Chinatown in Perth: Northbridge offers diversions enough for one grounded traveller longing for Asia
- A visit to the alleyways of Northbridge offers the chance to consult a herbalist, have a massage, eat Vietnamese and Thai curries, and enjoy a bubble tea
- The author leaves with a pouch of pills to improve her yin, shoulders relieved of knotty tensions, and a taste of the Asia she’s been missing
“Your yin is weak,” Dr Zhang says, peering over his silver-rimmed glasses. “You feel unhappy, find it difficult to say what’s inside.”
The herbalist has taken my pulse, looked at my tongue and is busy writing neat Chinese characters on his notepad. There is no computer, no fancy office furniture, just a beanbag, for pulse readings, on the table at which Zhang sits.
In the corner, a mouldy orange and incense ashes lay at the feet of a Laughing Buddha statue; hopefully this symbol of happiness means I have found the person able to improve my mood.
As a travel writer based in Western Australia, I scratched six overseas trips (three to Asia) from my diary when Covid-19 forced the closure of international borders.
Instead, I’m looking for a cultural fix in Northbridge, central Perth. With its Chinese acupuncturists and massage centres and Asian restaurants and supermarkets, it is an ideal place to come for someone wanting to experience Asia without being able to fly.