Beijing Muslim History: Old Halal Notes from the Southern City (Part 2 of 5)
Reposted from the web
Summary: Beijing Muslim History: Old Halal Notes from the Southern City is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: Chongwen:. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Muslim History, Southern Beijing, Hui Muslims while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source. This is part 2 of 5.
Part 2 of 5
Menkuang Hutong is full of individual stalls run by Hui Muslims. They pay attention to the hygiene of their utensils, and their food focuses on color, aroma, and taste, which attracts many customers and has earned them quite a reputation. Take Baodu Feng, which sells quick-boiled tripe (baodu). The lamb tripe and tripe kernels (duren) are cooked to the perfect texture—neither too tough nor too soft. The sauces, including fermented bean curd (jiang furu), chive flower paste (jiucaihua), and sesame paste (zhima jiang), are fresh and tasty, so the stall is full of customers every day who come for their fame.
Ye Zufu Talks About Beijing by Ye Zufu
7. Bai's Tofu Pudding (doufunao) in Menkuang Hutong outside Qianmen.
Bai's Tofu Pudding is run by an elderly man named Bai. The tofu pudding is incredibly white and tender. The mushroom and lamb gravy (koumo zha yangrou lu) smells so good that it makes your mouth water from far away. When you eat it, you add chili oil or garlic sauce, which is truly wonderful. It is no wonder that many financial professionals in suits squeeze into the market, hunching over on small, narrow stools to enjoy this unique tofu pudding.
Bai's Tofu Pudding has a branch stall at the entrance of Guanghe Tower in the meat market, specifically for theatergoers watching Peking opera. Baodu Feng and Bai's Tofu Pudding also sell freshly baked sesame flatbreads (shaobing). Some individual vendors even bring small baskets of these flatbreads here to sell to customers.
Ye Zufu Talks About Beijing by Ye Zufu
8. Niangao Wang (Rice Cake King) on Menkuang Hutong outside Qianmen
Nian Gao Wang sells traditional northern-style rice cakes (niangao). They are made from glutinous rice or glutinous rice flour, with layers of red bean paste in the middle and topped with shredded green or red silk. Sometimes they also sell pea flour cakes (wandouhuang). In the summer, these rice cakes are kept on large blocks of natural ice to keep them cool and refreshing. In the winter, they are steamed in small bamboo steamers (longti) to keep them soft and hot. When selling them in winter, the vendor takes a plate of steaming rice cakes from the steamer and adds a spoonful of white sugar, making them taste even better.
Ye Zufu Talks About Beijing by Ye Zufu
9. Mujiazhai at Zangjia Bridge outside Qianmen
My grandmother's family ran a restaurant outside Qianmen at Zangjiaqiao called Mujiazhai, also known as Guangfuguan. If you ask the elders in the southern part of the city, they usually know it. The stir-fried dough bits (chaogeda) at Guangfuguan were made by my grandmother's family. My great-grandmother was a widow. To make a living, she set up a noodle stall selling rice porridge and flour-based foods to passing porters and laborers. My grandmother was also a widow. She managed my great-grandmother's business and worked incredibly hard to build this small restaurant. Two generations of widows ran the place. The name Guangfu uses homophones for the words meaning 'widow's shop.' People say the Little Prince Gong gave it this name to mark it as a widow's restaurant, and that is how it came to be. They specialized in stir-fried dough bits, and this dish became famous.
I heard from my grandmother that the Little Prince Gong loved listening to the operas of Shang Xiaoyun, so he was very close to him. When Shang Xiaoyun first met my grandmother, he thought she looked just like his own mother, from her height to her facial features. He said, 'Old lady, let me adopt you as my godmother!' After saying that, he knelt down and kowtowed, and from then on, she was his godmother. Shang Xiaoyun loved eating stir-fried dough bits, which influenced the Little Prince Gong. He often told the Prince, 'The stir-fried dough bits at my godmother's place are excellent.' The Prince was convinced, so he sent people to carry their own pots, pans, bowls, and stoves to eat there. He held a banquet at Guangfuguan in the private room on the second floor.
