Indochina town
Everyone in Paris knows Chinatown in the 13th arrondissement – the Golden Triangle, defined by Choisy Avenue, Ivry Avenue, and Tolbiac Street.
It would be the biggest Chinatown in Europe. But is it really a Chinatown?
Based on my rapid survey, there are more restaurants, cafes and boutiques from Indochina (meaning Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos) than from China. It should be known as “Indochina town”!
From a distance, Indochina town looks Asian. The towering skyscrapers stand head and shoulders above the general Parisian skyline, although they might be miniscule by Beijing or Hong Kong standards.
This Indochina town flourished in the 1970s with waves of Asian immigration following the end of conflict in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Refugees chose the 13th arrondissement due to the abundance of available housing at the time.
These early immigrants have largely moved to other neighborhoods, and the 13th is now considered a transitional stage for the arrival of new Asian expatriates in France.
While dominated by Indochinese culture, there is still a strong Chinese mark in the district — as evidenced by the Chinese church, “Notre Dame de Chine”, where the mass is spoken in Cantonese.
Then there is the Tang Frères supermarket where you can buy all things Chinese. And our favourite Chinese restaurant was Impérial Choisy in Avenue de Choisy with its wonderful Peking duck and prawn dumpling soup. In recent times, we have been back to Imperial Choisy, and thankfully it has maintained its high standards.
But all things considered, our favourite was a Vietnamese restaurant curiously called “Hawai” at 87 Avenue d’Ivry, with its excellent Pho soup.
Then there is a restaurant “Bambou” at 70 rue Baudricourt, which served excellent Cambodian and Vietnamese food.
Today, I took a trip down memory lane and had lunch at Bambou. Good, but not as great as my memory of 15 years ago. Funny that, because the staff have not changed over that period.
The highlight of my excursion was a Vietnamese coffee (or should I say, two coffees) at a cafe called “You”.
Paris’ Indochina is certainly worth a visit. Go and explore it, find your favourite restaurant!