Torontos little ethnic enclaves deliver big on food and culture

Almost 47% of Toronto’s population is foreign-born — around 3.3 million people.Solmaz Khosrowshahian is one of them.

She came from Iran to study here 20 years ago and quickly decided to stick around.Today, she’s best known as food blogger the Curious Creature. “Beyond having a large immigrant population like other major cities, the diversity within our immigrant population is astonishing,” she said.

“Here you’ll meet immigrants from a vast range of countries, including some from the most remote parts of the globe.” So next time you’re in town, why not see the world? Below we’ve rounded up Toronto’s most intriguing ethnic enclaves.A little speck of land in the middle of the Med, Malta is famed for its alluring mishmash of Arabic, Italian and English.But in the early 20th century, tens of thousands of its citizens escaped to Toronto.

They settled around Dundas Street and St.John’s Road in the Junction ’hood, creating the tiny town nicknamed Little Malta — as signs now attest.

The modernist church there, St.Paul the Apostle, is run by Franciscan fathers from the island, and there’s a sports and culture hub, the Melita Soccer Club, named after the same team in St.

Julian’s back home.Stop by the Malta Bake Shop for a pastizzi — the flaky fist-sized calzone filled with either ricotta or spicy, mushy peas — or ftira, the pizza-like bread topped with sliced potatoes, olives and tomatoes.

Make an appointment to view a curiosity shop-like collection at the Maltese-Canadian Museum on the same strip.Astoria’s got competition.“The streets here are lined with Greek restaurants, barbers, churches, shops and parks where locals gather daily,” said Solmaz.

“An early morning walk can often feel like a stroll through any Greek city with yayas and papous out for their daily coffee meetups.” This ’hood, also known as the Danforth, is ground zero for Greek goodies: Athens Pastries serves up killer spanakopita and ...