Halal Travel Guide: Huairou to the Coast - Farm Stays, Seaside Food and Muslim Travel
Reposted from the web
Summary: Huairou to the Coast - Farm Stays, Seaside Food and Muslim Travel is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Huairou, Coastal Travel, Muslim Travel.
I spent the weekend at a guesthouse at the foot of the mountains in Huairou, Beijing, with my friends (dostani). Yahya Dosti bought various grilled skewers (kaochuan) from Makai at Niujie, and we ate them fresh off the grill. The small courtyard is right next to Qinglong Gorge, and the environment is wonderful. The skewers were tender and fragrant, making for a very pleasant meal. Rain was forecast, but it only lasted for a short while before stopping. After the rain shower, Yahya Dosti picked a few dates from the yard for us to eat. The dates were crisp and sweet, instantly reminding me of life in the alleyways (hutong) when I was a child.
We brought some Ashura porridge (ashura zhou) with us.
On Saturday night, we went to the Shihu Cheng Resort near the Huanghuacheng Lakeside Great Wall in Huairou for dinner. This restaurant is run by Hui Muslims from Changying. They specialize in rainbow trout and also serve various home-style dishes. Rainbow trout need very clean water and only survive in flowing streams. You rarely find them in city restaurants, so you have to go into the mountains of Huairou to eat fresh fish.
We ordered grilled rainbow trout, braised rainbow trout (kuadun hongzunyu), jasmine buds (moliya), stewed small free-range chicken, green beans with steamed rolls (doujiao nian juanzi), brine-marinated firm tofu (lushui laodoufu), farm-style scrambled eggs, and cornmeal flatbreads (tiebingzi). Since we had a baby with us, we asked the owner to make the food mild and low-salt. It turned out perfect for our tastes. The grilled rainbow trout is very fresh, and the braised rainbow trout is full of flavor. Both ways of cooking it are worth trying. This was my first time eating jasmine buds, and the cold salad version was very refreshing. Their menu also lists tossed willow buds (ban liuya), but you can only get them when they are in season. The other dishes were also delicious. My favorite was the green beans with steamed rolls. The rolls were so fragrant after soaking up the juices from the stewed beans and meat.
However, their hygiene definitely cannot compare to the city. The high chair was especially greasy, and the spoons were not washed well. If you are a picky traveler, you should think twice before going.
The scenery near Shihucheng Resort is beautiful. The Huaijiu River is very clear, and the air is fresh. Their accommodation is very cheap and within walking distance of the Huanghuacheng Lakeside Great Wall. They provide a halal breakfast. When we went, we saw many older people staying there.
On Sunday morning, we drove directly from Huairou to Tianjin and had Western food at Haishiwan on Binjiang Road. We ordered tuna salad, avocado and shrimp salad, cheesy curry mashed potatoes, seafood paella, beef fried rice, seafood pizza, and chocolate brownies. Overall, their dish names and plating are quite fancy and great for photos, but the actual taste is average, similar to fast food in a shopping mall.
The best thing they have is probably the avocado salad, which is very healthy. The tuna salad tastes like a simple, home-style mixed vegetable dish. Both the seafood fried rice and beef fried rice are made with soy sauce, which feels like it suits the taste of people who enjoy Shandong cuisine (Lu cai). The seafood pizza is plated beautifully, but the crust underneath is very average, tasting just like pizza from a cheap fast-food shop. They also have all kinds of drinks with names I cannot understand, which are just sparkling water mixed with syrup. The foggy coffee looks great in photos, but the coffee itself is very average.
Come to Guanlanjiao Park in Tianjin on a Sunday evening to watch the sunset. Most of the Tianjin coastline faces east, which is good for watching the sunrise, but Guanlanjiao is one of the few areas perfect for watching the sunset. Guanlanjiao Park has large lawns and walking paths. Suleiman had a great time playing there, running around and climbing up and down with excitement, and he fell asleep right after watching the sunset.
After watching the sunset on Sunday evening, we went to Nuobona in the Binhai Taifeng 80 Food Plaza for Western food. It is definitely the best halal Western food I have ever had! The taste is far better than the places in downtown Tianjin.
