MO Jasmine, Zurich
Yes – Chinese gastronomy can be this precise, modern, and simultaneously authentic. From the outside, the restaurant MO Jasmine might appear unassuming – but inside, worlds of gastronomy unfurl.
One thing is certain: Anyone who associates Chinese gastronomy in Switzerland with uninspired fried rice and MSG bombs has never been to MO Jasmine. Chef Chia-Yen Pan from Taiwan is at the stove. Accordingly, the menu not only features Chinese delicacies but also food from Taiwan. Take, for example, the shacha sauce made with dried shrimp, fish, garlic, shallots, and chili. Served with beef or tofu, everything is stir-fried quickly and artfully in a wok. On the island off the coast of China, this specialty has always been considered a comfort food.
The restaurant’s star attraction, though, is its pork belly – a dish that delights critics and guests alike. Chef Pan cooks it to melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, before slicing it paper-thin and layering it into a "pagoda of flavor" – without putting his knife down once. A spectacle that in itself makes a visit to Altstetten worthwhile. MO Jasmine could well be the best Chinese restaurant in Zurich. And it is certainly an address whose reputation extends far beyond its local neighborhood.
What do the guests order, what does the chef love?
As a main course, stir-fried shacha noodles with beef and tofu are particularly popular with the guests. "Typical Taiwan," exclaims the chef. For dessert, mango pomelo sago is a popular choice – a refreshing pudding with pieces of mango and pomelo, garnished with silky tapioca pearls. When the chef himself finally gets a moment’s peace, he treats himself to "MO Five Spice Beef" as an appetizer: thinly sliced, spicy beef on lotus root celery. For his main course – unsurprisingly – he chooses pork belly served with pak choi, Chinese mustard greens.
