Chinese Food in Rome

Italian sea bass steamed Cantonese style in a Chinese restaurant in Rome!

Our hotel in Rome was located near the train station, and so there was a constant stream of travelers walking by our hotel, dragging their luggage to and from the station. To cater to their stomachs, there were various kinds of restaurants.

Many of them were Italian of course, serving pizzas and pastas, and Indian ones serving curries -- 3 euros for a bowl of rice!

Pretty decent potstickers called "ravioli"

But around the corner and down the street from our hotel was Huaweiju, Ristorante Cinese serving Chinese food. We were curious and wondered how good the food was and decided to give it a shot.

Most of the other Italian restaurants in the area seem small at first, but they actually have massive basements and can host large groups. However, Huaweiju was really tiny, so it was better to go earlier otherwise the wait would be long.

The owner of the restaurant had no shame in squeezing in one or two more customers around a tiny temporary table not even as big as a mahjong table if they didn't mind...

It's a bare restaurant, with not much decor except for a bar/service area that had rows of bottles behind, along with kitsch Chinese-style pictures, and a typical Chinese calendar.

However the menu is choc full of dishes, some slight variations on say stir-fried noodles and rice, but what draws a lot of people to this place are the prices. They are about half of what the nearby Italian restaurants charge, so for many, Huaweiju is a no brainer.

The restaurant owner is originally from Wenzhou

Oh and a bowl of rice costs 1 euro.

We tried several dishes on the menu and many of them were not bad, like #52 spaghetti di riso or stir-fried vermicelli, while #009 ravioli are pretty decent potstickers. We also had #40, fried rice called riso cantonese, and #114, a sizzling beef platter, with the name manzo all griglia.

The most impressive dish was #167 pesce, or steamed Italian sea bass. It was cooked just right, with spring onions, finely sliced carrots and light soy sauce. We cleaned up the bones very nicely.

The restaurant is run by a capable and unflappable Chinese woman. Although her service system was very disorganized, she didn't let customer demands bother her too much -- she knew her clientele were not regulars. So we had to wait for plates, chopsticks and tea. They came... eventually.

In the kitchen in the back is a Chinese chef, and some migrant workers. She spoke to the Chinese chef in Mandarin, the others easily in Italian and to customers a bit of English.

Very good stir-fried vermicelli though portions are small

Finally when were getting the bill I asked her where she was from. She said Wenzhou and I asked how long she had been here, and she replied 18 years.

Some of the customers are Chinese -- curious like us -- while the rest are visitors looking for an inexpensive meal. Oh and the restaurant even makes French fries -- 2.50 euros if you were wondering.

Huaweiju Ristorante Cinese
Viap Filippo Turati 9-11
Rome
(06) 8923 9537