Chinatown in Northbridge occupies a compact cluster of streets around Roe Street and James Street, and it is the best place in Perth for cheap, authentic East and Southeast Asian cooking. The concentration of Vietnamese, Chinese, Malaysian, and Korean restaurants makes it a go-to for late-night noodles and dumplings — many places stay open well past midnight on weekends when the surrounding bars are still full.
By day the area has a different character: the red lanterns and painted archways look more decorative than commercial, and the small grocery shops and herbalists give a sense of a living community rather than a tourist attraction. The Sunday morning yum cha restaurants fill up early with families — arrive before 10am if you don't want to queue. The short walk along James Street past the street art and food stalls is worth doing even if you're eating elsewhere.