Hidden Halal Food in China: Beijing Meat Pie, Old Hotpot & Niujie Douzhi Snacks
Reposted from the web
Summary: A hidden halal food guide for Beijing, featuring meat pies, old-style hotpot, Niujie douzhi (fermented mung bean drink), Hui Muslim restaurants, and the original photo-by-photo restaurant notes from the Chinese source.
Picking up from the last post, this issue adds 10 more unique halal restaurants.
111. Roubing Wan
This small shop is run by a young Beijing couple born in the 80s, specializing in meat pies (roubing) and beef tendon (banjin).
Almost every table orders the meat pie; it is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and truly delicious.
It lives up to its reputation as the best small beef tendon spot in the south city, with carefully selected ingredients and a great texture.
You have to pair the meat pie with a bowl of corn grit porridge (bangchazhou), which is cooked until very thick. Overall, it is quite rare to find a small Beijing-style skewer shop left in the Niujie area.
Address: Entrance of Chengshi Hutong, Guangnei Street, next to Guidu Hotel.
112. Xiangchangzui Laozhao Hot Pot
I first had halal Chongqing hot pot in Chongqing, and now I have finally found one in Beijing. They have the traditional nine-grid pot and the split-pot (yuanyang guo).
The nine-grid pot is too spicy for me, so I chose the split-pot, but it was still very spicy.
The hand-cut fresh lamb is average in quality, but when eating Chongqing hot pot, the ingredients do not matter much because your mouth goes numb from the spice anyway.
Duck intestine is a must-order dish for people from Sichuan and Chongqing when eating hot pot.
The bamboo shoots are crunchy when cooked in the pot.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Northerners are used to sesame paste (majiang) for hot pot, but for Sichuan-style hot pot, I suggest trying sesame oil with minced garlic.
They have sesame flatbread (shaobing) here too, but I prefer this hand-torn pancake (shoushibing), which is crispy.
Address: Room 201, Building 16, Jiayuan District 1, Beijie, Higher Education Park, Shahe, Changping District.
113.
Yijinglan Restaurant
A small bowl of lamb soup brings out the full, fresh flavor of the lamb.
You can also get skewers (chuanchuanxiang) here, and they taste good.
The stir-fried beef tendon is very chewy.
This is a famous Gansu snack called Hezhou steamed bun (Hezhou baozi), filled with carrots and lamb.
Address: Next to Guangqumenwai Subway Station, Line 7.
114. Baoji Mung Bean Milk (douzhi) on Niujie Street
There is more than one shop selling mung bean milk on Niujie Street, but everyone agrees that Baoji has the most authentic taste. When the elders in our family want mung bean milk, they specifically ask for Baoji.
A large bag costs five yuan, and their fermented bean curd (ma doufu) is also popular.
Address: Entrance of Shuru Hutong, Niujie Street
115. Hongfuda Restaurant
I thought it was a pure Sichuan restaurant based on the advertisements, but after arriving, I found it is a fusion restaurant serving Sichuan dishes, Beijing dishes, and hot pot.
The spicy lamb offal (mala yangza) gets average reviews, so I suggest trying other Sichuan dishes.
I highly recommend the braised beef with bean curd sticks (zhizhu shao niurou); the beef is stewed perfectly.
Address: 4th Floor, Wanfang Xidan Shopping Mall, Diaoyutai
116. Caravan Morocco Halal Restaurant and Bar
I once saw a Moroccan restaurant in Urumqi, and now there is a Moroccan halal restaurant in Beijing too.
This blue color scheme is the style of the ancient city of Fez.
Moroccan snack platter
Marrakesh chicken stew; the chicken is tender and falls right off the bone.
Casablanca noodles
They also have snacks like sandwiches and burgers. This is a music-themed restaurant and bar, perfect for dates and chatting.
Address: No. 44 Guanghua Road, outside Jianguomen
117. Weidao Seafood Restaurant
This is a halal restaurant serving Cantonese-style seafood.
