Chinese restaurant Cesarska Hiša

You have to admit that eating a meal  in a Chinese restaurant is something that everyone of us has already done at least once in our lives or at least wishes to do in the near future. In the past (which means until this year), I have never even been inside a Chinese restaurant, not that I would eat there. But one day, I have decided to try and I sort of liked it, and I have decided that I will visit another Chinese restaurant again in the near future. This time, I have visited the restaurant in Koper, called Cesarska hiša (which could be translated to English as 'The Emperor's house'). 

Chinese restaurant Cesarska Hiša is a pretty well established chinese restaurant, and they do have quite a long tradition. And this was one of the main reasons why I have decided for this particular restaurant. Of course, I had to go there by myself, because sadly, none of my friends is a big fan of Chinese food. (And this is probably the reason why I eat so rarely in chinese restaurants!) In the past, I was invited there a few times by my classmates, but I somehow always avoided going there. They even offered to pay for my meal, but I was so stubborn. And when I made the first bite of their food, I was immediatelly sorry that I refused all the invitations in the past.

How to get there?

Chinese restaurant Cesarska hiša is one of only two chinese restaurants in Koper, and it is very easy to find the right place. It is situated in the industrial part of Koper, where you can also find all the shopping centers that Koper offers. Werr, there are only three of them, but keep in mind that Koper is a very small city. If I compare it with, for example, Barcelona, where I am now, Koper seems just like a small village to me.

The address of the restaurant is Ankaranska ulica 5b. I will choose the main train and bus station in Koper as the starting point for the directions to Cesarska hiša. From the station, follow the directions for Koper Center until you reach a roundabout. Here, you have to take the first exit for Ankaran. At this point, I would like to warn you that the roundabouts in Koper are very confusing, and they have some kind of a wall in the middle, so if you get it wrong at the entrance, you will most likely not be able to get out at the exit you would like to.

In a couple hundred meters, there will be another roundabout, just after a colourful building, that will be on your left side. you have to tun left BEFORE that building, and then right, where you will see a small parking space. From here, you will already be able to see the restaurant Cesarska hiša, which is situated on the ground floor of this colourful building.

Some people in Koper are calling this building 'čebelnjak', which would in English language mean 'the bee house', because it really looks like that with its colourful windows. So, in case you get lost and you will be asking people on the street for directions, try asking them about 'čebelnjak', rather than saying the name of the restaurant. The restaurant Cesarska hiša is indeed quite well known in Koper, but I am sure that more people know better about čebelnjak than they do about the restaurant in it.

The restaurant

When I went to Cesarska hiša for the first time, I was surprised, how small it actualy is. However, after a closer inspection, I figured out that there is another dining room, hidden at the back side, that can host about thirty more people. But it is still small, comparing to the other chinese restaurant I have been to or heard of. But what makes tthis restaurant so special?

First of all, I have to say that the decoration in Cesarska hiša is simple, but very nice. I think that we are all used to looking at too much useless stuff that serves as decoration in other chinese restaurants. But not here. The nicest part of the decoration at Cesarska hiša are definitely the windows, that are painted with different chinese symbols and parts of the rich chinese culture. Other than that, you can see a few different statues and that is about it. Sounds boring? It probably really does. But please, do not be fooled – simple decoration does not mean bad food! And, after all, you get a beautiful food decoration on your plate!

Secondly, the restaurant is divided into three parts, and you can choose where you would like to seat. First part is a small terrace outside, which is shared by the bar next door. Second part is situated after the entrance and consists of just a few tables. And you can find the third part at the back side of the restaurant – on the way to the toilets.

Last but not least, the smallest part of the restaurant (the one that you see right after you enter), is so small and narrow, that I almost felt a bit claustrophobic. But I am not saying that this is a bad thing. Actually, this creates a very intimate enviroment, which could be perfect for a romantic dinner. Now you know where to go!

The service and the staff

I have already mentioned that Cesarska hiša is a very small restaurant. In fact, the staff only consists of two waiters and one cook, even in summer, when you can see a lot of tourists in Koper. But they are doing a great job, and you will definitely not have to wait for your food longer than necessary.

