Bringing an authentic taste of Chongqing China to Prague: Chi Xiao Mian restaurant
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.
“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?
“I think people’s stereotypes about a nation’s food are directly connected to their stereotype about the nation itself.”
“I think people’s stereotypes about a nation’s food are directly connected to their stereotype about the nation itself. For example, people think Japanese food is more expensive because the country is perceived as more advanced and developed. But with Chinese food, they can’t find a label or a concrete memory to recognize the cuisine because Chinese food is so diverse.
"When you think of Korean or Japanese food, you think of Sushi, Kimchi, or BBQ, they have really good stories that people can connect to. But with Chinese cuisine, people only think of Kung Pao or fried rice, they don’t have a clear understanding of Chinese food, it’s just presented as a chaotic structure. Also Chinese food here makes people think that we aren’t confident to show off our cuisine, but I’m super proud of our cuisine, and that’s why I really want to tell the story and show that Chinese food itself can be really delicious.”
And what does ‘xiao mian’ mean?
“’Xiao’ means small, and ‘mian’ means noodles, so it’s the Chinese way of saying ‘small noodles’. When I was growing up, xiao mian was a daily food we would eat for breakfast. The profile of xiao mian is very characteristic. It’s spicy and straightforward with bold flavour, and that can be one dimension for people to get to know Chinese food. It’s not hard to understand, it’s an easy meal, and it’s delicious and unforgettable.”
What has the reception been like from guests so far?
“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.”
