Halal Travel Guide: Beijing Summer Diary — Mosques, Food and Muslim Heritage (Part 1)
Reposted from the web
Summary: Beijing Summer Diary — Mosques, Food and Muslim Heritage is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: I've been keeping a halal diary in Beijing since 2016, so it's been six years now. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Mosques, Halal Food, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.
I've been keeping a halal diary in Beijing since 2016, so it's been six years now. Over the years, many halal restaurants in Beijing have opened and closed, leaving behind many surprises and regrets. I hope these diaries can preserve some thoughts and memories.
June 2: Fried chicken at the entrance of Changying Changlaishun.
June 3: Uyghur restaurant Gulikhan.
In the evening, I went to Gulikhan, a Uyghur restaurant in the residential compound behind Xinjiang Mansion. Their place is quite hidden; I wouldn't have found it without navigation. I ordered lamb leg pilaf (zhuafan), spicy stir-fried lamb trotters (hulayangti), and nang pit roasted meat (nangkeng kaorou). Overall, it felt better than Hantenggeli inside Xinjiang Mansion. The spicy lamb trotters were the best. Full of collagen, the texture made me feel so happy. Next was the pilaf companion. The seasoning for the rice sausage (michangzi) and flour lungs (mianfeizi) was the same. It tasted just like the street food in Urumqi. The pilaf itself was a bit hard, but some people might like this kind of texture. The lamb leg tasted decent. The nang pit roasted meat had a bit too much oil and less meat. It wasn't very satisfying, but the nang pit itself is really something.
They had several interesting 3D pictures of Xinjiang countryside scenery hanging in the restaurant. My phone couldn't capture them, so I'll just post two photos from Turpan.
June 7: Yellow millet and small date zongzi (zongzi), and eight-treasure and small date zongzi at the entrance of Changying Mosque.
Today I ate the yellow millet and small date zongzi, and the eight-treasure and small date zongzi from the entrance of Changying Mosque. Last year's sorghum zongzi weren't made this year. They switched to eight-treasure zongzi instead. Besides peanuts, japonica rice, millet, and black rice, the eight-treasure zongzi also had yam.
June 10: Stewed beef marrow bones at home.
Essential skills for a Xinjiang son-in-law.
June 17: White Diamond, a Uyghur restaurant.
At White Diamond, we had a casual meal. We ate Guirou Langman, kebabs (kawap), pilaf (polo), ketek, and pure mulberry juice. The intense sour and sweet flavors were a taste explosion. Then, all the shops on Shilihe Food Street changed their signs, and they look quite ugly.
June 19: Eight kilograms of lamb front leg sent from family in Xinjiang.
That evening, we cut and portioned it, then started making clear stewed lamb.
June 18: Dinner gathering at Ziguangyuan in Jinsong.
That evening, my family had dinner at Ziguangyuan in Jinsong. We really enjoyed the roast duck. We also ate steamed sea bass and their new dish of sakura shrimp baked with Lanzhou lily bulbs. Ziguangyuan introduces new dishes every so often. It's good to always have something new to try.
June 21: Eating cold-tossed noodles (guoshuimian) with diced eggplant and lamb for the Summer Solstice.
For the Summer Solstice, we ate cold-tossed noodles (guoshuimian) with diced eggplant and lamb. It came with four toppings: lentils, carrots, daylilies (huanghua), and celery. This was for Zainab to try our Beijing summer cooling dish. The Records of Seasonal Customs in the Imperial Capital (Dijing Suishi Jisheng) states: 'On this day, every household eats cold-tossed noodles (lengtaomian), which is commonly known as guoshuimian.'
June 23: Stewed the lamb sent from Xinjiang.
The lamb sent from Xinjiang was stewed, and it tasted so fragrant. Then I made cold-tossed noodles (lengtaomian) with tomato and egg.
June 29: Passed by Xinjiekou Xi'an Canteen and had a lamb skewer.
I've been eating this since I was a kid.
July 4: The Uyghur naan bread (nang) shop outside Dongzhimenwai Mosque.
Around 4 AM, I was strolling through the Xiangheyuan Liangma River early morning market (xiaoshier) outside Dongzhimen. As I passed the Uyghur naan bread (nang) shop outside Dongzhimenwai Mosque, they were baking naan. The freshly baked naan was crispy and flaky. Once it cools, it gets leathery and doesn't taste as good. It was perfect to grab a freshly baked naan and wander through the early morning market. They also sell baked lamb leg buns (kaobaozi). I bought one to eat right away. After I finished at the early morning market, I went back and bought a few more for lunch. It felt just right to serve them on the enamel plate I found at the early morning market.
