Cockaigne behind a red door | Hongxi
Inconspicuously embedded in the infamous surroundings of the Langstrasse, only a bright red door gives you an idea of what could await you inside. Once you dare to push open the mysterious door, you will be surprised by a puristic design and some goldfish swimming in a large vase. But what is going on at this secret place? Before you get too curious, we are going to tell you more about it.
The red door belongs to the restaurant Hongxi. The Hongxi promises the exploration of authentic Chinese food and culture, the discovery of cultural and philosophical influences and the symbolic relationship between food and culture. That sounds like a new star in the Chinese cooking heaven, which does not pay any attention to European tastes and habits.
Three real masters are responsible for the culinary journey at the Hongxi and they truly know something about authentic Chinese food. One is Wong Chi Cheung, who worked at the famous Shangri-La Hotel in Paris, which received a Michelin star in 2016. Secondly, Soo Kai Fong, who started his career in Kuala Lumpur and then worked for the five-star hotel la Réserve in Geneva, which also received a Michelin star in 2015. Finally yet importantly Ma Ngok Chau, who worked in the Méridien Hotel in Hong Kong and several hotels and restaurants in Switzerland. Now they brought their cooking skills together to enchant their guests with culinary delights at Hongxi in Zurich.
The menu focuses on tasty Cantonese dishes, which is why a whole page is dedicated to different Dim Sum. The famous dumplings are either steamed or fried and are filled with different ingredients like shrimps, chicken or duck. The preparation of this popular dish is a real art that not everyone masters, therefore it mostly fails because of the bad quality of the preparation and of the chosen ingredients. The menu also includes various soups, cold dishes such as stewed tripe, seafood or various noodle or rice dishes.
Since we could not make up our minds about all these delicacies on the menu, we had Master Soo Kai Fong prepare his personal recommendations for us. First he brought us three bamboo baskets filled with different steamed dumplings, which were “Har Gau” filled with shrimps, then “Three Star” with duck and mushrooms and finally the well-known “Xiao Long Bao” with pork and vegetables. The dough of the dumplings was fantastically prepared, wafer-thin and nicely glassy. The fillings had a well-balanced and at the same time powerful aroma. The chef also served us fried dumplings called “Taro Nuggets”, which are filled with taro, a plant species less known to us. They look a bit special, but tasted super delicious.
We were also served steamed scallops with glass noodles, spring onions, garlic and black beans, stewed pork belly Dongpo Style and “Gai Lan”, a kind of Chinese broccoli. The scallops were cooked to the point, the pork belly could not have been softer and more aromatic and the Gai Lan was crunchy in the bite and savourily refined with garlic – this is how Chinese cuisine should taste.
We are surprised and thrilled about the Hongxi, because there are very few Chinese restaurants in Zurich that serve their local dishes so authentically and with such a high quality. A real blessing for all those who love unadulterated taste. The Hongxi convinces with its straightforwardness in terms of interior, friendly service and authentic food and is therefore a long-awaited enrichment for the monotonous Chinese food offer in Zurich.
Prices:
Dims Sum: from CHF 16.00 to CHF 18.00
Main courses: from CHF 14.50 to CHF 42.50
Desserts: from CHF 8.50 to CHF 14.00
Lunchmenus: CHF 23.00 to CHF 48.00
Address:
Hongxi
Zwinglistrasse 3
8004 Zürich
Phone: +41 43 549 20 20
E-Mail: welcome@hongxi-restaurants.ch
Website: www.hongxi-restaurants.ch
