2008/01/16 Porte d’Italie, Chinatown near Port de Choisy, Paris
While the previous trip to Paris included my colleagues, the follow-up meeting was scheduled as solo to save expenses. Since I’m not a huge fan of French cuisine, I decided to see what Chinatown in Paris is like. The closest metro stop is at Porte d’Italie.
To the north is the typical Paris traffic circle.
Around the corner and walking south, the street mixed residential, with a typical neighbourhood places.
Down Avenue de Choisy were non-French restaurants (e.g. Japanese) and small hotels (not obviously corporate class).
Near the next major intersection, the number of restaurants increased. I noticed that the cuisine was less Chinese than Indochine, i.e. Vietnamese. This isn’t uncommon, as the Vietnamese “boat people” were often ethnic Chinese.
From the six-way intersection, the first street southwest quickly became residential.
Looking down the other street going southeast, I saw at least four variations of Vietnamese cuisine.
As a symptom of being away from home too much, I decided that I really wanted Chinese food, and chose the “duck hanging in the window” restaurant. I ordered steamed chicken. It was chicken, but it wasn’t as tender and flavourful as is standard in Cantonese restaurants. If I’m in Paris again, I’ll take the hint, and choose Vietnamese menus instead.
You show me a side of Paris I had not seen before. Not the first time – I remember in Milan you found Chinatown just a few block from my apartment and I did not even know it was there.
Chinese food exists all over the world, but is not the same everywhere. I have often been disappointed by ‘fancy’ chinese restaurants. However, I must also say that the two best Chinese meals I have had have been in New York and in Brussles. Both times, I was with a person who knew Chinese and knew the cook – the menu for the meal was entirely decided in the kitchen, with items that never appeared on the printed menu.