July 4: Changying Qingu Barbecue.
Beef short ribs, lamb chops, and grilled squid.
We had stone pot bibimbap (shiguo bibimbap) and seafood tofu soup. They recently added Korean-style black bean noodles (Hanshi zhajiangmian) to the menu, so I'll have to try that next time. I really miss the halal Korean black bean noodle restaurants in Seoul.
July 4: Birthday dinner.
We made noodles with diced eggplant sauce (qieding guoshuimian), served with six toppings: shredded cucumber, shredded lettuce, flat beans, green peas, and celery. We also stewed lamb sent from Xinjiang, had Urumqi Yangle spicy chicken (Yangle laziji), baked lamb leg buns (kaobaozi) from Dongzhimenwai Mosque, and Hohhot Mazhanguang beef jerky (Mazhanguang niurougan).
July 9: Shifoying Tianshi New Life East District Service Center.
I went to the wet market near Shifoying, where I used to work, to buy fresh seafood. The market is called 'Tianshi New Life East District Service Center.' It looks unassuming from the outside, but it's really clean and fresh inside. When I worked nearby a few years ago, I bought beef, lamb, live fish, seafood, and all kinds of vegetables here every day. The food was much better than what I found in Dongsi.
I bought a jin (500g) of razor clams here. They were still alive when I got home, so I stir-fried a plate of them. I also bought two lamb trotters from the halal deli and made a big plate of cold mixed dishes.
Then I bought a long eggplant to make hand-shredded eggplant (shousi qiezi). I didn't take a picture, but I really need to talk about it. Zainab thought this eggplant was super delicious, but one wasn't enough. So I used the eggplants she bought earlier on Duodian to make another plate of hand-shredded eggplant using the same method. However, the texture was clearly not as good as the one I bought at the market; it was tough and hard. It makes me sad to think that the number of vegetable markets in our Dongsi area is getting smaller, which means fewer chances to eat fresh vegetables. If going to Shifoying wasn't out of my way now, I would really want to buy groceries here every day.
July 10: Uyghur flatbread (nang) shop at the entrance of Dongzhimenwai Mosque.
At 5:30 AM, outside Dongzhimenwai Mosque, you can smell the rich aroma of flatbread (nang) from far away. How could anyone resist buying it!
July 11: The first Iftar of Dhul-Hijjah.
For the first Iftar of Dhul-Hijjah, we had stewed lamb. We ate flatbread (nang) soaked in lamb bone broth (yangtang) and drank brick tea.
July 13: The third day of Dhul-Hijjah.
The third day of Dhul-Hijjah is the day Allah answered the dua of Prophet Zakariya. For Iftar, Zainab made pilaf (zhuafan).
July 14: The fourth day of Dhul-Hijjah.
The fourth day of Dhul-Hijjah is the birthday of Prophet Isa. For Iftar, I made stir-fried flatbread (chaobing). I fried it with lamb fat and Sichuan peppercorn oil. I made extra so there would be some for Suhoor tomorrow.
July 16: Deshunzhai Eight Big Bowls (Bada Wan) on Chaonei Nanxiaojie.
On the sixth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, Iftar went to Deshunzhai on Chaonei South Xiaojie for the Eight Big Bowls (badawan). I ordered stewed meatballs and stewed beef heart tubes. I also got a mixed salad with dressing (laozhi shijin) that had jellyfish, tripe, preserved egg, konjac, and cucumber. It was perfect for summer. I had eaten at their Anzhen branch before. This was my first time at the Chaonei Xiaojie branch, and it was good too. The restaurant was super crowded at night.
July 19, the Noble Day of Arafat.
Today is the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the Noble Day of Arafat. For Suhoor, I made clear stewed meat.
For Iftar, it was a simple meal of lamb soup with rice (yangtang tangfan) and brick tea (zhuancha).
July 20, Happy Eid al-Adha.
At Yinmadeng in Pingle Garden, I had skewers and drank kvass. The Gurban lamb was already slaughtered in Cangfanggou, Urumqi. The next month will be filled with roasting, stewing, and stir-frying lamb at home every day.