My mother invited Madame Mei Lanfang to dinner. Because my mother inherited my grandmother's skills, her stir-fried dough bits tasted different from everyone else's—they really had my grandmother's flavor. She invited Madame Mei, along with Mr. Shang Xiaoyun and his wife, to eat. Shang Xiaoyun was my grandmother's godson, so he just kept eating and eating. Madame Mei said, 'That is enough, brother, stop eating, you are going to burst.'
Born in the South of the City: Decades of Joy and Sorrow on the Stage—Oral history by the three Ma brothers. Ding Yizhuang
(Note by Wang Dongsi: The speaker is Ma Chongnian, nephew of Peking Opera master Ma Lianliang)
Stir-fried dough bits at Mujiazhai
Mujiazhai was a small shop, but it was crowded every day with customers waiting to eat the dough bits stir-fried by Sister-in-law Mu herself.
To make stir-fried dough bits, you knead the dough, cut it into dice-sized cubes, and then use your thumb to roll them into small shapes, which we Shanxi people call cat ears (maoerduo). First, you boil them, then stir-fry them with mung bean sprouts, shredded meat, and chives. The juices from the meat and vegetables soak into the dough bits, making them taste the best.
People say Sister-in-law Mu, like the Mapo of Chengdu's Mapo Tofu, first served her neighbors for free before her reputation spread and she became a professional.
In winter at Mujiazhai, you could still eat fresh spring and summer vegetables, such as Chinese toon (xiangchun) mixed with tofu, smashed cucumber, sugar and vinegar pickled dandelion greens (qumacaiya), and small radishes with sesame paste. People say the Mu family restaurant even had a special heated cellar (nuandongzi) to grow these fresh vegetables.
Food of the Hometown: Eating in Beiping. Liu Zhenwei
(Note by Wang Dongsi: The author was born in 1934.)
10. Xiangjugong halal pastry shop on Qianmen Street
Wang Dianwen personally oversaw the quality of the pastries (bobo). First, he hired experienced and skilled head pastry chefs (zhang'anren) with high salaries. Second, he insisted on buying high-quality raw materials for making the pastries. Back then, the white flour from Renhe Mill was fine, and the small-mill sesame oil from Xihongmen had a pure flavor; even though they were expensive, Xiangjugong still ordered from them. Sugar and other fruit ingredients were all top-tier products. For example, they paid high prices for the best red and white sugar, bought large thin-skinned walnuts from the Western Hills, sourced locust flower honey, and selected Miyun small dates, Western Hills roses, Shandong pears, Shenzhou honey peaches, and hawthorn jelly (jingao) from Jingao Zhang. Even for eggs, Xiangjugong had specific suppliers. Third, they strictly followed production procedures, from mixing the dough and fruit ingredients to the final baking, being very careful with every step. In the pastry industry, there is a saying: 'Thirty percent making, seventy percent baking.' This means that no matter how carefully or well you do the first few steps, if you do not control the oven fire at the end, the heat might be too high and burn them; or the heat might be too low, and they will not be cooked through. Therefore, in a pastry workshop, besides the head chef, the oven worker is the most important. The head chefs and oven workers hired by Xiangjugong were all highly skilled at the time.
Pastry products are seasonal; in the past, Beijingers ate specific pastries at specific times. For example, people ate sweet rice balls (yuanxiao) on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, sun cakes (taiyanggao) on the second day of the second month for the 'Dragon Raises Its Head' festival, wisteria cakes (tengluobing) when wisteria bloomed in the third month, sticky rice dumplings (zongzi) and five-poison cakes (wudubing) during the Dragon Boat Festival in the fifth month, mung bean cakes (lvdougao) to beat the heat in the sixth and seventh months, red and white mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the eighth month, flower cakes (huagao) for the 'climbing high' custom in the ninth month, and in the cold winter months, wealthy families ate hibiscus cakes (furonggao), while ordinary families ate oven-fired cakes (ganglu)—which were pastries made while testing the oven temperature that had rough, broken edges but were still high quality. Xiangjugong produced and supplied all these pastries on time. for holidays, the fasting month of Ramadan, the Eid al-Fitr celebration, and visiting relatives and friends, it was customary to use large and small gift sets (bajian) as presents. The small and large eight-piece pastries (ba jian) made by Xiangjugong are very famous in the southern part of Beijing.
