Fresh eats from Beijing & beyond
It is a popularly held truth in China that Marco Polo introduced Italy to Chinese staples such as noodles, dumplings, and flatbreads (饼 bing). Only Mr. Polo didn’t get the recipes down quite right, so the dumplings became square and flat, the noodles got all out of shape, and the flatbreads acquired new and exciting fillings on the outside. Without Marco, so the story goes, Italy would be lacking of some of its most popular foods.
I’ve been a fan of Jiangxi food since visiting Nanchang Fandian (南昌饭店), the restaurant run by Nanchang (the provincial capital) government’s Beijing representative office. I had heard that Poyanghu Dajiulou, named for a famous lake in Jiangxi, was even better, but unfortunately, it took me nearly two years to come here – anything in Haidian is not exactly convenient for we city dwellers. I’m already regretting the wait.
Ordos, in central Inner Mongolia, is perhaps one of the more surreal places in China one could visit. It’s known for, among other things, vast coal reserves and mines, the mausoleum of Genghis Khan, a new, expensive, and completely uninhabited ghost city, a renewable energy park totalling some 11,900 megawatts of power, and a contemporary art & architecture complex funded by a dairy king. And it’s all in the desert, in the middle of nowhere.
In its own way, the restaurant run by the Ordos government’s representative office in Beijing is no less surreal, tucked inside a 1980s-style apartment complex. After walking through the derelict corridors of the Ordos guesthouse, we found ourselves in a cluttered courtyard, lined with not one but eight yurts.
This colorful salad caught my eye when I was wandering through the small food court above the Niujie Halal Supermarket, in the Hui Muslim neighborhood. From among the bevy of cold dishes and salads, its bright tangle of shredded purple cabbage, watermelon radish, carrots, and cucumbers was particularly inviting and lively.
Later I found myself craving this salad again, and it was as easy to throw together as it is versatile. Unlike a typical cabbage slaw that’s thick with mayonnaise, it’s light, crunchy, and refreshing – just the sort of thing for a summer lunch.
People are always surprised when I tell them that I bake bread in China. It shouldn’t, though, come as a shock, because flour, water and yeast are integral parts of north China cuisine. To me, there’s even more incentive to bake bread while living in China: the challenge is exciting, and the rewards – delicious bread and a new skill – are priceless.
This may come as a blow to people who grew up on Eeyore, but no one would blink an eye at the thought of eating donkey in China. Donkey meat is said to be higher in water and proteins and lower in fat compared to beef, mutton, and pork, and Fattie Wang’s (Wang Pangzi) makes some of Beijing’s best braised donkey flatbread buns.
Dianke Dianlai might be my favorite new Yunnan restaurant, always excepting those unshakeable classics Yunteng Shifu and Baoqin Daiwei of course. The chefs are from Yunnan, and so is the owner – a decided rarity in Beijing. The food is creative and modern while staying true to the province’s bold, sassy spice melangé. It even manages to capture some of the diversity of Yunnan food – with 24 different ethnic groups, there’s perhaps as much variety here as in a small country. The innovations, like touches of rosemary and thyme, are subtle; everything works together.
No, Wushan is not a master chef who works out of his hutong kitchen, luring young Beijingers in the know to his grubby yet charming hidden restaurant¹. Straddling the Yangtze River, Wushan is the eastern gateway to Chongqing. And in Beijing, Wushan is associated with Chongqing-style roast fish, and Wushan Roasts the Entire Fish is the literally translated English name of an extremely popular local restaurant chain, Wushan Kao Quanyu (巫山烤全鱼).
“Hitting the sesame paste” (da majiang 打麻酱) is what we Beijingers say when we go and buy sesame paste. We also hit our soy sauce, vinegar, oil, and even sometimes the hard liquor. No, we’re not abusive toward our condiments; just resourceful and unwilling to waste a single container. The mark of an old Beijinger [...]
It may not look very fancy, but this slice of apple-walnut cake (RMB 28) from the South German Bakery was a little piece of heaven: rich, nutty, stuffed with apples, and most importantly, moist with rum. I suppose that’s German pastry for you: simple, homey, and delicious. The bakery also many other worthy treats, including [...]
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