La Petite Chinoise : LPC

One of the very few Chinese restaurants I go to in Paris is literally called “The Usual Home Cooked Food”. It’s a hole in the wall operation, but there is always a long line. This is one restaurant, probably the only one that I have waited patiently (Ben will disagree, but it’s true, I mean, compared to waiting in line at the perfecture) for an hour to get in. Yes, the craving for decent Chinese food is that strong.

“Jia Chang Cai Fan” (JCCF) is located in the 3rd Chinatown in Paris near the métro “Arts et Métiers”. There are no obvious signs of the Chinese community in the 3rd, as this is a very discreet group and generally keep to themselves. However, this is actually where Chinatown started in Paris*. In the 1930s and 40s, Chinese from Wenzhou, a province in China, came to work for the Jewish traders in leather and wholesale businesses. They later took over the jobs and the businesses from the Jews during WWII. The largest Chinatown is in the 13th arrondissement at Ave de Choisy and the second in size is in the 19th at Belleville.

JCCF is run by a family from Wenzhou as are most Chinese restaurants in Paris. There are 12 small tables and 2 “big” round tables for groups of 6. They do not accept reservations and seating is on a first come first serve basis.

Every time I eat at JCCF, I always order way too much. But Ben and I have a way of eating it all up with two bowls of fragrant rice each and a big bottle of TsingTao pi jiu (TsingTao beer). Our favourites are Wen zhou specialties are “water cooked beef” and Wenzhou style dumplings. “Water cooked beef” is claypot of thin slices of beef, tofu cubes, green cabbage cooked in water and oil with coriander and red chillies. You can order water cooked beef in three different claypot sizes and three levels of spiciness. Very spicy will send you shooting through the roof if you are not an expert red chilli cruncher.

We have also tried the other dishes such as “Ma Po Tofu”, “Seasonal greens stir fried in oil and garlic”, “Spring onion omelettes”, “Steamed fish with young ginger”, “Salt and pepper crispy prawns”, “Eggplant stew”… they’re all very good, just like home cooked food.

The only “down” side is that the two ladies who run the show are very snob with an elephant’s memory. They will tell you to stand in line or come back another day, sometimes with a smirk and then more gibberish to each other in their dialect. You could very politely and firmy ask“Madame, how long is the wait”… If you are newcomer or not from Wenzhou, the wait can be doubled. If you are not Chinese, the answer is usually tripled. They do not care that non-Chinese is interested in the food. They know they are good and they have more business than they can manage. They have not, and probably will not expand either.

Dinner for two: small "water cooked beef", "salt and pepper prawns" and eggplant claypot, 2 bowls of jasmine rice and a big bottle of TsingTao beer amounted to EUR34.20

Jia Chang Cai Fan or Le Lac de l'Ouest
5 Rue Volta**
75003, Paris
Métro: Arts et Métiers
Open all day, except M, W and F afternoons. Last order at 10:30pm
Cash, checks and ticket restaurants only
Closed for 4 weeks in the summer and it varies from year to year

* The first Chinatown ever in Paris, was located where Gare de Lyon now stands. It formed when the Chinese arrived after WW1 to help with France's labour shortage. It was called Îlot de Chalot, but no longer exists. The Chinatown in the 3rd arrondissement was formed by the second wave of Chinese labourers.

** No 3 Rue Volta is the second oldest building in Paris. It is a half timbered house and believed to be over 300 years old. The oldest is close by at 51. Rue Montmorency and considered to be built in 1407.