Miscellaneous Talks on Old Beijing by Wang Yongbin.
11. Ha's sesame flatbread (shaobing) shop at Liulichang outside Hepingmen
Haji Sesame Flatbread Shop (Haji Shaobing Pu)
In my childhood memories, the snacks sold at Haji Sesame Flatbread Shop, located at the northeast corner of the east entrance of West Liulichang, were the most authentic.
This was a halal sesame flatbread shop opened by five brothers with the surname Ha. Compared to other nearby shops, it had a small storefront but the busiest business. Besides selling soy milk, sesame flatbreads (shaobing), and fried dough cakes (youbing), they also had snacks like top-grade sesame flatbreads (yipin shaobing), thick buns (dun bobo), and fried egg pockets (zha hebao). At that time, my favorite things to eat were thick buns and fried egg pockets.
Thick buns are small and made from leavened dough. They are mixed with lye, white sugar, and sweet osmanthus, then pinched into small pieces, pressed into thick, flat circles, and cooked over low heat on a griddle. After both sides turn yellow, they are baked in an oven until hard, without any burnt bits. After baking, a square or round red dot is stamped on them. The yellow and white colors with the red look beautiful, and they taste sweet, soft, and springy, with a bit of toughness that makes them great to chew. After chewing repeatedly, you can taste the faint wheat aroma from the leavened dough of the thick bun itself. The flavor is unique and makes my mouth water.
When mentioning fried egg pockets, some people might think it is just fried eggs, but that is not the case. Haji's fried egg pockets have a special flavor. They use dough for fried dough cakes, roll out two pieces of similar size, put them together, and pinch three sides shut to form a pocket, or what you could call a pouch shape. They crack an egg, pour it into the pocket, sprinkle a little salt, and then pinch the opening tight. They put it into a pan of oil and control the heat carefully. The fried pockets come out crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, suitable for both the old and the young.
"Our Old Beijing" by Li Weiji
Haji Kite Shop, Haji Restaurant
The location of "Haji Kite Shop" was at the north side of the east entrance of West Liulichang in the southern part of Beijing, which is the northwest corner of the intersection, today on the east side of Hongbaotang. It started as two sheds, then changed into two small storefront rooms. At that time, my grandfather and his fifth brother were local volunteer firefighters. If a fire broke out nearby, someone from the family had to go help put it out. In return, the fire brigade gave the two brothers two small rooms to stay in, and that is where they lived.
Although it was called the Haji Kite Shop, they did not sell kites all the time. Kite flying in Beijing was very seasonal, so they only sold kites from the Spring Festival until the third lunar month. During the other three seasons, they ran a Hui Muslim snack shop called the Haji Eatery. Later, they added a shed outside the rooms to block the wind and rain. It was bigger than the two rooms and served as a place for neighbors near Liulichang and passersby to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This was their main business.
The Haji Eatery sold sesame flatbread (shaobing) and fried dough twists (mahua) in the morning, and beef noodles and other meals at noon and night to support a family of several dozen people. Many neighbors nearby would buy on credit and settle their bills once a month. During the Spring Festival and the months of early spring, the eatery switched to selling kites to support the family.
Haji Kites by Ha Yiqi (Note by Wang Dongsi: The author is the fourth-generation successor of the Haji Kite tradition).
