Wang Fu Restaurant

Specialising in ‘Huo Guo’, traditional Chinese ‘hot pot’, this restaurant opened here in 2006 and is a lesser known Chinese food delight. They also Korean ‘hot plates’ so it’s really an interesting place to try out. Located on Hungarian krt in the 14th district, it’s a sort of self-service restaurant, where guests enjoy the experience of ‘cooking’, compared to the other typical Chinese restaurants.

At Wang Fu it’s easy to select your favorite types of food for the pot - tofu, various mushrooms, lotus root, chestnuts, chicken, beef and seafood - as they’re in full view in front of you in a fridge (you can simple point at what you want to cook). Its open daily from 11:00 - 22:00, and an average meal at Wang Fu for 2 people will cost around 8000ft. The best season for a hot pot is winter, but I feel if the weather is overcast it’s a great place to warm up while having authentic Chinese style cooking fun. Address: 1146 Budapest Mimósz u. 15.

Ezer Sárkány

One of the biggest Chinese restaurants in Budapest, the ‘Thousand Dragons Restaurant’ is capable of seating over 200 people at one time. Besides the main hall, where most of tables are set (for 4-8 people), there are also rooms available if you want a more private environment.

Given the rather luxurious design, at first glance you might think it could be an expensive place, but thankfully that’s not the case, and the menu is varied - Peking Duck is a favourite - so you can pick what suits your taste and purse. It might not be the type of restaurant where you walk in for a quick meal after work, it is one of the most popular choices within the local Chinese community for celebrations, such as birthday parties and weddings. In such cases it’s handy to know there’s a huge parking lot. Address: 1106 Budapest, Jászberényi u.29

Sheng Yan Restaurant

The Sheng Yan Chinese Restaurant opened in Budapest about 4 yars ago in the 10th district, next to the Monori Center. This medium sized Chinese restaurant has 2 floors, and is very popular with the Chinese community in this part of Budapest. By the way, Chan Master Sheng Yen (1930-2009) taught Buddhism in the West for over thirty years.

At the Sheng Yan Restaurant in Budapest you can choose to sit on the first floor where smaller tables are set for 4 people, or on the second floor which is divided into rooms capable of serving 12-30 people/room. They serve ‘fast-food’ on the first floor between 11am-2pm, which costs around 1000ft per person. A formal meal at any time of day will cost between 2000-8000ft for 2 people depending on how adventurous you are when selecting from the authentic menu. Address: 1107 Budapest, Szállás u. 21.

Three more quality options:

Many Chinese restaurants in Budapest have designed their menu with pictures to make it easier for all nationalities to select their preferred dishes. So feel free to go and let your taste buds explore at any of he above. Also in addition to the ones mentioned above, there are other decent quality Chinese restaurants in Budapest to check-out, such as:

* Wang Mester at XIV. Gizella u.46/A (he also has another called Master Wang’s Kitchen at 1096 Budapest, Telepy utca 24);
* Kowloon Restaurant at 1078 Budapest István u. 44; and
* Hong Kong Restaurant at 1135 Budapest Béke u. 26,  all of which are also recommended.

Words and photos by ShuanDan Lin for XpatLoop.com

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