Zhong Hua (Helsinki, Finland)
I was so glad when we discovered this place because of all Scandinavian countries we visited, Finland feels quite different, so different I thought there were no Asian buffets in here, but I was wrong. This was the longest stay for us in any Scandinavian country and we had 5 days in here and of all those five days we had been looking for an Asian buffet and it finally showed up on the last day on a place we had passed by so many times when we were finding some food, in the alley ways of Ateneuminkuja in Aikatalo district.
Like I said we passed by this place when we dined in at Davinci Ristorante as well as Vapiano but I think we were not looking hard enough hence we did not saw it during those times, anyways it’s here and we loved it. They offer their lunch buffet for only €9.80 and dinner buffer for €12.80 which was very affordable, taking into consideration the quality of food they serve. Like mentioned it was located on Ateneuminkuja but I think that’s the rear entrance hence it’s not as visible, there was a front entrance, but you have to come from the Sav-Rahoitus Oyj building.
Upon entering you will be surprised how clean it is, unlike most Asian buffets. Solid wooden seats and Oriental decors gives it a good indication that you are dining in an Asian restaurant. We got seated near the front entrance just behind where the buffet food is on display. And there are many things on offer.
First section got me confused, it’s like a taco or salad station where items like corn, fruits, olive, beans, prawns, butter and pickles are on display. In this area there was also bread and salad greens. Until now I am puzzled on what that station should be, all I grabbed from there was the peaches.
Then you have the salad station, this too was confusing as it is a mix of Asian warm and Western cold salads like. Caprese, Tomato Cucumber, some sort of spicy salad with carrots and mangoes, Warm chicken and cucumber then beef and mint salad.
Then there is this sushi section, which I do loved, they are cut neatly, and they do not skimp on the fillings. Sushi include Salmon, Tuna, Chicken, Tofu Wraps, Tamago, Avocado, etc For Nigiri they have salmon, grilled salmon, eel, prawn, squid, kani, tuna, etc.
There was also the Chinese section where it features dim sums like shumai and dumplings, fried prawn balls with sweet and sour sauce plus some egg foo young. There are also three different types on meat on the warm dishes, some stir fried beef, chicken and pork, as well as prawns and spring rolls.
On the last section there are other dishes like French Fries, broccoli, another stir fried chicken dish, tofu and noodles was also on display.
They also had two types of soup, a dessert made from apple and cinnamon which we really loved. Plus, there are also drinks like coffee, tea and juice included on the price.
While the food selection was very diverse, we were satisfied and actually filled to the brim. We ate a lot of that shumai as well as the sticky corn but needless to say all the dishes tasted amazing.
Zhong Hua
Address: Mikonkatu 8, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Phone: +358 9 2785017
Website: https://zhonghua.fi/