12. Nanlaishun snack shop at Caishikou outside Xuanwumen
Nanlaishun Snack Shop was a spacious hall. Aside from the door, there were snacks all around the perimeter, with rows of dining tables in the middle and square stools for customers to sit on. Let's start from the east door: to the left, from south to north, were all desserts. They mainly sold layered sticky rice cake (qiegao) here. I have loved eating this since I was a child. These cakes were placed on a large wooden board, about 60 centimeters wide, 80 centimeters long, and 10 centimeters thick, with four or five layers of bean paste and glutinous rice. The top of the layered sticky rice cake was decorated with large red dates, which looked very beautiful. Buying two liang (100 grams) of cake cost 8 cents per liang, so 16 cents total, plus two liang of food ration coupons. Even though it was only two liang, the master cutting the cake would use a long knife to slice it in one go, weigh it on a scale, and put it on a plate. The layers were clearly visible, and with white sugar sprinkled on top, it was incredibly tempting. One bite was full of fragrance and sweetness; it was delicious. Besides layered sticky rice cake, they sold various old Beijing sweet snacks, including steamed rice cakes (aiwowo), rolled glutinous rice rolls (lvdagun), honey fried dough twists (mi mahua, also called tang'erduo), sugar-filled baked cakes (tanghuoshao), steamed buns (dun'er bobo), and pea flour cakes (wandouhuang). If you love sweets, you will be satisfied here!
Let's talk about the long counter from east to west. They sold savory snacks here, such as tofu pudding (doufunao), soy milk, fried dough cakes (youbing), fried dough sticks (youtiao), ring-shaped fried dough (jiequan), crispy crackers (baocui), sesame flatbread (shaobing), baked cakes (huoshao), and twisted rolls (luosizhuan). The tofu pudding was authentic; the gravy was a masterpiece, made with minced meat, daylily buds, wood ear mushrooms, and eggs, with a layer of Sichuan peppercorn oil floating on top. It cost one liang of food ration coupons and 8 cents a bowl. When the server scooped up the tender white tofu and poured the gravy over it, then sprinkled a pinch of cilantro on top, a tempting bowl of tofu pudding was handed to you. If you like it spicy, there were chili oil, minced garlic, and vinegar on the table for you to add yourself. If you bought two freshly baked sesame flatbreads and a fried dough cake, hey, you had a complete, delicious breakfast.
After finishing the east-to-west section, let's turn to the counter from north to south. They mainly sold meat pies here, with beef and green onion filling (I don't remember if they had meat-filled pancakes). The meat pies here were another specialty. You could smell the aroma from far away. As you got closer, you could not only smell them but also hear the tempting sizzling sound as they were being pan-fried. You could not only hear it but see it too. The master chef worked right behind the counter, so every customer could watch the whole process of making the meat pie (roubing). When you saw those golden-brown meat pies sizzling with oil and smelling so good, how could you not want to try one?
They also sold red bean porridge (xiaodouzhou) and sticky rice porridge (jiangmizhou). If you came for lunch, you could order two meat pies and a bowl of red bean porridge. With sliced salted vegetables on the table, tell me, doesn't that sound wonderful?
Memories of Niujie by Chen Chunxi
13. Zhengxingde tea house at Caishikou outside Xuanwumen
In the 1950s and 60s, my mother always walked from Niujie to Caishikou to buy tea at the old shop Zhengxingde. It was a halal tea shop, and most Niujie residents went there. She usually bought the tea that cost 40 cents per liang, which smelled quite fragrant when brewed. I often went with my mother to buy tea. As soon as we stepped into the shop, we smelled the jasmine tea. That scent has stayed in my memory ever since.
Back then, they did not use plastic bags. Everything was wrapped by hand in paper. The clerk would wrap it however the customer wanted, like buying four liang and splitting it into two two-liang packages. If you bought one jin, they would make two half-jin packages. Of course, some people just bought one package. The clerk's wrapping technique was amazing. They folded the paper into a perfect square that looked very solid. Then they stacked the two packages together, tied them with a paper string in a cross pattern, and made a handle on top so the customer could just hook a finger through and carry it away. That tea package was quite stylish at the time. During holidays when visiting relatives and friends, you would place the tea package on the table, and it looked both grand and traditional.
Memories of Niujie by Chen Chunxi
14. Scalded dough fried cake (tangmian zhagao) at the Hui Muslim breakfast shop a short distance left from the east entrance of Xiangluying Sitiao Hutong outside Xuanwumen
When I think of the hot-water dough fried cake (tangmian zhagao), I don't know why this simple old Beijing snack has disappeared from the streets and restaurants. Actually, in the 1950s and 60s, almost every snack shop run by Hui Muslims sold them. they were an essential snack at temple fairs in the capital back then.
