My top 3 Asian Spots of Iturrama
When you look around the ambient sights of the city, the greenish grounds and the scenic views, you can just tell that a variety of people are drawn towards it. Pamplona brings all sorts of souls to its colorful streets, including a number of students from a range of backgrounds all over the world.
As an international student myself from Asia no less, I can say that I’ve come a long way to experience the euro-fantasy-esque adventure that the people from where I come from only dream about experiencing; to see views so different, and so cold from where I’m usually from, and to explore what else is out there in the world outside of our own. Yet ,especially because I’m so far away from home, I can’t help but miss the taste of my mom’s cooking, and the food that I grew up eating.
When you first arrive in Pamplona, it could be tough trying to look for something that truly satisfies a craving, as it’s not like the big cities where there is a little bit of everything. Luckily, there are a number of options to look into, littered across this very city. As an Asian student who has lived in Pamplona for a year now, I have found a few staple places that I think keep me sane living in a foreign place, and in this article, I’ve managed to narrow it down to my top 3 in Iturrama.
For mostly every kind of asian essential I need in the kitchen, I usually go to Supermercado Tong Yi located near the Mercadona in Sancho el Fuerte. Although the usual ingredients you’d normally find in your local supermarkets back home may be hard to find in this small city, this asian mart has an array of options, and you may just be able to find what you need right here, from vegetables to ramen to conveniently sliced beef.
Across the Supermecado Tong Yi, you’ll find one of the best hotpots spots in the city, if I do say so myself. Lan Ting is a restaurant that specializes in Chinese style Hotpot, and is complete with its sauce bar and menu of delicious ala carte plates. When you step inside, you’ll be greeted with a cozy interior and friendly staff that encourages you to try whatever is good. It has a bit of a pricey menu, but is very much worth a visit. Personally, this restaurant is where you won’t really go wrong as the quality of the food is incredible, and honestly serves a very good bowl of rice that just reminds you of home.
Last in the list is a fairly new restaurant that I too had just recently visited. Hasik Mama is a Korean BBQ restaurant that is also located in Sancho el Fuerte and has a variety of Korean food that may satisfy that Korean food fix. Just like a normal K-BBQ restaurant, they offer a variety of meats and side dishes, and genuinely taste quite good for somewhere that’s almost like the middle of nowhere. They have cheaper rates for weekdays at lunch time, and are honestly very value for money. I totally recommend you to try it out, with its modern and aesthetic decor and nostalgic K-pop music, either if you miss home or want to try something new.
Coming from a drastically different culture can sometimes lead you to be frustrated with everything around you and make you feel other kinds of negative feelings like loneliness and anger. In the end, we need a little bit of that sense of home and normalcy to help us live through the changes we are currently facing .Although you are currently on your way to adventure, it’s ok to want to feel something familiar, especially from somewhere so far away. It’s in these three places where I felt a bit more at ease with my surroundings, and hopefully could be of help to you too, as you take on your journey here in Pamplona.
