Lyon sights and tastes

Beautiful Lyon on a spring-like Sunday in early February.

One of the best things about living where we live—although we enjoy a quiet country lifestyle, we are centrally located. To the North, Geneva and the rest of Switzerland. To the Northeast, Paris is a short 2.5 hours by TGV. And to the South, about 90 minutes via the A40 and A42, is Lyon, highly regarded as the gastronomical capital of France and home to many Michelin-starred restaurants and Les Halles of Paul Bocuse fame.

I am charmed by its people, history, architecture, and colorful arrondisements. Besides being a foodie lover's paradise, it is a very livable French city as well with a lovely waterfront which has been given back to the Lyonnais (sort of like how the Big Dig gave Boston back some green parks). I will be writing more on Lyon and French food soon, but for now, I'll expound on what I found in Chinatown.

On this fine Sunday, some Lyonnais were enjoying the cafes along the beautiful riverfront, while others preferred to leaf through old hardcovers and paperbacks at the book market. Still others were taking in weather in the high 50s F by walking, jogging, or bicycling along the water. I had good intentions to check out les traboules, l’amphithéâtre des Trois Gauls, and revisit Les Halles. However, the weather was so nice that we decided to stay close to the Rhone. Shedding our wintry layers, we strolled around La Presqu'île, Chinatown, and then the nearby Middleastern and Indian quartiers. Our mission - watch the dragon dance, shop at local supermarkets, get a feel for the different neighborhoods, and dine well.
Outside of Paris, Lyon has the 3rd largest Asian population, and so it's no surprise that it has a Chinatown. Le quartier chinois, located in the 7eme arrondisement, is very close to the banks of the Rhone and the Panasonic building.

Le Quartier Chinois
Only 6 blocks long, Lyon's Chinatown is quite compact and small compared to those of Paris, NYC, SF, and even Boston. But it has plenty of little restaurants and supermarkets to keep me busy for a good afternoon. To find Chinatown, start at Metro Le Guillotiere and walk down Rue De Marseille to Rue Salomon Reinach.

Despite being called Chinatown, immigrants from Southeast Asian countries outnumber those from Taiwan or even mainland China. On the street, I heard Cambodian, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese..and I met the owners of two Asian groceries stores, both of whom speak my native Chinese dialect! What a coincidence! Apparently, there are also many Laotions, Thai, and some Taiwanese who live in Lyon.

• Supermarché Asie (SA) - owned by ethnic Chinese Cambodians, it is a well stocked market with fresh vegetables, but no butcher. I couldn't find Thai basil, or ground pork, but they did have fresh lemongrass (for 8, 50 a kg), lots of different Vietnamese herbs, and bamboo steamers. They overcharged me 7.90 Euros though but returned it when I pointed out the mistake. I will shop there again but will definitely check my receipt. They accept credit cards.
• Hiep-Hung Marché D'Asie - owned by ethnic Chinese Vietnamese, it is about the same size as SA. I prefer this market because it has a butcher and the prices are either the same or lower than SA, but I forgot to look for the ground pork. There I bought 1/2 kg of dried shiitake mushrooms, 9 bags of Mama instant ramen, some napa cabbage. They also accept major credit cards.

Returning home, I surveyed my goods and found out that there are 2 large importers of Asian goods into France.

• Tang Frères - almost everything I bought today had Importé par Tang Frères stamped on the bag. One of the 2 largest Asian supermarket chains, it has many stores in and around Paris, but none in Lyon. I have to visit this store in Paris when I visit.
• Paris Store - This is the other Asian supermarket chain, with a store in Vénissieux, right next to Lyon. I've heard it's reminiscent of Costco or BJ's. A giant airy warehouse with cheap prices. They sell retail as well as wholesale. I am so going there on my next trip to Lyon. Note that they are closed on Sundays.

L'Indochine Restaurant - owned by ethnic Chinese Cambodians, it serves a fantastic and fresh Asian butffet. Skeptical about eating at a greasy place, and an Asian one at that, I was surprised and delighted by the deliciousness, high quality, and selection of the food! The service was friendly and good; they didn't hover but whenever there was a dirty dish, it was removed within minutes. Modernly decorated, there was not a plastic covering on the chairs or tables. There was a very good salad bar, an entree bar, a bar with plat principals (main dishes), a bar with many different sauces such as soy, Maggi, fish, sweet sour, different vinegars, bottled and freshly macerated hot sauces, and 2 dessert bars. After paying the bill, we got Chupa Chups and 2 red envelopes with chocolate coin inside. My favorite dishes included:

• Vietnamese chicken and cucumber salad with a bit of tamarind and fish sauce and mint. Crunchy and tart. I could eat a whole plate of this
• Vietnamese papaya salad with shrimp
  
• Stir-fried whole baby squid in its own sauce
• Thai style mussels with colorful bell peppers
• Salt and pepper fried shrimp
• Pork nems. When I first arrived in France, I was totally confused why the French call cha gio (or Vietnamese egg rolls) as "nems". The reason is that the North Vietnamese call it "nems" while the Southern Vietnamese call it "cha gio". In the South, nems are something entirely different!
• Red pork, or porc laqué
• Steamed sole in a curry-coconut sauce (steamed in a banana leaf)
  
• Vietnamese spring rolls with lots of shrimp, crunchy vegetables, and mint
• Two dessert bars. An Asian one with 3 different kinds of tapioca pudding (banana, hearts of Palm, and taro! Yum, taro!); 2 different kinds of sesame desserts; and candied ginger. A cooler with 6 different kinds of Carte D'or brand ice cream. I liked the rhum raisin flavor.

Drumming music. Colorful dragons. Outdoor art. Beautiful views. Great ethnic neighborhoods. Trying colorful Jordanian sweets. Window shopping in the Arab part of town, looking at beautiful embroidered gowns. Walking with my R on a beautiful afternoon = good Sunday.