![\"Ka](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/U34VTLLKQBA2XNLYT7XVBPIAGI.jpg\")
Ka Shing dishes. Photograph: Dan Dennison ![\"Ka](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DG6V2V6F35CHBG265K5SKLYMQ4.jpg\")
Ka Shing on Wicklow Street, Dublin. Photograph: Dan Dennison <\/p>\nIt\u2019s more than easy to find a Chinese restaurant in Dublin, from the noisy, happy cluster on Parnell Street to longer-established and much-loved outlets in the city centre or suburbia. And the capital is blessed with quality, whether it\u2019s hand-pulled noodles and dim sum, or modern fine-dining takes on classic dishes \u2013 there is something for all palates.<\/p>\n
On the more traditional side, Ka Shing has stood confidently for 12 years on Wicklow Street in Dublin 2, decorated in old-school fashion, with a fish tank near the entrance. A regular menu and a dim sum menu greet diners, with classics such as chicken and sweetcorn soup and mixed selections with sauces such as black bean, \u201cChinese premium XO\u201d, and king do.<\/p>\n
Owner Bi Lian Liu explains that in Chinese, the phrase Ka Shing represents the idea of a good family. From 1982-2012, the restaurant was called Imperial. Liu bought it when it was closing down. She says Chinese people like to visit for its Hong Kong-style dim sum.<\/p>\n
The man behind these is head chef Liu Lai Keung, who is from Hong Kong. He is a Cantonese speaker who jokes via translators that he\u2019s in Ireland because he likes the weather. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnother reason for living here is that I have kids, and so I want to give them a good education,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Keung has been making dim sum for 48 years and has lived in Ireland for 18 of those. He says his cooking philosophy is about showing people what good food from Hong Kong is like. <\/p>\n
Liu has solid perspectives on the sector, gained through both Ka Shing and its fine-dining cousin, Kaisen in Blanchardstown. He notes that the older generation prefers dim sum, while younger people find the layout of a fine-dining restaurant \u201cmore attractive\u201d.<\/p>\n
Like Ka Shing, Good World Chinese Restaurant on nearby South Great George\u2019s Street is traditional in its approach, with decor featuring white paper table mats. It opened in 1991, and the head chef, Chi Chung Wai, joined the team a year later. He laughs when asked to describe his cooking philosophy, saying he\u2019ll \u201ctake a long pause\u201d, before concluding that \u201cit\u2019s to keep the customer happy, keep learning and trying to get better\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ka Shing dishes. Photograph: Dan Dennison Ka Shing on Wicklow Street, Dublin. Photograph: Dan Dennison <\/p>\n
Irish people have different tastes, he says, and so he changes some ingredients to suit that. \u201cSometimes you can\u2019t get the right ingredient, so you get something similar, something that\u2019s as close as possible,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re very old-style. The owner [of Good World], Alfred Ma, travels to China and sees what\u2019s new and popular there, especially for the dim sum section. Western or Irish-style Chinese is very different, Wai says, with Good World serving Cantonese, Hong Kong-style food.<\/p>\n
He sees modern Chinese restaurants as being \u201cmore stylish and fancy\u201d, but with \u201cthe main bits\u201d the same. \u201cIt\u2019s just different cooking styles. Modern Chinese food is maybe more colourful, and the restaurant interiors are different.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Good](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/C42QIK26PRFPJPF5UNVW4FW4UI.jpg\")
Good World on South Great George’s Street, Dublin: chef Chi Chung Wai. Photograph: Dan Dennison ![\"Good](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/MQTKVNL52JC2VJY322YSVTLZ6Q.jpg\")
Good World: a classic Chinese dish of salt and pepper prawns. Photograph: Dan Dennison <\/p>\n
He wonders if cooking at fine-dining restaurants is easier than what he does. \u201cThey have more staff in the kitchen. We have to know everything and do everything ourselves. The chefs at fine-dining restaurants don\u2019t have to chop vegetables; someone does it for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do simple food, and we\u2019re not pricey,\u201d says Jino Fan, manager at Good World. \u201cAt fine-dining restaurants, the chef can really concentrate on cooking, and then everything has to be plated nicely. The expectations at fine-dining restaurants are higher.\u201d<\/p>\n
Good World sees customers not just from Dublin, but also from different cities and counties, says Fan. \u201cWe have a lot of regulars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Modern Chinese restaurants in Dublin have been able to draw in loyal crowds too. One hot spot is Big Fan on Aungier Street in Dublin 2, which shot to success soon after its opening in 2020. <\/p>\n