Summary: Beijing Muslim History: Old Halal Notes from the Southern City is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: Chongwen:. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Muslim History, Southern Beijing, Hui Muslims while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source. This is part 2 of 5.
Part 2 of 5
Menkuang Hutong is full of individual stalls run by Hui Muslims. They pay attention to the hygiene of their utensils, and their food focuses on color, aroma, and taste, which attracts many customers and has earned them quite a reputation. Take Baodu Feng, which sells quick-boiled tripe (baodu). The lamb tripe and tripe kernels (duren) are cooked to the perfect texture—neither too tough nor too soft. The sauces, including fermented bean curd (jiang furu), chive flower paste (jiucaihua), and sesame paste (zhima jiang), are fresh and tasty, so the stall is full of customers every day who come for their fame.
Ye Zufu Talks About Beijing by Ye Zufu
7. Bai's Tofu Pudding (doufunao) in Menkuang Hutong outside Qianmen.
Bai's Tofu Pudding is run by an elderly man named Bai. The tofu pudding is incredibly white and tender. The mushroom and lamb gravy (koumo zha yangrou lu) smells so good that it makes your mouth water from far away. When you eat it, you add chili oil or garlic sauce, which is truly wonderful. It is no wonder that many financial professionals in suits squeeze into the market, hunching over on small, narrow stools to enjoy this unique tofu pudding.
Bai's Tofu Pudding has a branch stall at the entrance of Guanghe Tower in the meat market, specifically for theatergoers watching Peking opera. Baodu Feng and Bai's Tofu Pudding also sell freshly baked sesame flatbreads (shaobing). Some individual vendors even bring small baskets of these flatbreads here to sell to customers.
Ye Zufu Talks About Beijing by Ye Zufu
8. Niangao Wang (Rice Cake King) on Menkuang Hutong outside Qianmen
Nian Gao Wang sells traditional northern-style rice cakes (niangao). They are made from glutinous rice or glutinous rice flour, with layers of red bean paste in the middle and topped with shredded green or red silk. Sometimes they also sell pea flour cakes (wandouhuang). In the summer, these rice cakes are kept on large blocks of natural ice to keep them cool and refreshing. In the winter, they are steamed in small bamboo steamers (longti) to keep them soft and hot. When selling them in winter, the vendor takes a plate of steaming rice cakes from the steamer and adds a spoonful of white sugar, making them taste even better.
Ye Zufu Talks About Beijing by Ye Zufu
9. Mujiazhai at Zangjia Bridge outside Qianmen
My grandmother's family ran a restaurant outside Qianmen at Zangjiaqiao called Mujiazhai, also known as Guangfuguan. If you ask the elders in the southern part of the city, they usually know it. The stir-fried dough bits (chaogeda) at Guangfuguan were made by my grandmother's family. My great-grandmother was a widow. To make a living, she set up a noodle stall selling rice porridge and flour-based foods to passing porters and laborers. My grandmother was also a widow. She managed my great-grandmother's business and worked incredibly hard to build this small restaurant. Two generations of widows ran the place. The name Guangfu uses homophones for the words meaning 'widow's shop.' People say the Little Prince Gong gave it this name to mark it as a widow's restaurant, and that is how it came to be. They specialized in stir-fried dough bits, and this dish became famous.
I heard from my grandmother that the Little Prince Gong loved listening to the operas of Shang Xiaoyun, so he was very close to him. When Shang Xiaoyun first met my grandmother, he thought she looked just like his own mother, from her height to her facial features. He said, 'Old lady, let me adopt you as my godmother!' After saying that, he knelt down and kowtowed, and from then on, she was his godmother. Shang Xiaoyun loved eating stir-fried dough bits, which influenced the Little Prince Gong. He often told the Prince, 'The stir-fried dough bits at my godmother's place are excellent.' The Prince was convinced, so he sent people to carry their own pots, pans, bowls, and stoves to eat there. He held a banquet at Guangfuguan in the private room on the second floor.
