in the vicinity, so I didn't want to miss it. Perhaps I went on a quiet day but there wasn't much and not many stalls. So altogether a bit of a disappointment.
Dinner was with a group of friends in a Brazilian restaurant (it had been a very multi-culti day). The food was different but was very tasty. The cocktails were excellent.
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