As a Chinese living in Paris for nearly 3 years, I have been asked to recommend a Chinese restaurant in Paris for more than a dozen times. But until right now my answer stays the same - the Chinatown Olympiades, the oldest and the best.
Why? Because the history of the restaurant is also the history of Chinese lived in Paris.
Honestly, the beginning of it was not so pleasant. During the cold war of the last century, the far east asia suffer a great damage from the great conflict of communism and capitalism. Many wars and political movements raged one after the other, leaving millions of asian refugees. Paris, as one of the greatest city in the world, willingly or unwillingly, accepted these refugees.
The restaurant situated in the very center of the 13s arrondissement, which used to be the industriel area of Paris as “13” is not a lucky word in western culture. It is created by Tang’s brother, refugees origin in China since 1985. Without much fortune at the beginning, Tang’s brother earn their living by hard working and excellent sense of business. After their success of supermarket, they open the very first Chinese restaurant - Chinatown Olympiades.
After the history lesson, let’s talk something easier - their food! Their cooking mainly in cantonese style, which instead of spicy taste of the sichuan style, focus on the very nature taste of the meat. The roasted duck and the juicy homard are two of their best dishes.
Roasted Duck
Juicy Homard
If you had the chance, visit once this restaurant and taste both the food and the history!