Le Délice d'Asie (Chinese Dim Sum)

Le Délice d'Asie is a Chinese-Creole restaurant at 143 Rue Juliette Dodu in Saint-Denis, Réunion, specialising in dim sum and the Chinese-influenced snacks that form part of the island's everyday eating. Rue Juliette Dodu lies in the part of the capital historically associated with its Chinese community, which arrived on the island in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and shaped local cuisine. The signature item is the bouchon, Réunion's version of a steamed dumpling, served here as bouchons with pork and with chicken; the menu also covers chow mein vegetables and nems, the fried spring rolls found across Réunion. Prices are low, at about €8–€15 per person. The cuisine reflects a distinctly local form of Chinese cooking, where soy, ginger and garlic are combined with island ingredients, and bouchons are commonly eaten with a dab of pimento sauce. The atmosphere is casual and practical: a quick-service room where lunch is the busiest time, orders turn over quickly, and conversation rises with the crowd. Dress is casual. The restaurant opens Monday to Saturday, 11:00–14:00 and 18:00–21:30, and is closed on Sundays. No reservations are taken; it is a walk-in venue and is popular at lunch, so arriving before noon or after 13:30 avoids the longest waits. There is no formal wine programme; tea, soft drinks and local beer are typical. For visitors, the venue is a low-cost introduction to the Chinese strand of Réunion's cooking and pairs well with a walk through the commercial streets of central Saint-Denis, including the Chinese-influenced shops and the Grande Mosquée area nearby.