We go up Xàtiva street, we leave behind the bullring and the north station, and we enter the neighborhood of La Roqueta (Outside the walls) along a street where the flavors of genuinely Valencian tradition mix, with the Asians who come from the East but have found here, on the shores of the Mediterranean, your place. The first section of Pelai has remained intact for more than twenty years, with his tobacconist, the firecracker and belt stores and the Acetate store that buys and sells vinyl. And above all, the temple of the Valencian pilota in the capital, Pelayo's Ratchet, which historically has given a lot of tradition to this street with wooden gates with knockers from which typical bars like Los Tanques have disappeared. (In the next doorway they sold black market white bread) or the Navarro Bar. It was the street of ordinary people who transported packages within the city, and you could also find a marble shop, a luxury grocery, a coal yard, a dairy that served direct milk (which must be boiled) of the cows resting in the shed and a party dress rental shop (Moors and Christians), of costumes, theater or Valencian, the Mejías House. Hoy, from the Paris-Valencia bookstore, change the accent and we find a store selling Romanian products, pastry and chinese restaurants, a different tea shop with an eye on the youngest and an Asian supermarket visited by customers from other neighborhoods of the city and outside of Valencia. We are in the chinatown Valencian. We have visited the most interesting businesses on such an emblematic street one by one, looking for curiosities., details and stories that reveal a fascinating route just a stone's throw from the flow of visitors arriving by train to the city.
VALENCIA FIRECRACKERS & MARTI STATIONERY
— Pelai, 3
Of the twenty firecracker shops that exist in the city, Petardos Valencia is one of the few that opens all year round, and perhaps the only one who does it every work day. You have to ring the bell to enter because the staff works in the neighboring business, Marti Stationery, where in addition to the typical material of any stationery store, you can find calligraphy pens and sealing wax, that vermilion paste that was used to seal letters and packages between the 17th and 17th centuries. But returning to the firecracker store – a family business for more than twenty years – a showcase kirsch of souvenirs welcomes us before accessing boxes of masclets, rockets, bombets and strakes for the weeks of Fallas, above all, but also for Christmas and every day of the year at weddings, baptisms and communions. This is Valencia!
JOYMA
— Pelai, 5
At Joyma they are very Valencian belt manufacturers., for 25 years approximately. Hundreds of belts for women and men, handmade with leather and synthetic materials, wind along the walls of the store.. They have experienced first-hand the transformation of the street: The first Chinese businesses to set up shop were a hair salon and a restaurant., and from there, the rest sprang up naturally. Hoy, many Chinese who go on vacation to their country and buy belts that are too long, When they return, they stop by Joyma to have the repair done..
PARIS-VALENCIA BOOKSTORE
— Pelai, 7
And we arrive at the emblematic Paris-Valencia large-scale bookstore, with more than fifty years of history on this street. The father opened it and now there are four brothers who keep the business afloat against the giant Amazon and the large chains. This and the other three bookstores in the house (Calle Navellos, G.V.. Marques del Turia and Pl. Alfonso the Magnanimous) make news available to the reader, old and second hand books, facsimiles, a good offer of children's books, a large section dedicated to the city and a lot of love for books.
ROSEBUD
— Pelai, 9
The next stop takes us to Citizen Kane by Orson Welles. This store with the name of a sleigh sells what it is supposed to, movie articles. At low price. Soundtrack specialists (they have more than 14.000), They also offer merchandising related to the seventh art and a large catalog of very cheap new movies (they don't buy anything second hand) which can be around €2.95. Cinematic bargains!
ACETATE DISCS
— Pelai, 12
In this classic record store in our city, what they work with is second hand., comprar, sell and exchange vinyl. They opened ago 25 years and have amassed a large amount of material, second-hand and for collectors of all styles and formats (7, 10 y 12 inches). From kids of 16 years to seasoned men of 70 that you will not find the great treasures on display. Those, are kept under lock and key. Searching through what is at hand for the curious visitor you can find, For example, he 7 limited edition inches Boys keep swinging by David Bowie for some 180 euros.
PELAYO'S RATCHET
— Pelai, 6
The Trinquet de Pelayo is one of the totems of Valencian tradition. Hidden behind the façade of a commercial ground floor that does not attract attention at all, Valencian pilota games are played in the oldest active sports venue in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe.. It is the only trinquet that survives in the capital, a city that had up to five operating at the same time. The building was inaugurated on 20 August 1868 on a street that had not yet been laid out and from which it would take its name, Pelayo Street, next to a game of “chicken throw”. It is known as The Cathedral of the i corda scale, the queen modality of the Valencian pilota, and it can only be accessed through a corridor lined with news that leads to one of the essential elements in the pilot game., the bar. Today Pelayo is much more than a sports venue, has opened up to fashion (Ratchet Fashion), and fights to get rid of the macho dandruff by opening the doors to women, as spectators pranksters and as athletes.
TIRAMISU PASTRY
— Pelai, 13
This pastry shop belongs to a family of Chinese pastry chefs who have been selling artisanal and homemade products typical of their country for two years in Pelai.. The cakes in the window are not to be missed and inside you will find, among many other sweets, puff pastry filled with azukis and tea or sweet potato biscuits.
