Asian food tour in Brussels: these authentic and new concepts are worth the detour – Culinary
Looking for the best Asian addresses in Brussels? Journalist Caroline Dhont went on a food tour in our capital and originals you some authentic and concepts that are definitely worth the detour.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes the urge for real Asian food is great. In Antwerp I have a nice list of good addresses, but what about in our capital? With a friend who even has a great love for Asian cuisine, I went on a voyage of discovery to Brussels.
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I don’t know about you, but sometimes the urge for real Asian food is great. In Antwerp I have a nice list of good addresses, but what about in our capital? With a friend who even has a great love for Asian cuisine, I went on a voyage of discovery to Brussels. A lot of research was done beforehand and it soon became clear: the authentic addresses in Brussels are few and far between. Brussels does not have its own China Town, there are a few restaurants and shops nearby in and around the Van Praetstraat aan de Beurs. So it is a real challenge to collect the best addresses. During our visit we discover that a new generation of lovers of Asian cuisine has emerged. Westerners who found their passion in the Far East, and often started their own Asian-inspired concept with an inspiration. This tour is a combination of those authentic and ‘new’ addresses, spread over the hip districts of Sint-Gilles and Ixelles and the center of the city. ‘Japanese grandmother style food’ is the slogan of the restaurant. Do you see a cute Japanese grandmother standing in the kitchen? Not that. It is the Italian filmmaker Loic Sturani who generated his passion for authentic home cooking while traveling in Japan. He stayed there for five years to work in restaurants, before finally opening Tokidoki in Brussels in 2018. You can go there for lunch and dinner and you can choose from 3 menu options: vegetarian, with meat or ‘tour d’horizon’, a more extensive menu with dessert. We opt for a vegetarian lunch, and are served a table full of small plates with fritters with corn and Chinese cabbage, agebidashi (vegetables fried with ginger), salad with daikon and wafu vinaigrette and rice with furikake: fresh, light and surprising. The menu changes and is kept up-to-date on the website and social media. Tokidoki – tokidokirestaurant.comChausée de Alsemberg 128, St. GillesAsian dessert shops are few and far between in our capital. Until 24-year-old Gwendoline Simon came up with her ‘asian cake bar’. They are there ‘Ka Bao’s’. A self-content dessert, focused on Taiwan bao, savory steamed buns and the light Chinese ‘roll cake’. The result is a soft, thin waffle pastry, half folded and filled with surprising and exotic flavors. We taste a Ka Bao Speculoos with a light whipped cream filling with speculoos spices, finished with raspberries and speculoos crumbs. Nicely served in a Chinese steamer basket. The iced matcha bubble tea may sound a bit like Instagram hype, but it’s surprisingly fresh and not too sweet when tried. The exotic interior will one day even make you dream of distant travels. Kaki Cake BarWaterloosesteenweg 394, St. GillesLooking for Japanese ingredients? You can find them at Tagawa. The only ‘chain’ in Belgium of Japanese supermarkets with five branches, all in Brussels. We visit in Ixelles. Rayons full of sake, miso paste, ‘condiments’ (shoyu – soy sauce, ponzu, rice vinegar, yuz juice,…), instant noodles and sweets in the craziest packaging. But you will also find refrigerators filled with delicious vegetables and freshly made bento boxes, sushi, sashimi and Japanese snacks. Some locations in Tagawa also serve fresh stuffed squid balls, such as the street food snack ‘takoyaki’. Keep an eye on their Instagram page as their ‘takoyaki man’ is in different locations on different days. Highly recommended for any Japan lover! Tagawa – tagawa.euo.a. Vleurgatsesteenweg 119, Brussels Close to the Stock Exchange you will find the institute ‘Au Bon Bol’ where you come for hand-pulled noodles. Upon entering you will see the Chinese chef live in a precise and accurate manner. At the top of the shop you take a seat in the typical uninviting utility room and order a bowl of noodle soup. There are also other dishes on the menu, but really everyone (look around you!) opts for the soup. You can choose the topping, we go for crispy chicken and wan tan, which are recommended. A large, steaming bowl of soup is firmly placed in front of you. Packed with those freshly pulled noodles, nice and al dente and slightly thicker than your usual bend from the supermarket versions, a tasty, clean stock, some frugal soybean sprouts and spring onions and your chosen topping. That’s all it takes to indulge in this ultimate Chinese comfort food. Au Bon Bol – bonbol.bePaul Delvauxstraat 9, BrusselsNong Cha – literally: ‘strong tea’ – is, to our knowledge, the only unique Chinese tea shop in Belgium. Upon entering you will see a large wall full of metal tea tins. The owner is somewhat timid, but if you ask him a few questions about his teas, he really blossoms. We are allowed dozens of different types and publications explanations. you can’t go there temporarily with the Corona measures for a Chinese tea ceremony, but you are guaranteed outside with some unique dee varieties to try at home. Also a nice collection of teapots and cups and other accessories. Do you want to give an original gift? Then ask about the pressed tea blocks. In ancient China, these were even used as a means of payment. Nong Cha Antoine Dansaertstraat 4, BrusselsYi Chan was tipped to us as a good place to eat in the evening in the center of Brussels. The owner Yen Pham took over the restaurant ‘Bambou Fleur’ - the first Chinese restaurant in the Van Praetstraat – from his parents 5 years ago. He broke with the traditional style of Chinese restaurants that we are used to here, and turned it into a modern Asian restaurant and bar. Here you will find original Asian-inspired cocktails and Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. For starters, let’s tackle a whole host of snacks and of course some of Yen’s signature cocktails: Le Yuzu and Le Basilic Thai. Accompanied by a marinated cucumber salad: xiao long bao’s (the one with stock in it), kimchi gyoza and har cheung, that is a rice pancake filled with scampi and finished with sweet soy sauce. Although the concept is not entirely authentic, you don’t often come across the dishes on an Asian menu. The set up – Vietnamese noodle salad with scampi and crispy pork belly with bok choy – is less appealing. It is striking that almost everyone around us takes the Vietnamese pho, where the broth is poured from a tea pot. The next time! Also worth mentioning is the beer we order from us: Pijiu, co-designed by manager Yen, with mandarin, yuzu, rice and barley. Yi Chan -Van Praetstraat 13, Brussels