Muyi Chinese restaurant, Nuobona Western restaurant, and the Western-style bakery on the first floor in Taifengli are all part of the Yisilaamu restaurant group, which opened in 1994. Their halal license number is Binhai 001. We had eaten at Muyi before. It is creative Chinese cuisine with many original dishes they invented, and the taste is fantastic. This time we tried their Western food, and we still could not stop praising it. The environment is also very nice, and they have a dedicated play area for children, which is very thoughtful.
We ordered the charcoal-grilled baby lobster and creamy lobster soup combo, French escargot, British fish and chips, baked potato skins, golden pillow durian pizza, lasagna, tiramisu, non-alcoholic mojito, dirty milk, and rose soda. We also ordered a kids' meal for Suleiman, which included pasta, pumpkin soup, french fries, grilled chicken wings, and fruit salad. The lobster was very tender, and the creamy lobster soup was rich and full of flavor. This was my first time eating baked snails (ju woniu). They had a nice, bouncy texture and were seasoned perfectly with all kinds of spices. This was my first time trying British-style fried fish, though it did not come with chips. Their version is very different from the common cod fish cakes back home. The fish meat is ground very finely, giving it a very moist texture.
Baked potatoes with skin are called jacket potatoes in the UK. They are baked with the skin on, cut in half, and topped with cheese, mayonnaise, and other sauces, then served with baked beans. Baked beans are also a classic part of a British breakfast.
I highly recommend their pizza. It is made fresh right in the most visible spot in the main hall, and the open kitchen makes it look very appetizing. The best part is that they use a traditional brick wood-fired oven, so the pizza naturally smells much better than the ones in typical shopping malls. The durian pizza we ordered had plenty of durian meat. Of course, they have many other flavors too, and I will definitely try the others next time.
Italian lasagna is also very rare in halal Western-style restaurants in Tianjin. Lasagna originated in medieval Italy, with the earliest records dating back to the 13th century. To make it, you layer wide pasta sheets with filling, top it with cheese, and bake it in the oven until the cheese melts and coats the pasta.
Summary: Huairou to the Coast - Farm Stays, Seaside Food and Muslim Travel is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Huairou, Coastal Travel, Muslim Travel.
I spent the weekend at a guesthouse at the foot of the mountains in Huairou, Beijing, with my friends (dostani). Yahya Dosti bought various grilled skewers (kaochuan) from Makai at Niujie, and we ate them fresh off the grill. The small courtyard is right next to Qinglong Gorge, and the environment is wonderful. The skewers were tender and fragrant, making for a very pleasant meal. Rain was forecast, but it only lasted for a short while before stopping. After the rain shower, Yahya Dosti picked a few dates from the yard for us to eat. The dates were crisp and sweet, instantly reminding me of life in the alleyways (hutong) when I was a child.
We brought some Ashura porridge (ashura zhou) with us.
On Saturday night, we went to the Shihu Cheng Resort near the Huanghuacheng Lakeside Great Wall in Huairou for dinner. This restaurant is run by Hui Muslims from Changying. They specialize in rainbow trout and also serve various home-style dishes. Rainbow trout need very clean water and only survive in flowing streams. You rarely find them in city restaurants, so you have to go into the mountains of Huairou to eat fresh fish.
We ordered grilled rainbow trout, braised rainbow trout (kuadun hongzunyu), jasmine buds (moliya), stewed small free-range chicken, green beans with steamed rolls (doujiao nian juanzi), brine-marinated firm tofu (lushui laodoufu), farm-style scrambled eggs, and cornmeal flatbreads (tiebingzi). Since we had a baby with us, we asked the owner to make the food mild and low-salt. It turned out perfect for our tastes. The grilled rainbow trout is very fresh, and the braised rainbow trout is full of flavor. Both ways of cooking it are worth trying. This was my first time eating jasmine buds, and the cold salad version was very refreshing. Their menu also lists tossed willow buds (ban liuya), but you can only get them when they are in season. The other dishes were also delicious. My favorite was the green beans with steamed rolls. The rolls were so fragrant after soaking up the juices from the stewed beans and meat.
