A low-key Yunnan-focused spot near Lima where
mushrooms, rice noodles, and bold regional flavors
bring something different to Milan’s Chinese food scene.
The Intro
Yunnan cuisine is having a moment. While Milan’s Chinese food scene leans heavily on Northen classics, dumplings and the hotpots, Batong (八筒) has been quietly carving out space for the bold, sour, herbaceous flavors of China’s southwest. Tucked inside Galleria Buenos Aires just steps from Lima, this small dining room has become one of the very few places in the city where you can actually taste the food of a region known for its 36 ethnic groups, its jungle borders with Laos and Myanmar, and a serious obsession with mushrooms.
If you’ve never had Yunnan food before, think less sweet-and-sour and more fermented, funky, citrusy — a style closer to Thai or Vietnamese than what most people expect from a Chinese menu. Batong pulls heavily from Dai Chinese traditions, with banana leaves, lemongrass, passion fruit, and tomato playing leading roles. Yes, passion fruit. In a soup. We’ll get there!
The Vibe
Let’s be honest: Batong is small. Like, “good luck walking in on a Friday night” small. Tables are squeezed close together, the room hums with conversation in Italian, Mandarin, and English, and the lighting sits somewhere between cozy and dim. If you’re lucky (and we mean actually lucky), you’ll score one of the beautiful booths along the side — perfect for a date, a small group dinner, or just a longer meal where you don’t want to feel rushed.
Reservations are basically mandatory, especially on weekends — the place fills up fast and the booths get snatched even faster. Walk-ins exist, but you’ll likely get slotted into an early seating and politely asked to vacate before the next round arrives. Service is friendly and refreshingly unfussy — the staff will steer you toward the regional dishes you actually came for, and they’re not shy about flagging the spicier picks.
The Food
The signature move here is the sour fish soup — pangasius simmered with tofu, vegetables, three kinds of tomato, lime and passion fruit. It sounds chaotic on paper but somehow it works. The broth is bright, tangy, and weirdly addictive. Mushroom lovers, this is your moment: Yunnan is the mushroom capital of China, and Batong leans into it with steamed mushroom dishes wrapped in banana leaves that hit a deep, earthy, almost truffle-adjacent note.
Now for the cult favorites. The tiktok viral wolf-tooth potatoes are crinkle-cut fried potato strips tossed in chili, coriander, and rice vinegar — basically the most criminally underrated Chinese street snack, and Batong nails it. The rice noodles in chicken broth are silky, slippery, and exactly what you want on a damp Milan evening. Pair it all with a fresh kiwi-lime juice (actual fruit, not syrup) and go heavy on the sharing — the menu rewards range.
The Verdict
Batong isn’t trying to be the prettiest or trendiest Chinese restaurant in Milan. It’s trying to introduce a regional cuisine that’s still genuinely rare in Europe, and it does that job well. Some dishes lean a little tomato-forward and won’t fully transport you to Kunming, but the lineup overall is more authentic than most of what you’ll find in town, and prices stay reasonable — three or four shared plates for a table of two will land you somewhere around 25–30€ a head.
Is it flawless? Not quite. The space is cramped, some dishes hit harder than others, and if you’re hoping for a deep-dive into Dai cooking you might leave wanting more. But as an intro to Yunnan flavors and a proper break from the usual Milan-Chinese routine of fried soy noodles and standard dumplings, Batong sits in that useful middle lane: a place you can recommend when somebody says they want Chinese food, but maybe not the same old thing again.
Batong Ristorante 八筒
📍 Galleria Buenos Aires 14, Milano
🌐 instagram: @batongmilano
Have you tried Batong yet? Let us know your opinion, and do not forget to bookmark chinatownmilano.it for more authentic Asian eats around the city and follow us on social media @chinatownmilano.it.