My mother invited Madame Mei Lanfang to dinner. Because my mother inherited my grandmother's skills, her stir-fried dough bits tasted different from everyone else's—they really had my grandmother's flavor. She invited Madame Mei, along with Mr. Shang Xiaoyun and his wife, to eat. Shang Xiaoyun was my grandmother's godson, so he just kept eating and eating. Madame Mei said, 'That is enough, brother, stop eating, you are going to burst.'
Born in the South of the City: Decades of Joy and Sorrow on the Stage—Oral history by the three Ma brothers. Ding Yizhuang
(Note by Wang Dongsi: The speaker is Ma Chongnian, nephew of Peking Opera master Ma Lianliang)
Stir-fried dough bits at Mujiazhai
Mujiazhai was a small shop, but it was crowded every day with customers waiting to eat the dough bits stir-fried by Sister-in-law Mu herself.
To make stir-fried dough bits, you knead the dough, cut it into dice-sized cubes, and then use your thumb to roll them into small shapes, which we Shanxi people call cat ears (maoerduo). First, you boil them, then stir-fry them with mung bean sprouts, shredded meat, and chives. The juices from the meat and vegetables soak into the dough bits, making them taste the best.
People say Sister-in-law Mu, like the Mapo of Chengdu's Mapo Tofu, first served her neighbors for free before her reputation spread and she became a professional.
In winter at Mujiazhai, you could still eat fresh spring and summer vegetables, such as Chinese toon (xiangchun) mixed with tofu, smashed cucumber, sugar and vinegar pickled dandelion greens (qumacaiya), and small radishes with sesame paste. People say the Mu family restaurant even had a special heated cellar (nuandongzi) to grow these fresh vegetables.
Food of the Hometown: Eating in Beiping. Liu Zhenwei
(Note by Wang Dongsi: The author was born in 1934.)
10. Xiangjugong halal pastry shop on Qianmen Street
Wang Dianwen personally oversaw the quality of the pastries (bobo). First, he hired experienced and skilled head pastry chefs (zhang'anren) with high salaries. Second, he insisted on buying high-quality raw materials for making the pastries. Back then, the white flour from Renhe Mill was fine, and the small-mill sesame oil from Xihongmen had a pure flavor; even though they were expensive, Xiangjugong still ordered from them. Sugar and other fruit ingredients were all top-tier products. For example, they paid high prices for the best red and white sugar, bought large thin-skinned walnuts from the Western Hills, sourced locust flower honey, and selected Miyun small dates, Western Hills roses, Shandong pears, Shenzhou honey peaches, and hawthorn jelly (jingao) from Jingao Zhang. Even for eggs, Xiangjugong had specific suppliers. Third, they strictly followed production procedures, from mixing the dough and fruit ingredients to the final baking, being very careful with every step. In the pastry industry, there is a saying: 'Thirty percent making, seventy percent baking.' This means that no matter how carefully or well you do the first few steps, if you do not control the oven fire at the end, the heat might be too high and burn them; or the heat might be too low, and they will not be cooked through. Therefore, in a pastry workshop, besides the head chef, the oven worker is the most important. The head chefs and oven workers hired by Xiangjugong were all highly skilled at the time.
Pastry products are seasonal; in the past, Beijingers ate specific pastries at specific times. For example, people ate sweet rice balls (yuanxiao) on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, sun cakes (taiyanggao) on the second day of the second month for the 'Dragon Raises Its Head' festival, wisteria cakes (tengluobing) when wisteria bloomed in the third month, sticky rice dumplings (zongzi) and five-poison cakes (wudubing) during the Dragon Boat Festival in the fifth month, mung bean cakes (lvdougao) to beat the heat in the sixth and seventh months, red and white mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the eighth month, flower cakes (huagao) for the 'climbing high' custom in the ninth month, and in the cold winter months, wealthy families ate hibiscus cakes (furonggao), while ordinary families ate oven-fired cakes (ganglu)—which were pastries made while testing the oven temperature that had rough, broken edges but were still high quality. Xiangjugong produced and supplied all these pastries on time. for holidays, the fasting month of Ramadan, the Eid al-Fitr celebration, and visiting relatives and friends, it was customary to use large and small gift sets (bajian) as presents. The small and large eight-piece pastries (ba jian) made by Xiangjugong are very famous in the southern part of Beijing.
