Wang Qiang (left) – the man who first opened Lanzhou in District VIII, and then the more upscale Új Lanzhou in District II – added a third restaurant to his growing empire earlier this year. This time, it’s a Sichuani place called Wang Mester Konyhája (click on link for contact info, map and user ratings and reviews), located near the venerable Taiwan in District IX. The place has been open for several months, and a while back I attended its official “opening” with some members of hte the Lucullus Baráti Társaság. (If you’re wondering, I didn’t get to post this at the time because of some confusion at the Chew.hu command headquarters.) As usual, when the Lucullus gourmet club is involved, it was quite a feast, if a fixed-price one that makes it hard to know what individual dishes may normally cost, or if some of what was served is not on the normal menu. But it was so good that I returned a few days later for more.
On opening night singer Mariann Falusi was there, and Dr. Ferenc Gegesy, the ninth district’s mayor, showed up towards the end to say a few words. But more importantly, the food on both occasions proved that the Wang Mester Konyhája could very quickly rise to the top of the list of Budapest’s good Chinese restaurants. One promising sign is that so far, 95% of the clientele have been Chinese, according to Wang, and the menu is only just now being translated into to Hungarian and English.
So what can you expect from Budapest’s newest great Chinese restaurant? First of all, there are none of the typical gaudy Chinese restaurant decorations. It’s a simple place, with cheerful yellow walls and almost nothing else in the way décor. Probably the best part about the place is the pleasant green patio out back and the gazebo with one single big table underneath. The one thing that wasn’t so pleasant was the big TV in the center that was on the whole evening. But that’s just a minor grumble because, most importantly, the food was outstanding.
One of the best-known characteristics of Sichuani-style food is that not only is it burning hot, but the Sichuan peppercorns that are used in abundance numb your mouth and lips, explained Lucullus’ Gábor Turóczi. In China, there’s even a word used to express this sensation, ma la. Not everything that we ate was so hot, but I wasn’t complaining that much of it was. We started with vagdalt marhahúsleves (minced beef soup), which was a clear soup with little chunks of ground beef and fresh cilantro. There were about half a dozen appetizers, which included ilatos gombás (reconstituted marinated dried mushrooms), étvágygerjesztő zeller (a salad of long, thin strips of celery), and slices of Sichuani kolbász (sausage), something that isn’t normally associated with Chinese cuisine and almost had an Italian taste to it. Nobody could really explain what exactly the hazi üvegtészta was made of. But the pasta – long, wide strips of clear pasta served cold floating in a broth-like sauce studded with Sichuan peppercorns – is highly recommended. And so are the uborka (cucumbers) served with a dipping sauce.
The procession of main courses began with the maizi kacsa, which was diced pieces of duck and red and green peppers, which we scooped onto shrimp chips and ate with our fingers. Other main course highlights were sörben párolt marha (beef marinated in beer), and “ég és föld” oldalas (ribs topped with a chutney-like mixture of peppers). There were thin slices of császár szalonna piled on a mound of a minced “Chinese vegetable” (which nobody could identify in English or Hungarian) and surrounded by little pieces of “Chinese bread.” There was buggyantott főtt hal babcsírával és erős chili olajjal (probably my least favorite one of the bunch) which was a big bowl of small pieces of fish floating in hot chili oil. There was gong bao shrimp, and there was császári palota tofupuding, which was a savory egg and tofu “pudding” with the consistency of a soup (which tasted almost like the egg-drop soup which is so popular in American Chinese restaurants).
The one disappointment was the dessert. Nobody seemed very impressed with the vegyes szecsuáni gyümölcsök (mixed Sechuan fruits) which was a warm, clear, soup-like concoction with a few chunks of not-very-flavorful fruit and some rice mixed in. But apparently there were dumplings filled with black poppy seeds on the way as I was leaving. Happily most of these dishes that were served on this “opening night” will also be available on the regular menu. When I returned the second time I couldn’t resist ordering a few things that I already tried on opening night, but I also tried a few new things. We started of with a big bowl of chicken soup served family style. Since the soup portion of the menu wasn’t ready yet I’m not sure how it will appear, but our server just called it tyúk leves. Probably the best soup that I’ve had at any Chinese restaurant in Budapest, it too contained some ingredients that no one could identify in English or Hungarian. We also ordered the stir fried noodles, which were fine. But they were a pretty big disappointment after eating the handmade, hand stretched noodles at the Új Lanzhou.
The young servers here are friendly, chatty, and seem eager to make recommendations. Wang’s reasoning behind opening a Sichuan-style restaurant is simple. “In China everyone likes the Sichuani cuisine,” he said. It’s one of the most popular types of cuisine in China, and “if there is one type of food that everybody like, this is it.” I’m pretty sure that it won’t take much convincing for Budapesters to like this place also, especially if the food remains as fantastic as it was on this early first look at the place. Just be careful the way you eat those Sichuan peppercorns, biting down on them the wrong isn’t the most pleasant experience. Oh, and be sure to make reservations.
Another great article, but for those who aren’t on the Lucullus chow-wagon, how do prices compare to the original Lanzhou?
Tried it today. The food is superb, though it is no steal. Get a seat in the back garden while the weather is nice.
They have a reasonable, eat-as much as you want lunch menu. They usually have 2 soups, 5-6 main dishes, rice, pasta and some vegetables. It’s certainly not as good as the “normal dishes” but very good value for 900HUF.
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