I think every city in every part of the world has a Chinatown. Maybe it's just a couple of restaurants or stores or maybe it's dozens of blocks. Even the small town in Slovakia where I lived had one. Buenos Aires is no exception to this phenomenon. Chinatown is only 3 blocks long, but still. ( They're actually a " Koreatown" in a neighbourhood south of the city too, but that will be the subject of another entry..)
After listening to Bach's Christmas Oratorio in a gorgeous white granite church in Belgrano, me and my friend Cameron went to El Barrio Chino for something to eat. Nothing like a little Chinese food after some German music in a Spanish-style church in Buenos Aires.
The Chinatown Restaurant Aesthetic must be universal. Large, open space, bright lights, long tables. Chinese calendars or pictures on the walls. Maybe a lantern or two hanging from the ceiling, if you're lucky. The furniture and decoration emanating a functionality; like, we're here for good, cheap eats, not fancy cutlery.
They say Chinese restaurant owners adapt the food served in their establishment to the prevailing palatal idiosyncrasies of the region. Like your typical North American strip mall Chinese food is pretty sweet ( Chicken balls in plum sauce, anyone?) and I've heard Chinese food in India is full of spices. As far as I could discern, Argentine Chinese food was pretty similar to what you'd find in Chinatown in Montreal.
Though they didn't even give you the chopstick option- it was forks all the way.
As I walked into the restaurant I felt for a second as if I were in Chinatown in Montreal. Like a split second trip home.
(Sort of strange that it's the Chinese restaurant and not the Irish pub, or McDonald's, or Hooters, let's say, that spontaneously teleports me back to North America for a moment. Though maybe that's because I make it a rule avoid Irish pubs, McDonald's and Hooters like the plague.)
After listening to Bach's Christmas Oratorio in a gorgeous white granite church in Belgrano, me and my friend Cameron went to El Barrio Chino for something to eat. Nothing like a little Chinese food after some German music in a Spanish-style church in Buenos Aires.
The Chinatown Restaurant Aesthetic must be universal. Large, open space, bright lights, long tables. Chinese calendars or pictures on the walls. Maybe a lantern or two hanging from the ceiling, if you're lucky. The furniture and decoration emanating a functionality; like, we're here for good, cheap eats, not fancy cutlery.
They say Chinese restaurant owners adapt the food served in their establishment to the prevailing palatal idiosyncrasies of the region. Like your typical North American strip mall Chinese food is pretty sweet ( Chicken balls in plum sauce, anyone?) and I've heard Chinese food in India is full of spices. As far as I could discern, Argentine Chinese food was pretty similar to what you'd find in Chinatown in Montreal.
Though they didn't even give you the chopstick option- it was forks all the way.
As I walked into the restaurant I felt for a second as if I were in Chinatown in Montreal. Like a split second trip home.
(Sort of strange that it's the Chinese restaurant and not the Irish pub, or McDonald's, or Hooters, let's say, that spontaneously teleports me back to North America for a moment. Though maybe that's because I make it a rule avoid Irish pubs, McDonald's and Hooters like the plague.)
Full disclosure: I didn't actually see the smoking Chinese man in this picture when I was in Chinatown, ok?
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