Miscellaneous Talks on Old Beijing by Wang Yongbin.
11. Ha's sesame flatbread (shaobing) shop at Liulichang outside Hepingmen
Haji Sesame Flatbread Shop (Haji Shaobing Pu)
In my childhood memories, the snacks sold at Haji Sesame Flatbread Shop, located at the northeast corner of the east entrance of West Liulichang, were the most authentic.
This was a halal sesame flatbread shop opened by five brothers with the surname Ha. Compared to other nearby shops, it had a small storefront but the busiest business. Besides selling soy milk, sesame flatbreads (shaobing), and fried dough cakes (youbing), they also had snacks like top-grade sesame flatbreads (yipin shaobing), thick buns (dun bobo), and fried egg pockets (zha hebao). At that time, my favorite things to eat were thick buns and fried egg pockets.
Thick buns are small and made from leavened dough. They are mixed with lye, white sugar, and sweet osmanthus, then pinched into small pieces, pressed into thick, flat circles, and cooked over low heat on a griddle. After both sides turn yellow, they are baked in an oven until hard, without any burnt bits. After baking, a square or round red dot is stamped on them. The yellow and white colors with the red look beautiful, and they taste sweet, soft, and springy, with a bit of toughness that makes them great to chew. After chewing repeatedly, you can taste the faint wheat aroma from the leavened dough of the thick bun itself. The flavor is unique and makes my mouth water.
When mentioning fried egg pockets, some people might think it is just fried eggs, but that is not the case. Haji's fried egg pockets have a special flavor. They use dough for fried dough cakes, roll out two pieces of similar size, put them together, and pinch three sides shut to form a pocket, or what you could call a pouch shape. They crack an egg, pour it into the pocket, sprinkle a little salt, and then pinch the opening tight. They put it into a pan of oil and control the heat carefully. The fried pockets come out crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, suitable for both the old and the young.
"Our Old Beijing" by Li Weiji
Haji Kite Shop, Haji Restaurant
The location of "Haji Kite Shop" was at the north side of the east entrance of West Liulichang in the southern part of Beijing, which is the northwest corner of the intersection, today on the east side of Hongbaotang. It started as two sheds, then changed into two small storefront rooms. At that time, my grandfather and his fifth brother were local volunteer firefighters. If a fire broke out nearby, someone from the family had to go help put it out. In return, the fire brigade gave the two brothers two small rooms to stay in, and that is where they lived.
Although it was called the Haji Kite Shop, they did not sell kites all the time. Kite flying in Beijing was very seasonal, so they only sold kites from the Spring Festival until the third lunar month. During the other three seasons, they ran a Hui Muslim snack shop called the Haji Eatery. Later, they added a shed outside the rooms to block the wind and rain. It was bigger than the two rooms and served as a place for neighbors near Liulichang and passersby to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This was their main business.
The Haji Eatery sold sesame flatbread (shaobing) and fried dough twists (mahua) in the morning, and beef noodles and other meals at noon and night to support a family of several dozen people. Many neighbors nearby would buy on credit and settle their bills once a month. During the Spring Festival and the months of early spring, the eatery switched to selling kites to support the family.
Haji Kites by Ha Yiqi (Note by Wang Dongsi: The author is the fourth-generation successor of the Haji Kite tradition).
