Golden Village
If you have never been to Asia or you miss the shopping experience in Asia, you should try the area from Capstan Way between No. 3 and Garden City Road, all the way down to Alderbridge Way, termed the Golden Village. This area has the highest concentration of Asian Malls in North America, including Yaohan Centre, President Plaza, Aberdeen Centre, Parker Place, Imperial Centre, to namb just a few. This area is full of stores from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. Alexandra Road is the unofficial "Food Street" in Richmond.
With Richmond's Asian-Canadians making up 60 percent of the city's population, the Golden Village is sometimes seen as the "new Chinatown" of Greater Vancouver.
Aberdeen Centre Mall
Aberdeen Centre is the largest of the many Asian-themed malls in the Golden Village. When the original Aberdeen was built, it was one of the first Asian malls in Richmond. As the Asian population grew, it became too small and was rebuilt around 2002. It primarily serves Chinese-Canadians from Hong Kong but has since diversified to include Mainland Chinese and, with the opening of the discount store Daiso, Japanese customers as well.
President Plaza
President Plaza is a mall primarily built to serve the Taiwanese population. It is most notable for its large hotel complex, owned and operated by Radisson Hotels. It is home to T & T Supermarket.
Yaohan Centre Mall
Yaohan Centre was originally designed to be a Japanese-themed mall but has since diversified to a Pan-Asian style that includes the Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Korean populations, among others. It is home to Osaka Supermarket, the largest Japanese supermarket in the area.
Parker Place Mall
Parker Place is a Hong Kong-style mall that is smaller than its other indoor mall counterparts. It is notable for its high concentration of clothing stores featuring Asian-style fashion. It also holds the title for being the second Asian mall to be built in Richmond, after the original Aberdeen Centre. With Aberdeen's recent rebuilding, it is now the oldest of all the Asian malls in the Golden Village.
Alexandra Road
Unofficially known as "Food Street," Alexandra Road is home to one of the highest concentration of restaurants in Richmond. The restaurants there feature a various range of Asian cuisines. The types of Asian restaurants also vary -- in addition to traditional restaurants, there are many hot pot and buffet restaurants as well, which is a change compared to the rest of the Golden Village.
Garden City Road
Because No. 3 Road is getting increasingly dense, some Asian malls have located themselves closer to Garden City Road, the closest major road to the east. Most of the Asian malls on Garden City are small and located outdoors, a change from the traditional Asian malls on No. 3 Road, and resemble multi-level or very large strip malls. Some notable malls include Continental Square, Empire Square, Central Plaza, Union Square, Cosmo Plaza and Pacific Plaza.