The environment is quite nice, fresh, and natural.
They serve Cantonese-style hot pot (dabanlu) with a clear broth base.
The deep-sea fish in the hot pot set meal is especially fresh and tender.
The spicy crayfish (mala xiaolongxia) is great for an appetizer in the summer.
Address: Ground floor shops, Binfen Ludi City, Gaomidian, Daxing District
118. Yao's Lamb-Stuffed Tripe (du baorou)
Lamb-stuffed tripe is a bit like pressed lamb (duozi rou). They press lamb offal into a block, then slice it. You can eat it cold with dressing or put it inside a sesame flatbread (shaobing). This shop is small and mostly does takeout, but it has a great reputation.
Address: Room 107, Building 11, Niujie Xili District 2
119. Old Ma's Lamb Spine Hot Pot and Potstickers
I mainly recommend their potstickers, because it is hard to find authentic old Beijing-style potstickers in the city these days.
The beef-filled potstickers have a crispy crust and still taste like the ones from my childhood.
A surprise find here is that they sell halal spicy hot pot (maocai). Maocai is a type of spicy soup dish where you can drink the broth, and it is very spicy.
Next to this shop is another Xinjiang restaurant called Desert Loulan (Damo Loulan).
Address: No. 1 Hongju South Street Courtyard
120. Deju Xiangyuan
This is a Beijing-style restaurant. Their home-style stir-fries are okay, but the most popular items are the charcoal-grilled skewers. The environment is average and the ventilation system is not great, but you have to wait in line every time you come here or to the Northwest Muslim restaurant next door.
Address: No. 11 Nanheng West Street
Summary of previous information
[Beijing Special Halal Dining Guide (Including the Most Complete List of Foreign Restaurants)] (Part 1)
[Beijing Special Halal Dining Guide (Including the Most Complete List of Foreign Restaurants)] (Part 2)
[Beijing Special Halal Dining Guide (Including the Most Complete List of Foreign Restaurants)] (Part 3)
A Guide to Halal Dining in Beijing (Part 4)
A Guide to Halal Dining in Beijing (Part 5)
Summary: A hidden halal food guide for Beijing, featuring meat pies, old-style hotpot, Niujie douzhi (fermented mung bean drink), Hui Muslim restaurants, and the original photo-by-photo restaurant notes from the Chinese source.
Picking up from the last post, this issue adds 10 more unique halal restaurants.
111. Roubing Wan
This small shop is run by a young Beijing couple born in the 80s, specializing in meat pies (roubing) and beef tendon (banjin).
Almost every table orders the meat pie; it is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and truly delicious.
It lives up to its reputation as the best small beef tendon spot in the south city, with carefully selected ingredients and a great texture.
You have to pair the meat pie with a bowl of corn grit porridge (bangchazhou), which is cooked until very thick. Overall, it is quite rare to find a small Beijing-style skewer shop left in the Niujie area.
Address: Entrance of Chengshi Hutong, Guangnei Street, next to Guidu Hotel.
112. Xiangchangzui Laozhao Hot Pot
I first had halal Chongqing hot pot in Chongqing, and now I have finally found one in Beijing. They have the traditional nine-grid pot and the split-pot (yuanyang guo).
The nine-grid pot is too spicy for me, so I chose the split-pot, but it was still very spicy.
The hand-cut fresh lamb is average in quality, but when eating Chongqing hot pot, the ingredients do not matter much because your mouth goes numb from the spice anyway.
Duck intestine is a must-order dish for people from Sichuan and Chongqing when eating hot pot.
The bamboo shoots are crunchy when cooked in the pot.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Northerners are used to sesame paste (majiang) for hot pot, but for Sichuan-style hot pot, I suggest trying sesame oil with minced garlic.
They have sesame flatbread (shaobing) here too, but I prefer this hand-torn pancake (shoushibing), which is crispy.