July 25, Khan Baba, the Pakistani restaurant in Sanlitun.
In the afternoon, I ate at Khan Baba, the Pakistani restaurant in Sanlitun. I ordered Mutton Achari Handi, Dall Makhni (black lentil vegetarian curry), Tandoori Chicken, Butter Nan, and Badami Lassi (almond milkshake). Both black lentils and the clay pot (handi) are specialties of Pakistan and the surrounding region. I have been eating at Khan Baba for many years, so ordering is still quite easy for me.
July 30, Niu Chuanmen in Changying.
The skewers at this place are short, so it's easy to burn yourself.
July 31, Ziguangyuan in Panjiayuan.
I bought lotus leaf pomfret (heye jinchangyu) and Laba garlic chicken feet (labasuan fengzhua) at the entrance of Panjiayuan. I often buy Laba garlic chicken feet. I really love their sour flavor. Their new lotus leaf pomfret (heyekin changyu) is amazing. It's braised for half an hour, so it's super crispy. There are no small bones, which makes it very easy to eat. I ate so quickly this afternoon that I forgot to take photos. When I finally remembered, I had almost finished the meal.
August 2: Lamb ribs, roasted from the Qurban lamb.
August 5: At Muyixuan, I ate lamb tail and lamb spine hotpot.
I went to the Film Archive for the opening of the Pakistan Film Festival. After the movie, I headed to Muyixuan in Ping'anli. We had a huge pot of lamb tail and lamb spine hotpot. It was incredibly satisfying.
August 6: Changying Halal Supermarket.
After work, I picked up some cold dishes and beef rolls (niurou juanbing) at the Changying Halal Supermarket. They are perfect for hot, humid weather.
August 7: Khan Baba, the Pakistani restaurant in Wudaokou.
I watched so many Pakistani movies this week. All the delicious food in them made me so hungry. I absolutely had to eat Pakistani food this weekend! So I went to Khan Baba in Wudaokou. I had Mutton Korma, Chicken Biryani with yogurt and cumin sauce, and Chicken Tikka skewers with mint sauce. I also ordered Zainab's favorite almond lassi (Badami Lassi). My virtual trip to Pakistan this week was complete!
Summary: Beijing Summer Diary — Mosques, Food and Muslim Heritage is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: I've been keeping a halal diary in Beijing since 2016, so it's been six years now. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Mosques, Halal Food, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.
I've been keeping a halal diary in Beijing since 2016, so it's been six years now. Over the years, many halal restaurants in Beijing have opened and closed, leaving behind many surprises and regrets. I hope these diaries can preserve some thoughts and memories.
June 2: Fried chicken at the entrance of Changying Changlaishun.
June 3: Uyghur restaurant Gulikhan.
In the evening, I went to Gulikhan, a Uyghur restaurant in the residential compound behind Xinjiang Mansion. Their place is quite hidden; I wouldn't have found it without navigation. I ordered lamb leg pilaf (zhuafan), spicy stir-fried lamb trotters (hulayangti), and nang pit roasted meat (nangkeng kaorou). Overall, it felt better than Hantenggeli inside Xinjiang Mansion. The spicy lamb trotters were the best. Full of collagen, the texture made me feel so happy. Next was the pilaf companion. The seasoning for the rice sausage (michangzi) and flour lungs (mianfeizi) was the same. It tasted just like the street food in Urumqi. The pilaf itself was a bit hard, but some people might like this kind of texture. The lamb leg tasted decent. The nang pit roasted meat had a bit too much oil and less meat. It wasn't very satisfying, but the nang pit itself is really something.
They had several interesting 3D pictures of Xinjiang countryside scenery hanging in the restaurant. My phone couldn't capture them, so I'll just post two photos from Turpan.
June 7: Yellow millet and small date zongzi (zongzi), and eight-treasure and small date zongzi at the entrance of Changying Mosque.
Today I ate the yellow millet and small date zongzi, and the eight-treasure and small date zongzi from the entrance of Changying Mosque. Last year's sorghum zongzi weren't made this year. They switched to eight-treasure zongzi instead. Besides peanuts, japonica rice, millet, and black rice, the eight-treasure zongzi also had yam.
June 10: Stewed beef marrow bones at home.
Essential skills for a Xinjiang son-in-law.
