Eating South Asian and Middle Eastern Food in Beijing (Part 1) (Section 2 of 2)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Eating South Asian and Middle Eastern Food in Beijing (Part 1). I have been to many Middle Eastern and South Asian restaurants in Beijing in the past few years, some of which have closed. It is useful for readers interested in Beijing Halal Food, Muslim Travel, Middle Eastern Food. Section 2 of 2.
On January 17, 2021, Taiba, a new Arabic fast food restaurant, was recently opened on Guijie Street. I ate Arabic pizza Lahmacun, hummus, and chickpea croquettes Falafel, and drank Middle Eastern black tea with strong spices. Their little brother is from Sudan and speaks Chinese very well. In addition, they mainly serve takeout, and if you want to dine in, you can only eat at the noodle shop next to it.
Lahmacun comes from Arabic (لحم بعجين), which literally translates to "meat and dough". During the Ottoman era, Lahmacun spread from Arabia to pre-Ottoman regions such as Turkey and Armenia, so it was also called "Turkish pizza" or "Armenian pizza", but the basic method is to make thin pancakes with minced meat.
5. Syrian Restaurant BRBR
On March 7, 2021, we ate at BRBR, a Syrian restaurant in Wudaokou, at noon. I have heard about their restaurant for a long time, but I have never eaten there since I live too far away from the city. This is the first time I have eaten there. I feel deeply that their family is so popular! We went there after two o'clock and had to wait for a long time to be seated. All the young people came to eat.
Syrian cuisine is also a relatively standard Levantine cuisine. The most classic ones are hummus and falafel, but we didn’t order them this time. Ordered lentil soup, grilled meat platter (Shuqaf mutton skewers, traditional Kabab, chicken skewers and chicken wings), half grilled chicken, chickpea broad beans with tahini sauce, lemon mint.
What was special this time was the traditional Arab Mandi mutton rice. Mandi originated from Yemen and is popular in the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt and the Levant. Mandi is usually made of rice, meat (mutton, camel or chicken) and Hawaij spices. Hawaij is also a special spice originating from Yemen. It can be used for cooking, soup and coffee. The main ingredients are cumin, black pepper, turmeric and cardamom. The taste of Mandi is drier than ordinary curry rice.
2. Türkiye and Azerbaijan
1. Turkish Mom
On January 10, 2020, after getting married, I went to Sanlitun's Turkish mother with Zainab. I ordered lentil and wheat soup, "Sultan's favorite", barbecue platter and rice pudding, and then drank tea and smoked shisha to talk about things. Turkish Mama is much better than the Iranian food next door. The grilled lamb and toasted bread are especially delicious. The wheat rice we originally ordered was returned because the bread was so delicious.
The Sultan's Favorite (Hünkar Heğendi) is a snack that originated in the Ottoman court. It uses rich stewed lamb with creamy roasted eggplant puree. It is quite rare in Beijing.
On October 19, 2019, Turkish mothers smoked hookah, drank tea, and ate baklava and rice pudding in the west of Changhong Bridge.
2. Turkish Restaurant Dardanelle
On August 11, 2019, after the Eid al-Adha celebrations, I went out to eat at the Turkish restaurant Dardanir in the Temple of Heaven. I ordered lentil soup, cream of chicken soup, assorted salads (hummus, yellow pepper puree, chili puree), mint yogurt, roasted lamb liver, tomato lamb kebabs, Lahmachun pizza, yogurt Ayran and rice pudding.
On June 6, 2018, my friends and I went to Dardanelle on Shenlu Street to eat cream chicken soup, assorted barbecue, lamb cheese Pide, Mediterranean salad, rice pudding and Turkish black tea. I liked the lamb cheese Pide, it was really huge!
3. The secret of Rumi in Turkish restaurant
On February 18, 2021, have an Ottoman breakfast at Rumi’s Secret in the Temple of the Sun and pretend to be in Türkiye.
On September 25, 2020, in the evening, our family welcomed Zainab’s mother and had a secret dinner at Rumi’s, a Turkish restaurant on Ritan Street. Since its opening this summer, Rumi’s Secret has become a popular place to visit in Jindosti, especially among Uyghur friends. Because they don't sell alcohol, I think their environment is the most comfortable among the many halal restaurants on Ritan Street, and it's very suitable for family gatherings.
This time we ordered carrot puree and yogurt and eggplant puree as appetizers, lentil soup and cream of mushroom soup as soup, and then ordered grilled chicken, skewers and Pide. The boss also gave us black tea and dessert after the meal. Zainab's mother drank Middle Eastern lentil soup for the first time and found it delicious. Their grilled chicken and grilled skewers are also quite delicious, but the most recommended thing is the three-piece Pide pancake, which is a combination of cheese, meat and vegetables. I think it is even more delicious than the Pide in several restaurants I have eaten in Turkey.
