Budapest’s Chinatown Offers More Than You’d Think

The Chinese Community in Budapest

With more than 30,000 people, Budapest is home to the biggest Chinese community in Central Europe. Chinese people came to Hungary between 1989 and 1992, in the post-Communist period when there were no visa requirements and economic opportunities were widespread. Most Chinese immigrants were unskilled, hard-working people hailing from villages and small towns in Eastern China – mainly Zhejiang and Fujian provinces – looking for a better life in Europe.

They set up markets on the outskirts of Budapest, selling low-priced imported Chinese goods, mostly clothing. Over time, some of them have done very well but the majority is still toiling away as clothing vendors from dawn to dusk, seven days a week. At its peak, in the 1990s, the Hungarian Chinese community amounted to almost 50,000 people, but many have since moved on to Western Europe or returned to their hometowns in China which had been drastically transformed in the meantime.

Recently, a new wave of Chinese immigration took place in Budapest: between 2013 and 2017, thousands of Chinese citizens purchased Hungarian residency bonds through an immigration-by-investment program run by the Hungarian government. Unlike first-wave immigrants, these newcomers were more cosmopolitan and well-off (the cost of a residency bond ranged €250,000 to €300,000). Instead of settling in working-class neighborhoods, many bought homes in the Buda hills and other elite pockets of the city. The recently opened Chinese restaurants in Budapest, particularly the pricier ones, cater to these well-heeled newcomers.

Chinatown Budapest: Monori Center

Budapest's Chinatown, also known as Monori Center, is situated in Kőbánya, a bit outside the city center. In addition to the hundreds of clothing wholesalers, there are many places that serve the needs of the community: Chinese grocery stores; traditional Chinese medical centers; churches; massage and hair salons; pastry shops; Chinese-language newspaper publishers, for example. And plenty of restaurants.

In fact, Monori Center is where Budapest's top Chinese restaurants cluster. Be it upscale Sichuan-food, a modest dumpling takeout, seafood, or a neighborhood restaurant, you'll find them all here. Since the majority of customers comprise Chinese people, the dishes aren't adjusted to Hungarian tastes and are comparable to those found in China – there's even a local Chinese farmer outside Budapest who grows Chinese vegetables in a greenhouse.

Bear in mind, though, that Monori Center isn't your typical Chinatown. Instead of the usual signifiers of Western Chinatowns – pagoda-shaped building ornaments and lively street food vendors – Monori Center is a quiet commercial town; if it weren't for the Chinese signs above the storefronts, you could mistake it for a sleepy outlet mall. Still, the depth of food options can make a visit worthwhile.

There's another area near Monori Center where many Chinese businesses operate: Józsefvárosi Piac/Euro Square. Here, a seemingly endless row of neglected industrial buildings are teeming with Chinese and Vietnamese vendors. This chaotic and bustling space feels more like a typical Chinatown complete with hole-in-the-wall eateries buried deep inside (including an excellent Chinese pancake shop), although here too most vendors are wholesalers.

Don't expect many people to speak English or Hungarian, but if you follow your nose, good things will come your way. In general, Monori Center is easier to get around and most sit-down restaurants are also there. Budapest's Chinatowns can make you appreciate the city's cultural and ethnic diversity that even most locals are unaware of.

How can I get to Chinatown from Budapest's city center?

To reach Monori Center, either take bus #9 from Kálvin tér to Kőbánya alsó vasútállomás or tram #28 from Blaha Lujza tér to Mázsa utca. You'll journey through working class neighborhoods that offer a glimpse into the less glamorous side of Budapest, one that tourists rarely see. If you take a taxi, the 15-minute ride will set you back €12-15.

Józsefvárosi Piac/Euro Square is a few minutes closer to the city center and along the same bus (#9) and tram (#28) lines as Monori Center.

Where To Eat, What To Eat?

Budapest's downtown has plenty of Chinese takeouts that serve toned-down foods adjusted to local taste preferences, but in Chinatown (Monori Center) you'll find true-to-China restaurants.

China has a refined, complex, and diverse cuisine, with major regional differences. The leading Chinese restaurants in Budapest don’t usually specialize in a particular region, instead serving pan-Chinese fare with a selection of signature dishes from the main provinces like lazi ji chicken (Sichuan), lamian noodle soup (Lanzhou), and steamed dumplings (northeast). Nonetheless, the international popularity of Sichuan food has rippled out to Budapest too, meaning that chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns feature prominently on menus. Spicy Fish is a pricey, Hehe and Shandong are wallet-friendlier options.

Although a landlocked country such as Hungary isn’t exactly a seafood chef’s dream, Budapest has a standout Chinese restaurant specializing in steamed lobsters, crabs, and other treasures of the ocean: Milky Way. It's owned by a family from Wenzhou, the coastal Chinese city in Zhejiang Province. The downside is the steep price points, which put these delicate flavors out of reach for most people, both Chinese and Hungarian.

Hot potting is a huge trend in China and it’s becoming popular in Budapest, too. Like fondue, it’s a communal activity, where a group of people sits around an oversized table and cooks together, dunking an array of raw ingredients into the boiling broth just to fish’em out a few minutes later cooked to perfection. Budapest boasts three hot pot restaurants: a northern Chinese with milder flavors (Wang Fu), a spicy Chongqing-style (Daohuaxiang), and one in between (Mandarin Grill & Hotpot).

If you're curious what Chinese breakfast is like, Hong Kong Büfé and HeHe both serve classic Chinese morning foods, including different types of rice porridge (congee and xifan), pickled vegetables, deep-fried dough sticks (youtiao), steamed buns (baozi), scallion pancakes (cong you bing), and sweetened soy milk.