Ah, the Far East Center-known for providing quick, easy, and cheap adventures for the Denver metro area. This primarily Vietnamese shopping center is on the southwest corner of Federal and Alameda. It's easy to spot the giant welcoming pagoda arch that lets you in from the east side of Federal. The best time to come is on a weekday between 2pm and 5pm. You get to see a good cross-section of people going about their daily chores without getting trampled. Once inside, your best chance for parking in in the middle. Its a tiny walk to all the businesses without having to compete for the prime storefront spots. The grocery stores are a great place to find strange snacks and good ramen, as well as many hard to find ingredients for east Asian cuisine. Note that Japanese goods are not very common at these grocery stores, try Sakura Square in downtown instead. The restaurants are affordable and unique, as are the bakeries. The crown jewel of the plaza is the Truong An Gift shop. Here you can find anything from a deck of OnePiece playing cards, to a ceramic Buddha, to a pound of good tea. Be sure to check out the Chinese New Year celebration in February with its noisy firecrackers and "Lion Dancers".
So, have 20$ and about two hours? Here is a good run to make. Start at the Celestial Bakery, grab a couple of buns and head towards the gift shop. Peruse the shop for a bit, looking at the interesting Chinese medicine and brocade clothing. Then head to the Little Saigon grocery store for snacks and drinks for later. By then, your appetite should be back, so head to the Saigon Bowl for one of the huge noodle bowls. Repeat as needed! read more