The staff is super friendly and the service is beyond excellent. First of all, when I was deciding what to order, there were a lot of dishes with strange names and I had no idea what possibly can they consist of. So I decided to ask the waiter, and not only she told me exactly what is in each dish, she even offered me a few samples to make my decision easier! Of course I accepted the offer, but I can only say that trying the samples made my decision harder, not easier. Did I mention that the samples were free?

So, there were two dishes on the menu that caught my attention, and whose samples I have tried before ordering. One of them was called 'ants climbing on a tree',  and the other one was 'drunken hen in her nest'. As you can see, you could not possibly know, what exactly those dishes are. After all, when I read the name of the first one, I thought that it really contains some ants!

So, when I finally decided what I will eat, I noticed that the waitress is not busy and I asked her if she has some time to talk. After all, I was one of only two guests in the restaurant at the time.  I was surprised how good her ability to speak slovenian language is, and she told me that she is living here for fifteen years. It was so awesome, how she spoke slovenian both with chinese and coastal accent.

After that, we were talking about where I am from, and we immediately figured out that we have some friends and acquaintances in common. And this is the reason why I love to chat with waiters from time to time!

The other waiter was a bit more shy (well, at least he seemed shy, but I could be wrong), so I was not talking to him much. Now I migh probably seem as someone who talks too much and annoys strangers, but it is far from the truth. I am actually a pretty shy girl, but I still like to ask people questions about their work, lifestyle, interests and so on.

Food and drinks

I have decided to try a typical chinese beer before my food is ready. It was tasty, however nothing special, and very expensive. I guess the price is high because it is imported. So, 250 ml of that beer costs three Euros. I ordered it just because I was curious about the taste, otherwise I would definitely order something else. And the small bottle got empty before my meal was ready, so then I ordered an ice tea. For half a liter, I paid one Euro and a half, which is a more reasonable price that the one for a beer. But, as I said, I was curious whether their beer is any different. Now I know that it is not.

After trying the food samples and searching through the menu for inspiration, I have decided to try spring rolls for the starter and my main dish was a chicken, prepared in a szeczuan way, which had a portion of rice with it, and crab chips.

The food was ready very quickly, and I was immediatelly sorry that I did not invite anyone to eat with me. Why? Simply because the portion was big enough for at least three people! Well, at the end, I managed to eat almost everything, because it was so tasty. But still, if you are in Cesarska hiša with a group of friends, not every person should order something, since you will probably not be able to eat everything!

But let me start at the beginning, with starter. During my last visit of the chinese restaurant, I ordered spring rolls. I got six of them, they were too big and I was full after eating three of them, so I had to leave almost half of the other food untouched. In Cesarska hiša, spring rolls are a different story. You can choose between a small portion (which consists of two spring rolls), and a big portion (which consists of four spring rolls) and the spring rolls that you get, are very small, and honestly, after eating the small portion, I was even more hungry, which is exactly what a starter should be for – to boost your hunger. The filling was a vegetable one, with some soya sprouts included.

And finally, the main dish. I got four filets of chicken, which were so crispy and the pieces were so soft that I had the feeling they are melting in my mouth. The szeczuan sauce is very spicy (which I knew when I ordered it, but I was still surprised), and it consists of various vegetables and some funny looking mushrooms.

I ate the chicken without dipping it in the sauce, and when I ate it, I decided to dip the rice in the sauce instead. It was excellent, but, as I said before, also quite spicy. But, on the other hand, you kind of stop feeling the spiciness after some time. But your lips will still burn! In case you do not like the spicy food, you can ask the waiter or waitress when ordering, if it is possible to make your sauce a little less spicy. I am sure they will be more than happy with doing it. After all, customer should always be first, and they seem to value customers a lot at Cesarska hiša.