\u201cBig Fan was founded with a strong commitment to exploring beyond traditional boundaries, ensuring we are not confined to a single region or even Chinese cuisine as a whole,\u201d says head chef Alex Zhang. \u201cWe know what ingredients and skills we have access to, and we play to our strengths and draw inspiration from a broad, diverse culinary landscape, embracing the idea that innovation arises from combining elements, techniques, ingredients, and flavours that excite us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zhang is from Dalian in China, where he studied Chinese cookery, and says he will always try to incorporate aspects of his hometown\u2019s culinary heritage into his creations, enriching the menu with authenticity and personal passion.<\/p>\n
His menu combines Chinese cooking and Irish ingredients. \u201cIt shows the local people that Chinese restaurants are not just about fried rice and noodles,\u201d says Zhang. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen any other Chinese restaurant do what we do. During Christmas or St Patrick\u2019s Day, we use what\u2019s in season. For example, turkey, which is not big in China, but we use it here, with Chinese cookery.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur menu is 50 per cent traditional and 50 per cent modern,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with Irish people in Irish restaurants for 15 years. I find that Irish tastes are changing. They don\u2019t like big portions and they don\u2019t like a lot of carbs. They prefer something smaller and want to try more variety.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zhang is clear about his cooking philosophy. \u201cThings like satay and black bean are very ordinary. We try to pick something special, something that hasn\u2019t been seen before. For instance, jellyfish, which is very popular in my city. Dalian is by the sea and we eat a lot of seafood,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I\u2019d make some dishes and get Rob [Robert Hayes, the owner of Big Fan] to try them. Our tables at Big Fan are small, so I don\u2019t want the plates to be big. We don\u2019t have starters, main course and dessert. Everything comes together. We do smaller portions so our customers can try more variety. We\u2019ve designed it for European people.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Big](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IVF4ZTCCQZHGRKEDRP47U6BUZI.jpg\")
Big Fan: chef Alex Zhang cooks a range of dishes including rare featherblade steak, fermented bean and ufra pepper. Photograph: Dan Dennison ![\"Chef](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SUC2OC2G4VGS5NFETV66WFIFWU.jpg\")
Chef Alex Zhang at Big Fan on Aungier Street in Dublin: ‘Each region of China represents different flavours.’ Photograph: Dan Dennison <\/p>\n
Big Fan has a traditional Chinese steamer, a wok-frying section, a deep-frying section, a pan-frying section and a pastry section.<\/p>\n
\u201cNormally, traditional Chinese restaurants have all these sections too, but most of the food there comes from the wok-frying section,\u201d says Zhang.<\/p>\n
He has experience with French cooking, and so likes to plate the dishes based on flavours. \u201cYou\u2019ll get a combination of different textures. For Asian cuisine, spice is key. But if all you use is spice, people are going to say, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s very spicy\u2019. So you\u2019re going to need umami and soy-based dishes to break things up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not all customers can take spice, Zhang says. \u201cSo we design things in a way that some dishes are spicy and some are sweet. We have spicy chicken and sweet chicken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Big Fan has a sister restaurant called Sister7 in Smithfield, the menu for which was also designed by Zhang. \u201cThe difference between Big Fan and Sister7 is that [the latter] is a bar,\u201d he says. \u201cSo most people there drink. Some people might come and not order any food; they might just order beer. But when you have a beer, you might say, \u2018Oh, I want some snacks\u2019. With beer, people normally eat things like pretzels. In Chinese cuisine we have crackers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zhang is still a fan of traditional Chinese restaurants. \u201cChinese cuisine is huge,\u201d he says. \u201cThe regions are different. I go to Ka Shing or Good World if I want to eat dim sum or traditional Hong Kong or Cantonese-style food. They have been around for a long time. The chefs know the cuisine really well. If you make a dish 250 times a day, you will be an expert.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a chef, Zhang finds that some flavours are too mild and flat for him. \u201cI like things to have a kick,\u201d he says. \u201cEach region of China represents different flavours. If you want more spice, you\u2019d go somewhere like M & L [on Cathedral Street in Dublin 1] to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"China](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/4BCC4LE5VVAWNMUPLNFHXFYRLY.JPG\")
China Sichuan: chef Jack Lew Kong Loy and some of his dishes. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw ![\"China](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2VSDSKRMCRED7HZJ5DFZJ7KV4M.JPG\")
China Sichuan: Sichuan octopus. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw <\/p>\n