Čínská restaurace Yi Yuan

It’s been a while since I was in Prague (over 7 years, in fact), but judging by the picture of this place, this here is the Chinese place to which I pledged allegiance when I resided on Křižíkova. My most favorite Činsky bufet, if you will. Many a night, my fellow vegetarian roomie and I would order take out from this place and carry it home to drink with 20kč bottles of Gambrinus and Staropramen from the potraviny on the first floor of our apartment building, rice and veggies doused in Thailand on a Plate sweet chile sauce, which has somehow never tasted as good as it did back then.
Back in the day, Prague wasn’t exactly a haven for vegetarians, so my options here – and a shit ton of other places as well – were awfully limited. But I was a big fan of the one veggie plate they had. I don’t even really remember what it was anymore. Saucy vegetables consisting of mostly cabbage with a side of rice is what I remember. God, I loved that shit. I craved it. I still crave it sometimes, honestly. The Czech equivalent of lipgloss greasy lo mein at cheap Americanized Chinese places, it surely hit the spot. I honestly don’t believe I ever ordered anything else from this restaurant.
4 stars may be a bit excessive, especially given that I haven’t even been in the country since May 2007, but this place made me happy when I was in Prague. And it’s a little daunting to be a shy, self-​conscious girl in a country where a lot of people don’t speak your language (I think a lot has changed since 2007); going out to eat and all that jazz was a little hard for me. Having this restaurant in my neighborhood, a mere hop skip & jump from my apartment, was really nice.
Oh, Prague Chinese food, how I loved you. I will never forget you. Maybe eventually you’ll be mine again. I can only hope.