On a small plate that they brought with the main dish, there were some strange white circles, and I had no idea what this could be, so I had to ask the waiter, and he told me this is crab chips. Honestly, before that day, I have not even heard of a crab chips or thought that such a thing would exist. And on that day, I had an excellent opportunity to try it, so I did. First of all, it smells funny. The smell reminded me of algae or sea grass. And this is why I was somehow afraid of trying it. And the taste is even more funny. I did not like it, but hey, at least I can say that I tried it. And I admit that I only ate one slice. Sadly, not my kind of food. Although I like seafood in general, to be honest.

At that moment, I was already very full, but what is a meal without a dessert? Exactly, nothing. Since I was full, I started thinking that my new motto should be: Life is short, eat dessert first! But nevertheless, I just could not resist to order two desserts, because I could not decide which one of them is better. And after trying them, I can say that I really liked both of them. So, what did I order?

The first thing I ordered, was fried ice cream. This is something that became classical in every possible Chinese restaurant. It was particularly interesting a few years ago, but I think that people somehow got used to it. I have tried it before, but I did not remember the taste of it, so I decided that I should try it again. And I ordered a bamboo ice cream, which has some really specific taste.

But, even after all the fire show, this is just an odinary ice cream. Maybe I am missing the point, but I do not see a reason for burning the ice cream, besides the fire show. And you could burn yourself pretty bad, because you have to stir the burning ice cream with a small spoon, until the fire goes out. And when I did it, the flames went pretty high, and the fire just did not want to stop burning! Actually, the only funny thing about the fried ice cream is, that the outside layer is a bit warm. And that is all.

Guess what was the second thing – fried chocolate! This is honestly one of the best sweet things I have ever tried. And believe me, I have tried quite a lot of them. Basically, this is a tasty chocolate, wrapped up in a dough and fried, until the dough becomes crispy. And when you start eating, the chocolate inside becomes liquid (so this is actually some sort of a lava cake). The whole thing tastes a bit like pancakes, but much, much better.

Plate decoration

The plate decoration in Cesarska hiša was so awesome that I just have to describe it separately. Who knows, maybe they want to substitute the modest restaurant decoration and decorate the plates instead? Good idea, because the plate decoration is all edible. And although it is so beautiful that I almost felt sorry to eat it, it is also very tasty.

First of all, the spring rolls. This dish looks like small pancakes, so nothing interesting by itself. But with the decoration (at least with the one I got), the spring rolls became a part of a fantasy land. There were butterflies and swans, made out of carrots, and birds, made out of apples. As I said, I almost felt sorry for eating this decoration. But I ate it anyway. After all, they would throw it away if I would leave it.

Then, the most important part – the main dish. This one was actually nothing special at the first sight. But upon a closer inspection I have realized that every single piece of vegetable was made into something. Mostly there were fishes, but it does not really matter. What matters here is the fact that someone actually makes such an effort for something that is known to be eaten afterwards.

The rice itself was not decorated, but the crab chips was. I found it funny that I did not realize why each piece of crab chips was decorated so it formed a crab at the end. Oh well, now I know.

And there was one more thing that I liked at Cesarska hiša - you get a fork and a knife, besides the obligatory chopsticks, of course. I would very much like to learn how to eat with the chopsticks, but I have tried and if there was no forks and knives, I would remain hungry, or I would have to eat with my hands.

Table reservation

Since the chinese restaurant Cesarska hiša is quite small, it might happen that a bigger group books it and you will have to wait for an available table. So, in case you are planning to eat there with a group of people, bigger than five persons, it is strongly suggested to book a table in advance.

When I was there, I got an idea of celebrating my birthday there, so I asked a staff member about booking a table, and he told me that calling a few hours in advance would be enough, but personally, I would prefer to know for sure at least a few days before the planned feast.

Conclusion

If a meal in a quiet chinese restaurant sounds like a good thing to you, then Chinese resturant Cesarska hiša is a great place to go. The restaurant is not that well known, so the place is not very busy even on weekends, the prices are low, the food is good and the staff is friendly. For me, eating there was definitely a great (and tasty) experience, and I am planning to eat there again in the near future.