Usera, Madrid's Chinatown, is a box full of surprises
Usera , the Madrid's Chinatown , hides in its streets modern places of the most avant-garde and unknown China across the western world. The Chinese New Year It is the perfect excuse to live it like a real Chinese. You are able?
CHINA: A NEW AND MODERN SOCIETY
The Chinese community hasn't been around us that long. We consult with David Berna, anthropologist, director of the Chinese New Year of the Madrid City Council and Professor of Anthropology at the Complutense University of Madrid once we have arrived in Usera.
“ At the end of the 70s there were hardly a thousand Chinese in Spain . It is a very minority migration that began to evolve at the end of the 90s in Lavapiés, not gentrified and with a certain conflict. The Chinese population suffered enough. They landed in Usera almost by chance, perhaps because of its easy access through the M-30”, explains David to Traveler.es.
we start to find entire streets where all the businesses are Chinese. At first they were unattractive services, even for themselves, but they covered needs. As of 2014, the purchasing power is greater and the Chinese begin to demand things of a higher level.
Chinese lanterns adorn every corner to welcome the new year
The first modern coffee places appear, where ** matcha tea ** is drunk, with a much more careful aesthetic (light years away from what we have on the retina).
“You can find a tea with a carrot cake served in a Chinese place with very contemporary music. Everything has changed. The second generations are children who have grown up here and who demand consumption at the same level as any young Spaniard; consume less clothes, but more technology Bern explains. The last generation is the one that has brought modernity.
"For the Chinese woman body care and hygiene is very important, hence the aesthetics in Usera's businesses have evolved so much. Recent generations have brought more complex businesses such as parapharmacies or marriage agencies for Chinese ”, relates the anthropologist.
Definitely not only has it rained torrentially since 1979 when the first Chinese in the Plaza de la Luna , but we have no idea what Chinese society really is.
Red, gold and of course, dragons
THIS YEAR THE LANTERNS WILL FLY IN USERA
The Chinese New Year It is an eminently family festival and has many rituals related to the spiritual cleansing and lots of food.
It's very important visiting families, Well, gifts are given and envelopes with money are given to the children (sounds like a Christmas bonus, right?).
Red is the color of luck and success. Same as gold color. The New Year's custom of giving envelopes with money is a symbol of prosperity and wish for prosperity for the new generations.
A very common tradition in Chinese houses is also to put a red card with gold letters welcoming the year to enter that house.
This year Usera has the largest parade, with almost double the number of participants.
The sunrise ceremony will be done in Pradolongo Lake, an event that will feature performances to welcome the first day of the year.
A sculptural ensemble with luminous figures and fireworks. Also, lanterns with messages will cross the sky with wishes for the coming new year.
You can't miss the dragons, the masks, the drums and the cymbals and, above all, tolerance, illusion and diversity.
Traditional dance during the Chinese New Year celebration in Usera
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR SPRING ROLLS, DON'T COME
Eat the Chinatown of Madrid Start by forget lemon chicken and spring rolls , which are possibly as Chinese as salmorejo or paella.
In Usera we can find very different gastronomic spaces and with different prices, covering almost all the provinces of China and with a Chinese culinary offer, but really Chinese.
If you are lucky enough to pass through Jin Yun Shao Bing _(Calle Nicolás Sánchez, 59) _, it is essential that you make the first stop to eat their famous cakes.
These wonders are some cakes from a Shanghai area, heritage of Chinese gastronomy that, to date, we have only found in this restaurant.
The cakes they are served on paper as a snack and are usually filled with pork and pickled vegetables.
The restaurant itself has an oven to make these cakes, similar to Turkish pitas, which are a hit in the Chinese community.
The typical Shanghai cakes are one of the most demanded foods
The spicy lovers, without a doubt, they will look for the gastronomic options of the Sichuan region (South of the country) .
An example is the Shaokao , or Chinese barbecues, which are usually accompanied by ingredients so spicy that they would burn the entire Doñana in one breath.
The 'pork cooked twice' It is another traditional Chinese dish from the Sichuan region, very spicy and made in the wok in two stages. These delicacies can be found in the Sichuan Spicy _(Dolores Barranco Street, 10) _.
Twice-cooked pork, a traditional dish from the Sichuan region
A highly demanded dish is Ho-kuo , westernized as Chinese hot pot or fondue , a pot of broth with fish or meat, vegetables and noodles.
The restaurant Mr Doulao (Calle Olvido, 46), recently opened, is one of the modern chinese restaurants where you can eat with your individual ceramic hob to heat your own Ho-kuo.
If, on the other hand, your plan is blend in with the Chinese community , eat in Lao Tou _(Calle Nicolás Sánchez, 35) _ can be a real experience.
It is a tavern that goes unnoticed, but where you can eat authentic wonders such as mushrooms with cashews waves fried ribs.
Mandatory stop is Royal Cantonese (Olvido Street, 92), the highest representation of Cantonese cuisine, where it is essential to order the tendon casserole , the sautéed lotus flower and the jellyfish salad
Between Shanghai and Canton is the province of Fujian, the most famous gastronomically and a source of great Chinese chefs.
In the markets of this province you can buy jellyfish in jars in some supermarkets. Here, in Madrid, you can get hold of this delicacy in some Chinese supermarkets such as Príncipe Pío.
FIVE ESSENTIALS FOR A PERFECT PLAN IN CHINATOWN
1. Schedule a beauty session in a Chinese hairdresser
The Chinese are very meticulous when it comes to skin and hair care. From a facial mask still hair and nail treatment that it may well end with an impossible haircut Chinese style.
You will realize that the Chinese (and more particularly the Chinese) always dress to the nines.
two. Sweeten yourself in a Chinese pastry shop
The Chinese do not usually eat sweets for dessert, they usually reserve them for special occasions. In fact, in China, confectionery was reserved for the emperors and the people did not eat cakes or sweets.
Today, patisseries like Ovlsok _(Calle de Nicolás Usera, 73) _ They make emperor sweets like the nut paste and the gold paste or the green tea filled sponge cake rolls or taro (it is an Asian plant).
Spoiler alert: colored cakes can contain ingredients as exotic as dried chicken.
3. Enjoy bubble tea in its modern cafes
Undoubtedly one of the most exciting experiences is to try the curious bubble tea, a bubble tea of Taiwanese origin.
Choose the tea on the one hand, the flavored bubble on the other and enjoy a explosive flavor combination.
lomite _(Nicolas Sanchez Street, 71) _ is one of the places where they serve it, but beware, during Chinese New Year they close for 15 days to visit family in China. You have to go in March.
Four. Shopping in a Chinese supermarket
In addition to exotic spices , infinity of varieties of impossible pasta and knickknacks , almost all establishments of this type have a fish section which well includes a huge aquarium where you can choose, for example, the eel that you like the most and take it home "very fresh".
Almost all of them have a musical thread worthy of any Eurovision song contest.
5. Lose your mind at karaoke
Usera's Chinese karaokes are a true experience for the senses and the best party ending there is.
Look for a KTV , put a price and rent a private room with drinks to enjoy a frenetic karaoke session with classics from U2 and The Beatles to Pantoja.
*Report published on February 16, 2018 and updated on February 8, 2019
The famous bubble tea, a bubble tea of Taiwanese origin