However, their hygiene definitely cannot compare to the city. The high chair was especially greasy, and the spoons were not washed well. If you are a picky traveler, you should think twice before going.
The scenery near Shihucheng Resort is beautiful. The Huaijiu River is very clear, and the air is fresh. Their accommodation is very cheap and within walking distance of the Huanghuacheng Lakeside Great Wall. They provide a halal breakfast. When we went, we saw many older people staying there.
On Sunday morning, we drove directly from Huairou to Tianjin and had Western food at Haishiwan on Binjiang Road. We ordered tuna salad, avocado and shrimp salad, cheesy curry mashed potatoes, seafood paella, beef fried rice, seafood pizza, and chocolate brownies. Overall, their dish names and plating are quite fancy and great for photos, but the actual taste is average, similar to fast food in a shopping mall.
The best thing they have is probably the avocado salad, which is very healthy. The tuna salad tastes like a simple, home-style mixed vegetable dish. Both the seafood fried rice and beef fried rice are made with soy sauce, which feels like it suits the taste of people who enjoy Shandong cuisine (Lu cai). The seafood pizza is plated beautifully, but the crust underneath is very average, tasting just like pizza from a cheap fast-food shop. They also have all kinds of drinks with names I cannot understand, which are just sparkling water mixed with syrup. The foggy coffee looks great in photos, but the coffee itself is very average.
Come to Guanlanjiao Park in Tianjin on a Sunday evening to watch the sunset. Most of the Tianjin coastline faces east, which is good for watching the sunrise, but Guanlanjiao is one of the few areas perfect for watching the sunset. Guanlanjiao Park has large lawns and walking paths. Suleiman had a great time playing there, running around and climbing up and down with excitement, and he fell asleep right after watching the sunset.
After watching the sunset on Sunday evening, we went to Nuobona in the Binhai Taifeng 80 Food Plaza for Western food. It is definitely the best halal Western food I have ever had! The taste is far better than the places in downtown Tianjin.
Muyi Chinese restaurant, Nuobona Western restaurant, and the Western-style bakery on the first floor in Taifengli are all part of the Yisilaamu restaurant group, which opened in 1994. Their halal license number is Binhai 001. We had eaten at Muyi before. It is creative Chinese cuisine with many original dishes they invented, and the taste is fantastic. This time we tried their Western food, and we still could not stop praising it. The environment is also very nice, and they have a dedicated play area for children, which is very thoughtful.
We ordered the charcoal-grilled baby lobster and creamy lobster soup combo, French escargot, British fish and chips, baked potato skins, golden pillow durian pizza, lasagna, tiramisu, non-alcoholic mojito, dirty milk, and rose soda. We also ordered a kids' meal for Suleiman, which included pasta, pumpkin soup, french fries, grilled chicken wings, and fruit salad. The lobster was very tender, and the creamy lobster soup was rich and full of flavor. This was my first time eating baked snails (ju woniu). They had a nice, bouncy texture and were seasoned perfectly with all kinds of spices. This was my first time trying British-style fried fish, though it did not come with chips. Their version is very different from the common cod fish cakes back home. The fish meat is ground very finely, giving it a very moist texture.
Baked potatoes with skin are called jacket potatoes in the UK. They are baked with the skin on, cut in half, and topped with cheese, mayonnaise, and other sauces, then served with baked beans. Baked beans are also a classic part of a British breakfast.
I highly recommend their pizza. It is made fresh right in the most visible spot in the main hall, and the open kitchen makes it look very appetizing. The best part is that they use a traditional brick wood-fired oven, so the pizza naturally smells much better than the ones in typical shopping malls. The durian pizza we ordered had plenty of durian meat. Of course, they have many other flavors too, and I will definitely try the others next time.
Italian lasagna is also very rare in halal Western-style restaurants in Tianjin. Lasagna originated in medieval Italy, with the earliest records dating back to the 13th century. To make it, you layer wide pasta sheets with filling, top it with cheese, and bake it in the oven until the cheese melts and coats the pasta.
