Chinese stuffed dumplings. These are the main stars of the Chinese restaurant Hua Long Zhai, located in Prague’s Vršovice. Like at another Chinese restaurant Chi Xiao Mian, don’t expect “five-flavor chicken” or “fragrant and tender duck” here. The specialty of this Chinese restaurant is precisely dumplings filled with pork, beef, chicken, or tofu. Their flavor is perfected here.
The renowned dumplings are, of course, made in-house. The filling is delicately flavored, portions are large and the prices are reasonable. For example, you pay 178 CZK (7 Eur) for 12 large pork and onion dumplings. This also includes unlimited consumption of freshly prepared green tea for free.
The demand for these dumplings is so high that the restaurant offers them for sale frozen, and people often take advantage of this opportunity (another option to buy frozen stuffed Chinese dumplings is the department store Tamda in the Sapa Prague market, but those are certainly not from “handcrafted small production”). The price for frozen dumplings is lower, and they are easy to prepare at home (you only need a pot with a “steamer”).
The space of the Chinese restaurant is not large, the furniture is traditional and not too modern, so the restaurant is probably not the place for a first date (unless you are sinologists). However, the older interior is compensated by the incredibly charismatic owner and chef in one person. She welcomes and seats people and helps with choosing dishes. She does not speak Czech fluently, but her willingness, honesty in responses, and optimism that radiate from her are incredible.
Even the walls of the establishment are decorated with mentions in the press and photographs of her sporting past in kung-fu (wu-shou).
Menu of Hua Long Zhai Chinese Restaurant
The menu of the Chinese restaurant includes only 5 types of dumplings and another 12 dishes on the regular menu. Over lunch, there is also an “all-you-can-eat” buffet (salad, rice, and three types of meat or tofu) for just under 200 CZK (8 Eur).
Since the restaurant does not have a website, I am exceptionally including photos of its appealingly short but very tempting menu.
I have a special fondness for restaurants that specialize in one dish. So, if you are looking for a place in Prague to taste authentic Chinese stuffed dumplings, Hua Long Zhai is the right place.
Bon appétit!
More information can be obtained by clicking on the map link:
