Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.10.2017, Page 49

Spice It Up
A short stroll through Sichuan cuisine at Fönix
Veitingahús

Words: Shruthi Basappa Photo: Art Bicnick
While America and most parts of
the world are seeing regional Chi-
nese cuisine grow and thrive, in
Iceland the stereotypical fried meat
drowning in
sweet and
sour sauce is
still alive—
I’m looking
at you here,
Nings and
Ricki Chan.
I don’t think
this is a re-
f lection of
r e s t a u r a -
teurs’ lack
of ambition alone. The realities of
‘catering to the local palate’ for the
sake of business is still all too real
in Iceland. It’s a catch-22 situation,
but Fönix Veitingahús in Höfði at-
tempts to offer more than token
Western Chinese staples.
When I first dined at Fönix, I
was nursing a broken heart for
some dim sum. I’d gone as far as
flying to Boston to satisfy this crav-
ing, and knowing the greasy buf-
fet fare passed off as Chinese food
in Reykjavik, I was wary about the
d u m p l i n g s
at Fön i x . I
shouldn’t have
b e e n w o r -
r i e d — t h e i r
steamy ‘guo
tie’ have al-
ways arrived
pipi ng hot ,
ready to scald
the roof of
your mouth—
a worthy pun-
ishment for impatience. Spoon in
some tartly sweet black Chinese
vinegar to make amends.
Salty, sour, sweet, spicy
I’ve since returned on multiple oc-
casions, steering away from the
‘vorullur’ (spring rolls, deep fried—
notice a pattern here?) and towards
the Sichuanese dishes. The owner
chef duo, chef Símon Xian Qing
Quan and his wife Wenli Wang
are from the region, and some
staples make it to the menu, albeit
with English/Icelandic names. Yu
Xiang Qie Zi is eggplant in a sweet
marinade, here called fish fragrant
aubergine (2090 ISK). There’s no
seafood in it, so vegans fret not. It’s
a salty, sour, sweet and spicy dish
with a generous lick of garlic. Fö-
nix’s version is a tad too sweet, and
missed depth of flavour of douban-
jiang—a spicy, fermented broad
bean-soybean paste, quintessential
to the dish. Nevertheless, the au-
bergine is lusciously creamy, with
even the thicker skin of the ubiq-
uitous Japanese eggplant locally
available here somehow tamed.
The twice cooked pork (2690
ISK) was overwhelmed by the
heavy-handed abundance of white
onions. The mapo tofu (2490 ISK),
however, hits the spot with its silk-
en cubes of tofu, minced pork, dou-
chi (a fermented black bean paste
so funky, your bags will smell from
carrying it) and a slightly stingy
sprinkling of ground Sichuan pep-
percorns on top. It’s nowhere near
as spicy as it should be, but it’s al-
ways satisfying.
Don’t hold back
I can’t help but wonder if Iceland
will be ready for a regional Chinese
cuisine restaurant in the near fu-
ture. A Cantonese or a Hunanese
restaurant, perhaps? Maybe the ex-
isting Chinese restaurants, Fönix
and Tian, will offer tofu puddings,
rice cakes, funky fermented mus-
tard greens and briny pickled veg-
etables, steering the local Chinese
cuisine away from its cheap take-
away narrative, and towards a nu-
anced take on this diverse cuisine.
Meanwhile, forget the fried
shrimp and lunch buffet—get the
hot and sour soup (990 ISK) redo-
lent with surimi, tofu strips and a
whiff of sesame oil. Pair that with
dumplings and sip on fragrant jas-
mine green tea (400 ISK). I’ll return
later for the beef in hot chilli oil, a
spicy and fragrant hot-pot dish. Be
unafraid and ask to try what your
Chinese co-diner might be feasting
on, or to make special requests—
the chef is ready to oblige. And Fö-
nix, don’t hold back, we are ready
for a full Sichuan culinary tour.
Service: Warm and attentive
Value for money: Fair
Recommendations: Mapo tofu,
steamed dumplings
Rating: 3.5/5
1 0 1 Ó Ð I N S T O R G R E Y K J A V Í K Í S L A N D S N A P S B I S T R O . I S
s n a p s b i s t r o @ s n a p s b i s t r o . i s + 3 5 4 5 1 1 6 6 7 7
F R E N C H O N I O N S O U P
I c e l a n d i c Í s b ú i c h e e s e , c r o û t o n s
2 . 3 0 0 . k r
M O U L E S M A R I N I È R E S
s t e a m e d m u s s e l s f r o m B r e i ð a f j ö r ð u r
2 . 4 0 0 . k r
F I S H O F T H E D A Y
c h e f ´ s s p e c i a l
3 . 8 0 0 . k r
E s t . 2 0 1 2R e y k j a v i k
49The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 18 — 2017
gpv.is/food
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Símon Xian Qing Quan and Wendy Wang
“The mapo tofu hits
the spot with its
silken cubes of tofu,
minced pork, dou-
chi and a sprinkling
of ground Sichuan
peppercorns.”