12. Nanlaishun snack shop at Caishikou outside Xuanwumen
Nanlaishun Snack Shop was a spacious hall. Aside from the door, there were snacks all around the perimeter, with rows of dining tables in the middle and square stools for customers to sit on. Let's start from the east door: to the left, from south to north, were all desserts. They mainly sold layered sticky rice cake (qiegao) here. I have loved eating this since I was a child. These cakes were placed on a large wooden board, about 60 centimeters wide, 80 centimeters long, and 10 centimeters thick, with four or five layers of bean paste and glutinous rice. The top of the layered sticky rice cake was decorated with large red dates, which looked very beautiful. Buying two liang (100 grams) of cake cost 8 cents per liang, so 16 cents total, plus two liang of food ration coupons. Even though it was only two liang, the master cutting the cake would use a long knife to slice it in one go, weigh it on a scale, and put it on a plate. The layers were clearly visible, and with white sugar sprinkled on top, it was incredibly tempting. One bite was full of fragrance and sweetness; it was delicious. Besides layered sticky rice cake, they sold various old Beijing sweet snacks, including steamed rice cakes (aiwowo), rolled glutinous rice rolls (lvdagun), honey fried dough twists (mi mahua, also called tang'erduo), sugar-filled baked cakes (tanghuoshao), steamed buns (dun'er bobo), and pea flour cakes (wandouhuang). If you love sweets, you will be satisfied here!
Let's talk about the long counter from east to west. They sold savory snacks here, such as tofu pudding (doufunao), soy milk, fried dough cakes (youbing), fried dough sticks (youtiao), ring-shaped fried dough (jiequan), crispy crackers (baocui), sesame flatbread (shaobing), baked cakes (huoshao), and twisted rolls (luosizhuan). The tofu pudding was authentic; the gravy was a masterpiece, made with minced meat, daylily buds, wood ear mushrooms, and eggs, with a layer of Sichuan peppercorn oil floating on top. It cost one liang of food ration coupons and 8 cents a bowl. When the server scooped up the tender white tofu and poured the gravy over it, then sprinkled a pinch of cilantro on top, a tempting bowl of tofu pudding was handed to you. If you like it spicy, there were chili oil, minced garlic, and vinegar on the table for you to add yourself. If you bought two freshly baked sesame flatbreads and a fried dough cake, hey, you had a complete, delicious breakfast.
After finishing the east-to-west section, let's turn to the counter from north to south. They mainly sold meat pies here, with beef and green onion filling (I don't remember if they had meat-filled pancakes). The meat pies here were another specialty. You could smell the aroma from far away. As you got closer, you could not only smell them but also hear the tempting sizzling sound as they were being pan-fried. You could not only hear it but see it too. The master chef worked right behind the counter, so every customer could watch the whole process of making the meat pie (roubing). When you saw those golden-brown meat pies sizzling with oil and smelling so good, how could you not want to try one?
They also sold red bean porridge (xiaodouzhou) and sticky rice porridge (jiangmizhou). If you came for lunch, you could order two meat pies and a bowl of red bean porridge. With sliced salted vegetables on the table, tell me, doesn't that sound wonderful?
Memories of Niujie by Chen Chunxi
13. Zhengxingde tea house at Caishikou outside Xuanwumen
In the 1950s and 60s, my mother always walked from Niujie to Caishikou to buy tea at the old shop Zhengxingde. It was a halal tea shop, and most Niujie residents went there. She usually bought the tea that cost 40 cents per liang, which smelled quite fragrant when brewed. I often went with my mother to buy tea. As soon as we stepped into the shop, we smelled the jasmine tea. That scent has stayed in my memory ever since.
Back then, they did not use plastic bags. Everything was wrapped by hand in paper. The clerk would wrap it however the customer wanted, like buying four liang and splitting it into two two-liang packages. If you bought one jin, they would make two half-jin packages. Of course, some people just bought one package. The clerk's wrapping technique was amazing. They folded the paper into a perfect square that looked very solid. Then they stacked the two packages together, tied them with a paper string in a cross pattern, and made a handle on top so the customer could just hook a finger through and carry it away. That tea package was quite stylish at the time. During holidays when visiting relatives and friends, you would place the tea package on the table, and it looked both grand and traditional.
Memories of Niujie by Chen Chunxi
14. Scalded dough fried cake (tangmian zhagao) at the Hui Muslim breakfast shop a short distance left from the east entrance of Xiangluying Sitiao Hutong outside Xuanwumen
When I think of the hot-water dough fried cake (tangmian zhagao), I don't know why this simple old Beijing snack has disappeared from the streets and restaurants. Actually, in the 1950s and 60s, almost every snack shop run by Hui Muslims sold them. they were an essential snack at temple fairs in the capital back then.
