Helsinki’s best Chinese restaurants

Delicious dish at Restaurant Mei Lin
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With such an abundance of Chinese restaurants, one must really know where to head in order to find authentic Chinese fare – and the best spots tend to be focused on regional specialities from a certain part of the vast country. At times the best dishes need to be ordered off the regular list from a selection aimed at Chinese patrons. When specifically asking for a special, one is rarely disappointed. To help navigate through Helsinki’s Chinese restaurants, we turned to our restaurant expert Timo Santala for tips on the best Sichuan and Hunan dishes, dumplings, Lanzhou noodles, and more.

Known for tingling and mouth-numbing peppercorns and all-round spicy cuisine, dishes from the northwestern Sichuan province can be enjoyed at Mei Lin, Brokadi, and Chengdu. Situated in the Kulosaari district – near the Chinese embassy – Chengdu is a restaurant where asking for the “Chinese list” opens new doors. The restaurant’s highlights include hardshell crab – an esteemed ingredient in China that is served here in Sichuan style with plenty of chili, and the equally spicy fish with eggplant, as well as tea leaf-smoked unskinned duck and chicken. Mei Lin and Brokadi both also serve frog and pig intestines with chilli, with Sichuan beef and aubergine as further great options. Mei Lin’s menu also includes a few dishes from Chongqing, and one of Brokadi’s specialities is the crispy honey duck. All three restaurants are also delightful venues for hot pot.            

Known as a take away spot, Tiny Food (with only four seats) turns to Hunan cuisine from inland China, meaning that lovers of smoking, pickling, fermentation, and chilli will find plenty to choose from. The boldest ones will go for intestines, pig ears, steamed fish head, or duck neck. The spicy sheet tofu or caramelised pork belly are also great choices. 

If you are after a more festive mood for a Chinese dinner, Zhèn is worth exploring. The restaurant is housed in an impressive art nouveau building designed by Harald Neovius. The airy space with its marble columns and round bar is an uplifting experience even in finer company.

Finland’s oldest Chinese restaurant – China – along with Peking and Dong Bei Hu all serve a diverse and more traditional selection of dishes from all over China. China is focused on Cantonese cuisine with the roasted duck as a steady favourite, while Dong Hei Bu serves dishes from Dongbei, meaning Northeast China. 

Further Chinese dishes worth mentioning around Helsinki include the Hongkongese dim sum at Zhen Hao, the praised chilli chicken at Singapore, the generously plated mapo tofu by the Wuhanese chef at Ben’s Way’s situated in Itäkeskus in a venue resembling a construction yard canteen, and the laghmen noodles and gösh nan meat pies by Taste of Uyghur, the first restaurant in Finland to highlight the cuisine of the Uyghur minority.

Noodle lovers will be pleasantly pleased by Big Bowl Noodle and Noodle Master, both serving hand-pulled noodles that are in a class of their own. Big Bowl is specialised in Lanzhou-style noodles, which are served according to the customer’s wishes in terms of thickness and shape. My personal favourite is the triangle-shaped noodles with sesame sauce served with ground beef or peanuts and chicken. The house chilli paste is addictive. Noodle Master is especially known for Sichuan dandan noodles – but also serves Beijing-style noodles with soybean paste, a Shanghai-style noodle dish with spring onion, and Lanzhou noodle soup. 

Mala Master has applied a slightly different fast food concept where you pay per weight. Customers can choose their own favourite ingredients from an abundant buffet along with a broth of choice, which the chef then puts together for a customised noodle soup.

If dumplings or wonton are up your alley, Hills Dumplings and Beijing8 are worth remembering, alongside the already mentioned Mei Lin. Whereas Beijing8 has a more fast food feel to it, the modern ambiance, creative cocktail list, and a selection of top quality European wines at Hills Dumplings invite diners to chat away into the night over colourful and delicious fusion dumplings. 

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To help navigate through Helsinki’s Chinese restaurants, we turned to our restaurant expert Timo Santala for tips on the best Sichuan and Hunan dishes, dumplings, Lanzhou noodles, and more.