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All France Paris Tang Frères
AO Edited Gastro Obscura

Tang Frères

After immigrating to Paris in the 1970s, two brothers from Laos built a grocery store empire.

Paris, France

Added By
Austin Bush
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The original location of this Asian grocery chain is an institution.   Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura
The original location of this Asian grocery chain is an institution.   Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura
Tang Frères serves as an informal hub for members of the city’s Southeast Asian diaspora communities.   Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura
The shelves are crammed with ingredients from all over the Asian continent.   Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura
Green papayas, ready to go.   Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura
On weekends, expect to see snacks from around Southeast Asia for sale.   Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura
Shoppers hunt for fresh produce.   Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura
The store has expanded and grown far grander over the decades.   Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura
Grab a Vietnamese-stye steamed sausage to go.   Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura
The instant noodle selection here is superb.   Austin Bush for Gastro Obscura
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About

During the late ‘70s, immigrants from France’s former colonies in Southeast Asia started to resettle in Paris as refugees. Bounmy Rattanavan and Bou Rattanavan, two ethnic Chinese brothers from Laos, were two such immigrants, who in 1976 started importing Asian ingredients.

Five years later, they opened Tang Frères, one of the first Asian markets in the country. Over the subsequent decades, the brothers’ supermarket expanded to an empire that includes 10 branches in and around Paris, and today, it's thought to be one of the largest Asian grocery chains outside of Asia.

The original location of Tang Frères was on 48 Avenue d'Ivry, in the heart of the 13th Arrondissement, Paris's largest quartier chinois, and one of the largest Asian communities in Europe. That space has since been converted into a counter selling pre-cooked food items called Tang Gourmet. It’s flanked by a relatively small, 1993-era branch of Tang Frères and an expansive, comparitively modern hypermarket.

Inside both you’ll find Asian butchers and fishmongers, refrigerator cases packed with steamed Vietnamese sausage, shelves loaded with fish sauce and other seasonings, Southeast Asian herbs, imported fruit, aisles of Southeast Asian junk food, frozen durian, and shoppers and staff speaking a bewildering mix of Lao, Thai, Khmer, Vietnamese and French.

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Diaspora Food Stores Grocery

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The area in front of the original branch of Tang Frères is a meeting place for the area’s Southeast Asian community, and on most days around 11 a.m. you’ll find people selling homemade box meals and sweets, herbs, and other food items.

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Austin Bush

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January 11, 2024

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Tang Frères
48 Av. d'Ivry
Paris, 75013
France
48.824042, 2.365749
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