Alice de Jong shares her favorite Chinese language Supermarkets in Barcelona
Finest Chinese language Supermarkets in Barcelona
This week we interviewed Alice de Jong for a particular submit on the Finest Chinese language supermarkets in Barcelona. Alice is a Dutch sinologist and a fluent Mandarin speaker. Alice was fascinated by Chinese language characters when she was younger, a lot in order that within the early 1980’s she determined to check Mandarin at College, throughout which era she additionally went as an trade scholar to the North-East of China. Over the following years earlier than commencement, she returned in the summertime months, giving excursions to her Dutch nation individuals. “Think about,” Alice tells me “Again then you definately couldn’t pre-book prepare tickets or motels, all the pieces needed to occur on the day in individual.” After commencement, Alice held jobs as an interpreter/translator and was a topic librarian for the Chinese language assortment at Leiden College for a few years. Alice even translated for Xi Jinping on an official state go to. Nowadays, she’s a hand-pulled noodle graduate who enjoys making elaborate Chinese language meals at dwelling: we requested her to share her favorite Chinese language supermarkets in Barcelona
Dumplings are being made at Kai Xuan a modest Chinese language restaurant on Roger de Flor 74.
Alice has six standards for a Chinese language grocery store:
- A walk-in fridge for greens
- In-house butcher (for particular meat cuts)
- Kitchenware, cooking gear and plates.
- A wider number of Asian merchandise. (Japanese, Korean, Malay, Indonesian.)
- Bulk buying. Alice brings her personal baggage to attenuate plastic use and even Tupperware for contemporary tofu.
- Speciality Sichuan merchandise, like Sichuan broad bean chilli paste (Pixian Doubanjiang) or pickled Sichuan vegetable (yacai)
[Chinese supermarkets, aphabetical:]
Oriental Meals Yuen Tong 遠東行 | Superb Oriental东方行
Carrer de Nàpols, 177, 08013
amazingoriental.es
Small Barcelona outpost by the enormous Dutch Chinese language grocery store chain Superb Oriental catering to the general public fairly than eating places. They’ve their merchandise shipped from the Netherlands warehouse all the way in which to Spain. (They’ve a second A.O. retailer inside Valencia’s prepare station).
It’s clear, skilled, and neat with a wide selection of merchandise. Of their freezer part, they’ve dumplings, meats, fish; very clear and contemporary greens, tofu and so on. Cooking gear and plates, together with one-portion ramen wire baskets. They’ve snacks and noodles from throughout Asia. Pictured beneath clockwise from left: Chinese language, Korean, Indonesian and Japanese prompt noodles.
Kitchenware, wider Asian choice, some Sichuan merchandise; No walk-in greens, no butcher, no bulk buying
Pictured above clockwise from left: Chinese language, Korean, Indonesian and Japanese prompt noodles.
♦ ♦ ♦
Oriental Market Barcelona 中歐百貨市場
Carrer de Sicília, 212, 08013
www.orientalmarket.es
From the doorway, this seems like a sushi takeaway place, which additionally sells Japanese katsu sando (a sort of pork chop sandwich). The inside is low-lit with darkish wood cabinets, actually probably the most upmarket of supermarkets with the costs to match. Oriental Market has an enormous number of dishes and plates, cups, bowls, and cooking utensils. Bespoke freezer, greens, ice lotions together with the British ice cream mochi model Little Moons. The emphasis right here is on Japanese elements. Within the glass vitrine, subsequent to the costly knives is a show of Kweichow Moutai first served by Mao Zedong throughout state visits to the likes of Nixon and Kissinger – it’s the most beneficial liquor firm on the earth and classic bottles have grow to be collectable.
Finest for kitchenware and restaurant ornament, bespoke Asian choice, and a few Sichuan merchandise; No walk-in greens, no butcher, no bulk buying
Kweichow Moutai a collectable Chinese language liquor
♦ ♦ ♦
That is Alice’s primary favorite grocery store in Barcelona. (And ours by coincidence!)
Supermercat Honesto / Zhengda 正大国货超市
Carrer de la Diputació, 342, 08009
That is Alice’s favorite Chinese language grocery store in Barcelona. On our final go to collectively, she chatted away with the employees in Mandarin earlier than heading straight to the well-stocked walk-in fridge. Reaching for the Tupperware in her backpack, Alice lifted a still-dripping bag of Tofu
“I really like this Tofu, they make and ship it contemporary every day from Badalona.”
The fridge additionally has 3 various kinds of contemporary salted seaweed, century eggs, zongzi, larou, Chinese language chives and contemporary rice sheets.
It was in Honesto that Alice advised us that whereas we’re nonetheless shopping for 5 spice powder, in China they’ve switched to 13 spice powder “as a result of sophisticated is best and the flavour is extra mellow.”Stroll-in greens, in-house butcher, tanks with seafood, bulk buying; Small number of kitchenware, good Sichuan merchandise, and no wider Asian choice
Foodie in Barcelona wrote about Honesto in 2016 right here.
Contemporary seaweed is on sale at Honesto grocery store.
♦ ♦ ♦
Contemporary tofu store 豆腐直销部 | 金天食品
Carrer de Roger de Flor, 82, 08013
Somewhat tofu store which sells contemporary soymilk, tofu curds, and smoked and contemporary tofu.
