About 30 years ago, in the early 2000s, Wang Mester returned to his family's roots: gastronomy. His grandfather was a celebrated chef in Beijing, though as a young man Wang Mester himself hadn't originally chosen this path. Later, fate and business opportunities led him to become a restaurant owner in Budapest.
Wang Mester knew the Chinese buffet-restaurant concept that most people in Europe associated with Chinese cuisine all too well. But he wanted to create something completely different: to introduce guests to real, authentic, outstanding-quality Chinese food. His vision quickly found open ears – and open palates – and it wasn't long before it became hugely popular. So popular, in fact, that by the early 2000s he had already opened four restaurants. In a few sentences, this might sound like a straightforward success story, but the road was anything but smooth, as the following story proves.
In 2009, Wang Mester decided to invest all the knowledge, experience and resources he had gathered up to that point into a single dream. He wanted to create a restaurant unlike anything that had existed in Hungary before: an authentic, traditional, premium-quality Sichuan restaurant. To bring the idea to life, he returned to China for a while to gather inspiration and gain a deeper understanding of traditional Sichuan gastronomy. After coming home, he sold his own house and bought the building he considered the perfect location for the new restaurant.
At first, everything went according to plan. But life rarely offers a straight path. Problems soon began to pile up. He hired the wrong contractors for the renovation, so the work kept falling behind schedule. Costs kept rising until, eventually, all his reserves were gone. Wang Mester did everything he could to raise the money he needed, but new obstacles kept appearing, so there was never quite enough to finish the job.
When he felt he could go no further, he made an unusual decision: he bet everything on a single hand – quite literally. He decided to win the missing amount playing Texas Hold'em poker, even though he didn't even know how to play at the time. He immediately bought three books on the subject, read through them within a few days, and tried to learn as much as he possibly could. Three days later, he was already sitting at the poker table. Over the following six weeks, he won enough money to finish the restaurant. In fact, he won one of the poker tournaments outright, taking home an additional 2 million forints in prize money.
Yes, this story is about exactly this restaurant. The very restaurant you are sitting in right now.
Over the years, our restaurant has received numerous domestic and international accolades. Our guests have included Chinese and international film stars, renowned Hollywood directors, Olympic champions, world champion athletes and other prominent public figures. Over the past decades, Wang Mester has played a significant role in introducing Hungarian guests to genuine Chinese hospitality and traditional Chinese gastronomy. He has built a cultural and culinary bridge between Hungary and China, showing what makes traditional Chinese cuisine so special and why Sichuan gastronomy is considered one of the most exciting culinary traditions in the world.
It fills him with great joy that many have since drawn inspiration from this restaurant and carried its values forward. He believes that, together with his team, his work has helped fundamentally change how Hungarians see Chinese cuisine.
In recent years, Wang Mester has also contributed to the success of several new restaurants. Together with our team, we work continuously to grow and to offer an ever more exciting and authentic experience to everyone who wants to discover the true face of Chinese gastronomy. Our goal has always been the same: to present traditional Chinese cuisine authentically. We hope that authentic Chinese gastronomy will continue to flourish in Hungary for many years to come.