June 17: White Diamond, a Uyghur restaurant.
At White Diamond, we had a casual meal. We ate Guirou Langman, kebabs (kawap), pilaf (polo), ketek, and pure mulberry juice. The intense sour and sweet flavors were a taste explosion. Then, all the shops on Shilihe Food Street changed their signs, and they look quite ugly.
June 19: Eight kilograms of lamb front leg sent from family in Xinjiang.
That evening, we cut and portioned it, then started making clear stewed lamb.
June 18: Dinner gathering at Ziguangyuan in Jinsong.
That evening, my family had dinner at Ziguangyuan in Jinsong. We really enjoyed the roast duck. We also ate steamed sea bass and their new dish of sakura shrimp baked with Lanzhou lily bulbs. Ziguangyuan introduces new dishes every so often. It's good to always have something new to try.
June 21: Eating cold-tossed noodles (guoshuimian) with diced eggplant and lamb for the Summer Solstice.
For the Summer Solstice, we ate cold-tossed noodles (guoshuimian) with diced eggplant and lamb. It came with four toppings: lentils, carrots, daylilies (huanghua), and celery. This was for Zainab to try our Beijing summer cooling dish. The Records of Seasonal Customs in the Imperial Capital (Dijing Suishi Jisheng) states: 'On this day, every household eats cold-tossed noodles (lengtaomian), which is commonly known as guoshuimian.'
June 23: Stewed the lamb sent from Xinjiang.
The lamb sent from Xinjiang was stewed, and it tasted so fragrant. Then I made cold-tossed noodles (lengtaomian) with tomato and egg.
June 29: Passed by Xinjiekou Xi'an Canteen and had a lamb skewer.
I've been eating this since I was a kid.
July 4: The Uyghur naan bread (nang) shop outside Dongzhimenwai Mosque.
Around 4 AM, I was strolling through the Xiangheyuan Liangma River early morning market (xiaoshier) outside Dongzhimen. As I passed the Uyghur naan bread (nang) shop outside Dongzhimenwai Mosque, they were baking naan. The freshly baked naan was crispy and flaky. Once it cools, it gets leathery and doesn't taste as good. It was perfect to grab a freshly baked naan and wander through the early morning market. They also sell baked lamb leg buns (kaobaozi). I bought one to eat right away. After I finished at the early morning market, I went back and bought a few more for lunch. It felt just right to serve them on the enamel plate I found at the early morning market.
July 4: Changying Qingu Barbecue.
Beef short ribs, lamb chops, and grilled squid.
We had stone pot bibimbap (shiguo bibimbap) and seafood tofu soup. They recently added Korean-style black bean noodles (Hanshi zhajiangmian) to the menu, so I'll have to try that next time. I really miss the halal Korean black bean noodle restaurants in Seoul.
July 4: Birthday dinner.
We made noodles with diced eggplant sauce (qieding guoshuimian), served with six toppings: shredded cucumber, shredded lettuce, flat beans, green peas, and celery. We also stewed lamb sent from Xinjiang, had Urumqi Yangle spicy chicken (Yangle laziji), baked lamb leg buns (kaobaozi) from Dongzhimenwai Mosque, and Hohhot Mazhanguang beef jerky (Mazhanguang niurougan).
July 9: Shifoying Tianshi New Life East District Service Center.
I went to the wet market near Shifoying, where I used to work, to buy fresh seafood. The market is called 'Tianshi New Life East District Service Center.' It looks unassuming from the outside, but it's really clean and fresh inside. When I worked nearby a few years ago, I bought beef, lamb, live fish, seafood, and all kinds of vegetables here every day. The food was much better than what I found in Dongsi.
I bought a jin (500g) of razor clams here. They were still alive when I got home, so I stir-fried a plate of them. I also bought two lamb trotters from the halal deli and made a big plate of cold mixed dishes.
Then I bought a long eggplant to make hand-shredded eggplant (shousi qiezi). I didn't take a picture, but I really need to talk about it. Zainab thought this eggplant was super delicious, but one wasn't enough. So I used the eggplants she bought earlier on Duodian to make another plate of hand-shredded eggplant using the same method. However, the texture was clearly not as good as the one I bought at the market; it was tough and hard. It makes me sad to think that the number of vegetable markets in our Dongsi area is getting smaller, which means fewer chances to eat fresh vegetables. If going to Shifoying wasn't out of my way now, I would really want to buy groceries here every day.
