Seattle's International District brings the city's diversity to the forefront. The neighborhood is dominated by East Asian retail spaces and restaurants. The Int'l District begins downtown and stretches to the south along both main streets and side streets. Cantonese and Japanese restaurants are found nearer to the center of town, while Southeast Asian enclaves are further south. For a good value on food and goods, the I.D. is Seattle's best.



Though most people stick to the large Chinese and Japanese restaurants, there is better value and, arguably, better experiences to be had at some of the smaller eateries further from Downtown Seattle.

Weekend dim sum spots are extremely crowded, but the nature of the meal (lots and lots of appetizer-sized dishes) means that turn-over is relatively quick. Popular spots like Jade Garden and House of Hong are crowded but good. Smaller places like the Purple Dot Caf? do not have all the offerings of the big boys, but make up for it with a more relaxed atmosphere.

Smaller, family-run eateries usually offer better. Vietnamese, Khmer and Cantonese cafes serve delicious and authentic fare for cheap prices. Some dishes might only be for the adventurous, but everyone is bound to find something that they like.

Uwajimaya Village (on 5th Ave S.) is a large pan-Asian market with just about everything you could imagine. Go to shop or simply to people-watch and browse through the exotic goods. There are many smaller markets and stores throughout the I.D. Again, most of these are interesting to look through because of all their exotic goods, though prices can be cheaper than traditional supermarkets if you know what you want.

Wing Luke Asian Museum is affiliated with the Smithsonian Museum. Aside from art and history exhibits, the Museum also organized walking tours around some areas of the International District's ethnic enclaves.