Viva Vi Viet: A Bright Spot in Valencia’s Chinatown
Valencia’s Chinatown, in the neighborhood of Bailen, doesn’t seem to hold many surprises: Lots of drab eateries serving overpriced Cantonese-ish glop to hard-luck hostel-dwellers and down-market tourists looking for something quick but substantial to prepare them for a long train ride out of nearby Estacio Nord.
Luckily, there is Vi Viet, one of the few bright spots in Chinatown, which serves authentic Vietnamese cuisine in a relaxed setting befitting their comforting food.
Nem cua rong bien -crispy seaweed crab roll
Goi xoa tom – mango and shrimp salad
Vi Viet: Authentic Vietnamese Food in Valencia
The lunch set menu is a good entry point if you’ve never had Vietnamese food before, or if you just want to sample the kitchen’s talents. Start with the nem cua rong bien or crispy seaweed crab roll, which is sweet crab meat and veggies stuffed into a wrapper and fried. Vi Viet’s version uses crunchy seaweed as a wrapper, and the crab meat is luscious, with warming spices that add some complexity to the dish.
Another great starter is the goi xoa tom mango and shrimp salad, long strands of carrots and mango over lettuce with a sweet and salty dressing, strewn with nuts for crunch and properly-fried shrimp. Vietnamese cooking really lends itself to salads, not unlike Thai food, where tropical fruits meet more mundane lettuces and leafy vegetables.
Pho: The Soul of Vietnamese Cuisine
Its lightness will also prepare you for the bowl of pho, the soup that is the soul of Vietnamese cooking. The broth, rich and unctuous from long-simmered beef bones, is mellowed by an array of warm spices, especially star anise, that emphasize the mouth-feel and umami, of this hearty dish. Slices of beef float in the bowl, and fresh herbs dance on the surface. A tangle of thick rice noodles adds some heft. This is the kind of dish you eat with both hands, spoon and chopsticks working in tandem.
There are several other versions of pho served here, and you may be tempted to try them all. The menu also lists many non-pho dishes, including dry noodles, rice plates, and curries. The service is friendly and unobtrusive, and the whole restaurant sort of gleams with freshness. I had dessert, the yogurt with mango that is slyly zippy, but my thoughts, and all of my senses, kept returning to that pho. Yours will too, I imagine.
Pho – rice noodles in beef bone broth, simmered with star anise
Yu Asia Supermercado: A New Asian Supermarket in Bailen
Anyone who knows me is super-cognizant of the fact that I spent my days in NYC obsessively haunting Manhattan’s Chinatown for hard-to-find Asian ingredients: fruits, vegetables, alliums (I invented the notorious Scallion Index, which economists in the know still use to this day), condiments, snacks, or just the perfect frozen dumplings (Way Fong, natch).
Bailen, Valencia’s Chinatown, is a lot more, shall we say, limited. If you shop for Asian ingredients here, you will have a certain grudging familiarity with Hiper Asia, the mastodon of Asian grocery stores in that hood. But lately it’s been looking pretty dusty and unloved. So if you’re not trying to buy dinnerware or luggage(!), and just looking for the finest selection of Asian condiments, snacks, and frozen foods, I’m here to tell you that there’s a new Asian supermarket in town. And it’s got every single thing you’ll need in a clean, well-lit environment.
The husband-and-wife owners of Yu Grocery have packed their relatively small space with a wide variety of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and even Thai ingredients! I picked up some lemongrass, Thai red peppers, and Makrut lime leaves from their cooler, all the makings of a soothing and spicy Thai curry (yes, they have pre-made curry pastes too). Pick up some frozen leek dumplings for a quick and easy dinner (and maybe a beer or two from their distinctive selection), and support this great new family-owned grocery store.