July 10: Uyghur flatbread (nang) shop at the entrance of Dongzhimenwai Mosque.
At 5:30 AM, outside Dongzhimenwai Mosque, you can smell the rich aroma of flatbread (nang) from far away. How could anyone resist buying it!
July 11: The first Iftar of Dhul-Hijjah.
For the first Iftar of Dhul-Hijjah, we had stewed lamb. We ate flatbread (nang) soaked in lamb bone broth (yangtang) and drank brick tea.
July 13: The third day of Dhul-Hijjah.
The third day of Dhul-Hijjah is the day Allah answered the dua of Prophet Zakariya. For Iftar, Zainab made pilaf (zhuafan).
July 14: The fourth day of Dhul-Hijjah.
The fourth day of Dhul-Hijjah is the birthday of Prophet Isa. For Iftar, I made stir-fried flatbread (chaobing). I fried it with lamb fat and Sichuan peppercorn oil. I made extra so there would be some for Suhoor tomorrow.
July 16: Deshunzhai Eight Big Bowls (Bada Wan) on Chaonei Nanxiaojie.
On the sixth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, Iftar went to Deshunzhai on Chaonei South Xiaojie for the Eight Big Bowls (badawan). I ordered stewed meatballs and stewed beef heart tubes. I also got a mixed salad with dressing (laozhi shijin) that had jellyfish, tripe, preserved egg, konjac, and cucumber. It was perfect for summer. I had eaten at their Anzhen branch before. This was my first time at the Chaonei Xiaojie branch, and it was good too. The restaurant was super crowded at night.
July 19, the Noble Day of Arafat.
Today is the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the Noble Day of Arafat. For Suhoor, I made clear stewed meat.
For Iftar, it was a simple meal of lamb soup with rice (yangtang tangfan) and brick tea (zhuancha).
July 20, Happy Eid al-Adha.
At Yinmadeng in Pingle Garden, I had skewers and drank kvass. The Gurban lamb was already slaughtered in Cangfanggou, Urumqi. The next month will be filled with roasting, stewing, and stir-frying lamb at home every day.
July 25, Khan Baba, the Pakistani restaurant in Sanlitun.
In the afternoon, I ate at Khan Baba, the Pakistani restaurant in Sanlitun. I ordered Mutton Achari Handi, Dall Makhni (black lentil vegetarian curry), Tandoori Chicken, Butter Nan, and Badami Lassi (almond milkshake). Both black lentils and the clay pot (handi) are specialties of Pakistan and the surrounding region. I have been eating at Khan Baba for many years, so ordering is still quite easy for me.
July 30, Niu Chuanmen in Changying.
The skewers at this place are short, so it's easy to burn yourself.
July 31, Ziguangyuan in Panjiayuan.
I bought lotus leaf pomfret (heye jinchangyu) and Laba garlic chicken feet (labasuan fengzhua) at the entrance of Panjiayuan. I often buy Laba garlic chicken feet. I really love their sour flavor. Their new lotus leaf pomfret (heyekin changyu) is amazing. It's braised for half an hour, so it's super crispy. There are no small bones, which makes it very easy to eat. I ate so quickly this afternoon that I forgot to take photos. When I finally remembered, I had almost finished the meal.
August 2: Lamb ribs, roasted from the Qurban lamb.
August 5: At Muyixuan, I ate lamb tail and lamb spine hotpot.
I went to the Film Archive for the opening of the Pakistan Film Festival. After the movie, I headed to Muyixuan in Ping'anli. We had a huge pot of lamb tail and lamb spine hotpot. It was incredibly satisfying.
August 6: Changying Halal Supermarket.
After work, I picked up some cold dishes and beef rolls (niurou juanbing) at the Changying Halal Supermarket. They are perfect for hot, humid weather.
August 7: Khan Baba, the Pakistani restaurant in Wudaokou.
I watched so many Pakistani movies this week. All the delicious food in them made me so hungry. I absolutely had to eat Pakistani food this weekend! So I went to Khan Baba in Wudaokou. I had Mutton Korma, Chicken Biryani with yogurt and cumin sauce, and Chicken Tikka skewers with mint sauce. I also ordered Zainab's favorite almond lassi (Badami Lassi). My virtual trip to Pakistan this week was complete!