On July 4, 2020, we ate at Rumi’s Secret, a Turkish restaurant on Ritan Street, at noon. Although their restaurant just opened in June, most of my dusty friends have tried it several times! The environment of their home is very good, suitable for chatting, and there are performances in the evening.
At their house, we had hummus hummus, carrot puree, cream of mushroom soup, lentil soup, black tea, yogurt aylan, rice pudding, grilled lamb roast beef, and minced meat pie Lahmacun.
4. The beautiful western courtyard of the Turkish restaurant
On May 6, 2021, Iftar ate the Ramadan set meal at Xiting Xiuse in Xinyuanli. There are two types of chicken and mutton, which are different every day. The lamb we caught yesterday was Karabakh Pilaf, and the chicken was grilled chicken wings.
Karabakh is an area on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Its name comes from the Turkic word "Kara (black)" and the Persian word "Bagh (garden)". Most of the people living here are Azerbaijanis. The Karabakh pilaf we ate was stewed lamb with apricots, and the rice was yellow because it was dyed with saffron juice. I had eaten this kind of apricot + saffron pilaf while listening to Azerbaijani Muqam when I was playing in Baku. It was very friendly this time.
In addition to the main course, the soup in the set menu is the classic red lentil soup. The side dishes are hummus with hummus, yogurt tomato sauce and carrot cheese sauce, as well as nut and pepper salad. The main dish is spinach Pide pancake, which is delicious with spinach and cheese. The drinks are Ayran and black tea. Their Ayran is not particularly sour. Finally there was rice pudding and Semolina for dessert.
In general, this package is quite cost-effective in the embassy area!
On June 24, 2020, I ate Lentil soup, cucumber yogurt, grape coconut meat roll Dolma, meat pie Kofte, beef cheese Pide pie, Ayran yogurt and pomegranate juice chicken at the Turkish restaurant Xiting Xiuse in Xinyuanli. Their store has been open for a year, and the store manager is a Turkmen from Turkmenistan. He stayed in Beijing after studying abroad at Communication University. The head chef is an Azerbaijani from Istanbul and works at five o'clock every day. The waiters in the store are also Kazakhs from Kazakhstan. I think theirs is really delicious. The Pide pancakes are very fragrant fresh out of the oven and the meat quality is also very good. The last photo is a beautiful photo of the chef sent to us by the store manager.
Summary: This travel note introduces Eating South Asian and Middle Eastern Food in Beijing (Part 1). I have been to many Middle Eastern and South Asian restaurants in Beijing in the past few years, some of which have closed. It is useful for readers interested in Beijing Halal Food, Muslim Travel, Middle Eastern Food. Section 2 of 2.
On January 17, 2021, Taiba, a new Arabic fast food restaurant, was recently opened on Guijie Street. I ate Arabic pizza Lahmacun, hummus, and chickpea croquettes Falafel, and drank Middle Eastern black tea with strong spices. Their little brother is from Sudan and speaks Chinese very well. In addition, they mainly serve takeout, and if you want to dine in, you can only eat at the noodle shop next to it.
Lahmacun comes from Arabic (لحم بعجين), which literally translates to "meat and dough". During the Ottoman era, Lahmacun spread from Arabia to pre-Ottoman regions such as Turkey and Armenia, so it was also called "Turkish pizza" or "Armenian pizza", but the basic method is to make thin pancakes with minced meat.
5. Syrian Restaurant BRBR
On March 7, 2021, we ate at BRBR, a Syrian restaurant in Wudaokou, at noon. I have heard about their restaurant for a long time, but I have never eaten there since I live too far away from the city. This is the first time I have eaten there. I feel deeply that their family is so popular! We went there after two o'clock and had to wait for a long time to be seated. All the young people came to eat.
Syrian cuisine is also a relatively standard Levantine cuisine. The most classic ones are hummus and falafel, but we didn’t order them this time. Ordered lentil soup, grilled meat platter (Shuqaf mutton skewers, traditional Kabab, chicken skewers and chicken wings), half grilled chicken, chickpea broad beans with tahini sauce, lemon mint.
What was special this time was the traditional Arab Mandi mutton rice. Mandi originated from Yemen and is popular in the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt and the Levant. Mandi is usually made of rice, meat (mutton, camel or chicken) and Hawaij spices. Hawaij is also a special spice originating from Yemen. It can be used for cooking, soup and coffee. The main ingredients are cumin, black pepper, turmeric and cardamom. The taste of Mandi is drier than ordinary curry rice.
