ABSTRACT
Travelling abroad was restricted in Czechoslovakia during the period of 1948–1989. As a substitute in gastronomy, a network of restaurants ‘representing’ foreign cuisines was built in Prague in the late 1950s to transform the capital into a European metropolis. The Chinese Restaurant (its official name), which opened in 1958 following two years of preparation, became the most renowned. Until 1964, top Chinese chefs worked there. Despite its official promotion of the ‘People’s China’, with its cuisine and interior setting the Chinese Restaurant transported the guests into old Imperial China as seen through the eyes of Europe. The Chinese Restaurant soon gained great popularity and became the favourite place for Czech celebrities of the period, especially from the cultural sphere. Over time, visitors were more attracted by the chance of seeing pop stars and glimpsing the world of the then high society rather than the cuisine. The Chinese Restaurant in Vodičkova Street closed in the early 1990s, but its legacy is continued by the U koruny restaurant in Hostivice, near Prague, run by one of the former chefs of the original restaurant. The Chinese Restaurant also became a popular venue for the retro-wave glorifying the world of ‘socialist’ luxury prior to 1989.
