Barcelona's Chinatown: a journey to the Orient

Visit Barcelona's Chinatown offers you a real change of scenery.

Chances are you've visited Chinatowns in other major cities around the world, like Paris.

Barcelona also has an ethnic zone reserved for Asians.

Today, I'm going to take you there and show you what you can find.

How do I get to Barcelona's Chinatown?

The easiest way to get to China Town is to take metro line 1 or the FGC (local train) and get off at Arc de Triomf. You can also take line 2 of the metro and get off at Tetuan station.

Shop in the Asian Quarter

For those of you looking for ingredients for satay or another Asian dish, there are several Asian supermarkets you can explore in this part of town. What's more, you won't be stopped by the language barrier. In fact, most food labels are translated into English or Spanish.

The products found here are often less expensive and more authentic than those you find at Carrefour, Mercadona or similar food chains.

The assortments of exotic sauces and dumplings are particularly impressive. For a good start, you can visit three of the best stores in the area:

Yuen Tong
Honesto
Yang Kuang

If you're not looking for ingredients, you can stop off at one of the many stores selling all types of Asian objects. Whether you're looking to buy personalized chopsticks or a rice cooker to take home, this is the perfect place to shop and save big!

Barcelona's Chinatown: take an interest in Asian culture

You'll also find a number of stores selling statuettes and other items. other works of art typical of Asia. You can also pop into one of the stores selling manga and other Japanese figurines. A perfect place if you have children interested in this culture.

Enjoy authentic Chinese restaurants

If you want to enjoy a Chinese meal in Barcelona, there are dozens of restaurants to try in this neighborhood. One of the best and most affordable is Chen Ji, where you can eat for less than €10 per meal.

Takumi Tonkotsu Ramen

Takumi is a super colorful restaurant, with those typical Japanese lanterns hanging from the ceiling and posters on the walls. The menu offers various options, but the main dish is ramen, a traditional Japanese soup.

Among the decorations is a small poster telling the story of Takumi Tonkotsu Ramen's creation. The small details and flavors of each dish make this place an excellent starting point for our visit.

Tea at Q Tea

Here you find yourself in a Hong Kong tea, dessert and confectionery store with some very interesting flavors and rather unusual tea names. The tea menu is divided into: original teas, milk teas, fruit teas, teas from popular influencers.

Among the fruit teas, the Avocado Energy Drink is the one I'd recommend. The store is very colorful, with pink flamingos on shelves, poufs and walls filled with frames.

Chinatown Barcelona: Lady Dumpling

It used to be the Gyosas Bar, a restaurant reserved for gyosas. After the pandemic, it was renovated and is now the second Lady Dumpling restaurant in Barcelona. The first is on Calle Escudelllers, in the Gothic Quarter. Here, you can enjoy a more varied menu, with more space between the tables. You can even request delivery. The establishment will then bring your dumplings to your home.

Le Canton Food Restaurant

With murals reminiscent of Chinese customs, this is one of the few Cantonese restaurants in Barcelona. Cantonese is a dialect of Yue Chinese, the official language of Hong Kong and Macau.

But don't worry, the menu is in Spanish and English. Cantonese is one of the eight main types of Chinese cuisine. A place to eat that you really must try it.

Barcelona's Chinatown is a wonderful place filled with various culinary and artistic treasures straight from the Orient. During your visit, I suggest to stop in the places I've described above.