Bringing an authentic taste of Chongqing China to Prague: Chi Xiao Mian restaurant

What do you think people’s stereotypes are about Chinese cuisine here in Prague but also outside of China?

Nestled just off of the Jiřího z Poděbrad square in Vinohrady is the newly opened Chi Xiao Mian restaurant, where owner Gong Xuewen brings a taste of her hometown’s unique cuisine to residents and visitors of Prague. Her mission: to break down people’s stereotypes of Chinese food. I caught up with Xuewen to discuss the restaurant, and started by asking why she chose Prague to open her business.

Photo: archive of Chi Xiao Mian 

“Right now, the Chinese restaurant market in Prague is not very competitive, so I think by presenting my hometown cuisine here, it presents a really new thing to the market, and it can break people’s stereotypes of Chinese food – so this is why I chose Prague as the spot to open my restaurant.”

What do you think people’s stereotypes are about Chinese cuisine here in Prague but also outside of China?

le.”

Photo: archive of Chi Xiao Mian 

What has the reception been like from guests so far?

Photo: archive of Chi Xiao Mian 

“I’m actually surprised, because at first people did not know this food at all. But people have come with friends out of curiosity, then later with their family, and some guests have even returned alone. When you’re lonely, you want something that’s really healing or warm on a rainy night. Maybe you come here and sit alone in the bar, and you drink all the soup, and you feel like it was a happy ending, and then you go home to sleep.

“So that’s my dream, for my hometown cuisine to become part of their life and memory.”

“That’s exactly the feeling I want to bring to customers here – to become part of the community, I want Chinese food to become part of their life. So that’s my dream, for my hometown cuisine to become part of their life and memory. I think that’s the most rewarding part of my job – everyday people ask me about where my hometown is and ask more about our cuisine, and this is really my endless motivation to keep running this restaurant.”

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