2. Türkiye and Azerbaijan
1. Turkish Mom
On January 10, 2020, after getting married, I went to Sanlitun's Turkish mother with Zainab. I ordered lentil and wheat soup, "Sultan's favorite", barbecue platter and rice pudding, and then drank tea and smoked shisha to talk about things. Turkish Mama is much better than the Iranian food next door. The grilled lamb and toasted bread are especially delicious. The wheat rice we originally ordered was returned because the bread was so delicious.
The Sultan's Favorite (Hünkar Heğendi) is a snack that originated in the Ottoman court. It uses rich stewed lamb with creamy roasted eggplant puree. It is quite rare in Beijing.
On October 19, 2019, Turkish mothers smoked hookah, drank tea, and ate baklava and rice pudding in the west of Changhong Bridge.
2. Turkish Restaurant Dardanelle
On August 11, 2019, after the Eid al-Adha celebrations, I went out to eat at the Turkish restaurant Dardanir in the Temple of Heaven. I ordered lentil soup, cream of chicken soup, assorted salads (hummus, yellow pepper puree, chili puree), mint yogurt, roasted lamb liver, tomato lamb kebabs, Lahmachun pizza, yogurt Ayran and rice pudding.
On June 6, 2018, my friends and I went to Dardanelle on Shenlu Street to eat cream chicken soup, assorted barbecue, lamb cheese Pide, Mediterranean salad, rice pudding and Turkish black tea. I liked the lamb cheese Pide, it was really huge!
3. The secret of Rumi in Turkish restaurant
On February 18, 2021, have an Ottoman breakfast at Rumi’s Secret in the Temple of the Sun and pretend to be in Türkiye.
On September 25, 2020, in the evening, our family welcomed Zainab’s mother and had a secret dinner at Rumi’s, a Turkish restaurant on Ritan Street. Since its opening this summer, Rumi’s Secret has become a popular place to visit in Jindosti, especially among Uyghur friends. Because they don't sell alcohol, I think their environment is the most comfortable among the many halal restaurants on Ritan Street, and it's very suitable for family gatherings.
This time we ordered carrot puree and yogurt and eggplant puree as appetizers, lentil soup and cream of mushroom soup as soup, and then ordered grilled chicken, skewers and Pide. The boss also gave us black tea and dessert after the meal. Zainab's mother drank Middle Eastern lentil soup for the first time and found it delicious. Their grilled chicken and grilled skewers are also quite delicious, but the most recommended thing is the three-piece Pide pancake, which is a combination of cheese, meat and vegetables. I think it is even more delicious than the Pide in several restaurants I have eaten in Turkey.
On July 4, 2020, we ate at Rumi’s Secret, a Turkish restaurant on Ritan Street, at noon. Although their restaurant just opened in June, most of my dusty friends have tried it several times! The environment of their home is very good, suitable for chatting, and there are performances in the evening.
At their house, we had hummus hummus, carrot puree, cream of mushroom soup, lentil soup, black tea, yogurt aylan, rice pudding, grilled lamb roast beef, and minced meat pie Lahmacun.
4. The beautiful western courtyard of the Turkish restaurant
On May 6, 2021, Iftar ate the Ramadan set meal at Xiting Xiuse in Xinyuanli. There are two types of chicken and mutton, which are different every day. The lamb we caught yesterday was Karabakh Pilaf, and the chicken was grilled chicken wings.
Karabakh is an area on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Its name comes from the Turkic word "Kara (black)" and the Persian word "Bagh (garden)". Most of the people living here are Azerbaijanis. The Karabakh pilaf we ate was stewed lamb with apricots, and the rice was yellow because it was dyed with saffron juice. I had eaten this kind of apricot + saffron pilaf while listening to Azerbaijani Muqam when I was playing in Baku. It was very friendly this time.
In addition to the main course, the soup in the set menu is the classic red lentil soup. The side dishes are hummus with hummus, yogurt tomato sauce and carrot cheese sauce, as well as nut and pepper salad. The main dish is spinach Pide pancake, which is delicious with spinach and cheese. The drinks are Ayran and black tea. Their Ayran is not particularly sour. Finally there was rice pudding and Semolina for dessert.
In general, this package is quite cost-effective in the embassy area!
On June 24, 2020, I ate Lentil soup, cucumber yogurt, grape coconut meat roll Dolma, meat pie Kofte, beef cheese Pide pie, Ayran yogurt and pomegranate juice chicken at the Turkish restaurant Xiting Xiuse in Xinyuanli. Their store has been open for a year, and the store manager is a Turkmen from Turkmenistan. He stayed in Beijing after studying abroad at Communication University. The head chef is an Azerbaijani from Istanbul and works at five o'clock every day. The waiters in the store are also Kazakhs from Kazakhstan. I think theirs is really delicious. The Pide pancakes are very fragrant fresh out of the oven and the meat quality is also very good. The last photo is a beautiful photo of the chef sent to us by the store manager.