[speciality shop]
♦ ♦ ♦
Shunda Grocery store, Alice’s second alternative for Finest Grocery store in Barcelona
Shunda SD Supermercat 顺达超级商场
Carrer de Roger de Flor, 61 – 67, 08013
That is Alice’s second alternative in Barcelona. It’s nearer to the centre of town and she or he loves their newly refurbished plates and dishes part. Shunda has a walk-in vegetable fridge, in-house butcher, and a extra ‘northern’ vibe. It’s a very good supply of hard-to-get greens in season, like contemporary peanuts, contemporary bamboo, Chinese language cauliflower, and the humorous wanting wawa cai, a sort of mustard inexperienced with small, brussels sprouts-sized -‘infants’ protruding from its stem.
Stroll-in greens, in-house butcher, bulk buying (additionally dried noodles);
An enormous part of kitchenware, good Sichuan merchandise, no wider Asian choice
♦ ♦ ♦
Oh Meals has probably the most intensive assortment of hard-to-source dry elements.
Oh Hua Foods欧华食品
Carrer d’Alí Bei, 38, 08013
www.ouhuafoods.com
Subsequent to the Dazhong restaurant, there’s a grocery store with a surprisingly good number of items. Many dried items like Chinese language spices, dried mushrooms, and grains. It has fewer greens than within the different shops. On the plus facet, they open on Sunday mornings which isn’t a given for Chinese language Supermarkets in Barcelona.
Bulk buying (additionally noodles), in-house butcher, kitchenware (fashionable rice cookers);
No walk-in greens, no particular Sichuan merchandise, no wider Asian choice
Proud plastic offal show at Oh Supermarkets.
♦ ♦ ♦
Dong Fang | Extremo Oriente东方商场
Carrer de Balmes, 6, 08007
Dong Fang is probably the most ‘worldwide’ grocery store. It is usually one of many originals situated conveniently subsequent to Placa Catalunya. They’ve a big selection of packaged and contemporary Asian merchandise, Indonesian, Thai, Korean, Japanese and so on. Together with American merchandise like peanut butter and marshmallow unfold.
Vast number of Asian merchandise (Indonesian sambals, contemporary South-East Asian herbs), kitchenware;
No walk-in greens, no in-house butcher, no particular Sichuan merchandise, no bulk buying
Foodie in Barcelona wrote about Dong Fang in 2015 right here.
♦ ♦ ♦
Day Day Go 天天购亚洲超市
Ronda de St. Pere, 47, 08010
www.everydaygo.es
The latest retailer to open in Barcelona. Day Day Go is a clear and neatly shelved retailer, with a wide selection. Their vegetable choice is consigned to a walled fridge part. They’ve an in-house butcher and plan to have a takeaway deli or snack nook, however till they do, there are contemporary zongzi or speciality pork cuts in a low fridge close to the butcher counter. Good number of beers and Chinese language spirits. Wonderful cookware and kitchenware sections.
Kitchenware, in-house butcher, a small nook of Japanese / Korean specialities
No walk-in greens, no bulk buying, no particular Sichuan merchandise
♦ ♦ ♦
Tian En is a Taiwanese vegan store that makes loads of its personal merchandise.
Tian En Vegetariana 天恩素食
Carrer de Trafalgar, 68, 08010
Tian En is a Taiwanese-owned vegan retailer. It has a wide selection of dried soybean merchandise, gluten powder, and mushrooms. Taiwan is a 90% Buddhist nation, as such, they’ve been consuming mock meats for years earlier than the remainder of us bought on the wonderful burger bandwagon. The store has a freezer with an incredible number of mock kinds of meat.
[speciality shop]
♦ ♦ ♦
Buen Vecino | Tremendous bonvecino 超级好邻居
Carrer del Bruc 1, 08010
store.qzdian.com
A superb grocery store that shares all the pieces, however someway lacks character. It has an in-house butcher and a walk-in vegetable fridge. Alice likes you could purchase rice, peanuts, dates and so forth in bulk and brings her personal reusable baggage.
Stroll-in greens, in-house butcher, bulk buying (rice, Chinese language dates);
Part of kitchenware close to the window, no Sichuan merchandise, no wider Asian choice
♦ ♦ ♦
Yangguang Supermercat YangKuang新阳光商场 Alimentacio Orient
Pg. de Sant Joan, 12 – 14, 08010
foodsforyou.es
That is the closest Chinese language grocery store to Arc de Triomf. It has a particular yellow signal that spans two buildings. It’s a spacious retailer with a butcher and a big walk-in fridge that’s all the time properly stocked. Yang Kuang sells numerous kitchen home equipment together with cooking pots, earthenware steamers, rice cookers and woks. It has a big number of plates and cups. In addition to a wide selection of flours. There’s a complete aisle of snacks and sauces – issues like pickle-flavoured crips or shredded spicy squid. Prospects are a mixture of Chinese language and Westerners. Stroll-in greens, in-house butcher, bulk buying, wider Asian choice,a big part of kitchenware, no speciality Sichuan merchandise
Foodie in Barcelona wrote about Yang Kuang in 2018 right here.
♦ ♦ ♦
Bafang Supermercado Asia 八方超市
Carrer de Balmes, 10, 08007
That is the smaller of the 2 supermarkets close to Placa Catalunya. Alice tells us that she typically finds attention-grabbing issues right here, like sure sorts of pickles or sauces. Additionally contemporary greens.
Wider Asian choice, some kitchenware, speciality Sichuan merchandise. No walk-in greens, no in-house butcher, no bulk buying
