Given the recent influx in Chinese immigration, notable from the numerous bazaars popping up on…read moreevery street, Seville is developing its own China Town on the outskirts of the city. It is yet to boast a huge gateway similar to China Towns of large cities like London or Manchester, but you are sure to know when you are there. All signs are marked in Chinese characters: a driving school, hairdresser and doctors' surgery... and my new find: Bar Oriental Qi Lin Ke.
The bar's interior is basic with plastic tablecloths, dotted with bottles of red, spicy sauce and soy sauce. My friend and I were the only European-looking diners alongside a group of Chinese teenagers and a family. The menu is vast and features dishes that you'd only find in a real Chinese restaurant, i.e. where Chinese people eat: black eggs, fried frogs' legs and duck tongue to name a few. My friend and I were pretty hungry so hedged our bets on dishes that we were sure would satisfy our appetite and fulfill our curiosity: seaweed salad, beef noddle soup, steamed prawn dumplings and a rice ball cooked in a bamboo leaf (all sounded way more adventurous in Spanish). All (well not quite, a doggy bag was requested) were washed down with TsingTao beer. Portions were plentiful and our feast came to just over €20.