EXTRA ALIMENT
— Pelai, 19
And how Pelai street is a box of surprises, between the Spanish and Chinese zones, We stumbled upon a store selling Romanian products.. The owner is a former employee who since 2012 He is in charge of this place that sells smoked meat from Romania, juicy cakes made with syrup brought from Castelló, preserves (less sweet than Spanish ones) pickles with garlic, dill and many other spices, watermelon in brine!, cabbage (fermented cabbage stuffed with meat and rice) y polenta, a bread made with corn flour very typical of the country that is generally served with sour cream (whipped milk) spread on top.
THE BRAKE
— Pelai, 23
It's time to eat and our first recommendation is a Chinese restaurant that has been offering dishes such as jellyfish with golden needle mushrooms on its menu for seven years., duck tongue (star product) and combination dishes that are very successful such as rice with sweet and sour duck or curry. Yes indeed, They themselves admit that they have changed the original flavors of their country a little to adapt them to the tastes here.. Perhaps the Chinese restaurant in the area with the most popularity among Spaniards. There is always a queue!
MIN DOU
— Pelai, 31
More authentic is this Chinese restaurant that has eleven years of history in Pelai. With a Chinese and Spanish clientele in equal parts, Min Dou highlights, first, for the price, more than affordable, and second, for its extensive menu of dishes, some special ones with frog and shark legs. In it we find a lot of seafood and, above all, typical south china food, less spicy than the north. We Spaniards love eggplant casserole and steamed dumplings, to the Chinese the razor clams and the sea bass, but there is much more: authentic garlic shrimp, Peking duck, snail meat with soy sauce and leek (very laborious to prepare), surimi ball soup (minced fish meat), sautéed squid with wine rice…
YUEN TONG ASIAN SUPERMARKET
— Pelai, 28
This large Asian supermarket belongs to a Dutch chain that has offices in Barcelona and in the North Station of Valencia.. Before it was on Centelles Street in Russafa, on the corner that faces the Pink Panther, But for a few years now it has been serving clients on Pelai Street who come from Alacant and Castelló looking for Indian products., Thai, Korean… All types of sauces (the teriyaki, the most wanted), infusions, noodles, vegan food (tofu, dried soybean sprouts…), snacks (cassava chips for frying), mochis (Japanese cake made from glutinous rice), alga wakame, samosas…Extensive hours, order and quality of service in a place that instead of calamari in the frozen section has dim sum, which you can accompany with a good ginger syrup.
RUSTIC HOUSE
— G.V.. Ramon y Cajal, 4
At the end of Pelai Street, on the corner of the most hidden Gran Vía, We end up in this Ecuadorian dining room that has been serving typical dishes from the country for fourteen years at noon from Monday to Sunday. (closed thursday) in a menu 7-8 euros. Their specialty is fish preparations., like Ecuadorian ceviche, the seafood viche (similar to our zarzuela), he encocado shrimp or sea bream (with rice, patacones and salad), fish onion (a soup) or sancocho cooked with potato, yucca, plantain, an ear of corn, peanuts or peanuts to thicken and fish (It can also be prepared with chicken or beef).
THE PIRAI
— Pelai, 56
El Pirai is a restaurant run by a Bolivian couple that serves typical food from the eastern part of their country., homemade and always of the day, in a menu 7 euros (midweek). They are very consistent dishes, they carry everything: rice, potato, salad, meat and spicy. Always spicy. A good example is Pique a lo macho, on a bed of chips, It has pieces of beef that have been retouched over low heat with onion, cumin, SHE, soy sauce and beer. Then sausage is added, hard boiled egg and pepper (replacing the typical South American locoto) and seasoned with mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup. A real calorie bomb.
COMICS IMAGES
— Pelai, 18-22
Imagens Cómics opened on Pelai Street twenty years ago when comics in Spain had many fewer readers and very little pedigree.. We are talking about a legendary store in the city specialized in sci-fi, comics, sleeve and merchandising from cult series like Star Wars, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Dragon Ball… Later they would open another one in Russafa and the one in San Vicent, but today there is only this one that sells manga in a store and European comics in the one next door, with an immense number of complete collections.
INFRAGRANT
— Pelai, 8
Infragantea is a franchise that offers bubble tea. It is said that after a long meeting, Several businessmen from Taiwan found the dining room of the hotel they were in closed and had to improvise a snack with whatever they found on hand.: has, chopped futa and tapioca balls. Thus was born the idea that, after various adaptations and improvements, led to the bubble tea. But what is today exactly?? Well, a new way of consuming tea well known in China and the United States that mixes aromas., textures and flavors. It consists of combining tea with milk, tea smoothie or flavored tea slushie (strawberry, green apple, passion fruit, mango…) with tapioca pearls, juice balls that explode in your mouth and different jellies, for example lychee. And if you want something solid, sushi, of course. In Valencia, with a very modern aesthetic and aimed at a younger audience, You can find this store in the Estación del Norte and on Pelai Street – for about six years – with Chinese and Spanish clientele in equal parts..
