Elizabeth Center
If you want to purchase cute Asian accessories or dolls, Elizabeth Center also known as EC, for short, is the right place for you to shop. Once you enter, go down the escalator and all the shops downstairs sell cute Asian merchandise. If you want to take sticker pictures, EC has it too. It's on the first level in the far left corner of the building.
Be mindful that most shops in Chinatown accept cash only. Canal Street east of Broadway is a paradise for bargain hunters and people looking to buy counterfeit knock-offs of high-end clothes and accessories. If you want to impress people back home with the fake Louis Vuitton bag you got for $30, this is the place to go. Also look at the stores that line Mott Street between Canal and Chatham Square.
NoLIta has become synonymous with avant-couture boutiques in charmingly dilapidated buildings. Some stores are so idiosyncratic that they appear not to sell anything at all, yet are perpetually crowded and passionately trendy.
knockoffs
If you want knockoffs of designer labels, try the stores on Mott St. south of Canal first. There are other stores on Canal St., but you may find them more expensive. And remember, you get what you pay for, so if you buy a knockoff watch and it lasts you more than six months, be happy. Price shop and don't be afraid to try bargaining.
Groceries
Deluxe Food Market
This humongous store has almost anything you can think of and more, both raw and prepared. Seriously; go and see.
Asia Market
71.5 mulberry street, between canal st. and bayard st., 212 962-2020 or 212962-2028. recently renovated from a dusty, old grocery store with tight aisles and rusty shelves into a brighter, more spacious store with a wider selection of goods. asia market supplies a variety of asian ingredients, snacks, and drinks. usually the difficult, hard to find asian ingredients will most likely be available at this store. even if it isn't available, the staff here is very friendly. you may leave the brand name of the product you want and they may try to order it for you. there is also a vegetable and fruit stand outside the store. basically, this may be your one-stop store to shop for everything. one good example of the products this store has is fresh kaffir lime leaves which seems to be hard to find.
Aji Ichiban
Hong Kong snack shop, very popular with locals and tourists alike. The staff are friendly and give samples.
Bangkok Center Grocery
This modest-sized store contains a large quantity of Thai goods of various descriptions, and also sells inexpensive prepared sweet and savory items. Friendly, helpful service.
Udom's Thai-Indonesian Store
Often a bit cheaper than Bangkok Center Grocery, and sells things from Malaysia as well as Thailand and Indonesia. Husband-and-wife store owned by a man from Thailand and a woman from Indonesia, both ethnic Chinese.