Wang Mester Kínai Konyhája

It was with his first restaurant that Master Wang became something of a cult figure. While Chinese cuisine rapidly gained popularity in Hungary thanks to simple canteens, the community itself remained largely invisible. It was Wang – tattooed and beaming – who first gave Chinese gastronomy a name, a face, and an identity in Hungary. Since then, he has expanded his empire, and it’s clear the original Zugló location is no longer the main focus. Here, time seems to have stood still – which is forgivable in this genre. In a city now flush with Asian restaurants, this remains the place to come for authentic Chinese specialities you won’t find on every street corner: pork trotters in soy sauce, jellied pig’s ear, Wang’s signature beef tongue, heart and tripe – or, for the less offal-inclined, clay-oven lamb ribs, Sichuan-style mitten crab, and the house classic: the century egg. A few missteps crept in – the pig’s ear showed signs of oxidation, and the hand sanitiser on the table felt out of place – but these are forgivable quirks in a restaurant so deeply rooted in old-school Chinese traditions. What really came across was the earnest service, a distinctive menu, and vivid flavours.