Address: Room 201, Building 16, Jiayuan District 1, Beijie, Higher Education Park, Shahe, Changping District.
113.
Yijinglan Restaurant
A small bowl of lamb soup brings out the full, fresh flavor of the lamb.
You can also get skewers (chuanchuanxiang) here, and they taste good.
The stir-fried beef tendon is very chewy.
This is a famous Gansu snack called Hezhou steamed bun (Hezhou baozi), filled with carrots and lamb.
Address: Next to Guangqumenwai Subway Station, Line 7.
114. Baoji Mung Bean Milk (douzhi) on Niujie Street
There is more than one shop selling mung bean milk on Niujie Street, but everyone agrees that Baoji has the most authentic taste. When the elders in our family want mung bean milk, they specifically ask for Baoji.
A large bag costs five yuan, and their fermented bean curd (ma doufu) is also popular.
Address: Entrance of Shuru Hutong, Niujie Street
115. Hongfuda Restaurant
I thought it was a pure Sichuan restaurant based on the advertisements, but after arriving, I found it is a fusion restaurant serving Sichuan dishes, Beijing dishes, and hot pot.
The spicy lamb offal (mala yangza) gets average reviews, so I suggest trying other Sichuan dishes.
I highly recommend the braised beef with bean curd sticks (zhizhu shao niurou); the beef is stewed perfectly.
Address: 4th Floor, Wanfang Xidan Shopping Mall, Diaoyutai
116. Caravan Morocco Halal Restaurant and Bar
I once saw a Moroccan restaurant in Urumqi, and now there is a Moroccan halal restaurant in Beijing too.
This blue color scheme is the style of the ancient city of Fez.
Moroccan snack platter
Marrakesh chicken stew; the chicken is tender and falls right off the bone.
Casablanca noodles
They also have snacks like sandwiches and burgers. This is a music-themed restaurant and bar, perfect for dates and chatting.
Address: No. 44 Guanghua Road, outside Jianguomen
117. Weidao Seafood Restaurant
This is a halal restaurant serving Cantonese-style seafood.
The environment is quite nice, fresh, and natural.
They serve Cantonese-style hot pot (dabanlu) with a clear broth base.
The deep-sea fish in the hot pot set meal is especially fresh and tender.
The spicy crayfish (mala xiaolongxia) is great for an appetizer in the summer.
Address: Ground floor shops, Binfen Ludi City, Gaomidian, Daxing District
118. Yao's Lamb-Stuffed Tripe (du baorou)
Lamb-stuffed tripe is a bit like pressed lamb (duozi rou). They press lamb offal into a block, then slice it. You can eat it cold with dressing or put it inside a sesame flatbread (shaobing). This shop is small and mostly does takeout, but it has a great reputation.
Address: Room 107, Building 11, Niujie Xili District 2
119. Old Ma's Lamb Spine Hot Pot and Potstickers
I mainly recommend their potstickers, because it is hard to find authentic old Beijing-style potstickers in the city these days.
The beef-filled potstickers have a crispy crust and still taste like the ones from my childhood.
A surprise find here is that they sell halal spicy hot pot (maocai). Maocai is a type of spicy soup dish where you can drink the broth, and it is very spicy.
Next to this shop is another Xinjiang restaurant called Desert Loulan (Damo Loulan).
Address: No. 1 Hongju South Street Courtyard
120. Deju Xiangyuan
This is a Beijing-style restaurant. Their home-style stir-fries are okay, but the most popular items are the charcoal-grilled skewers. The environment is average and the ventilation system is not great, but you have to wait in line every time you come here or to the Northwest Muslim restaurant next door.
Address: No. 11 Nanheng West Street
Summary of previous information
[Beijing Special Halal Dining Guide (Including the Most Complete List of Foreign Restaurants)] (Part 1)
[Beijing Special Halal Dining Guide (Including the Most Complete List of Foreign Restaurants)] (Part 2)
[Beijing Special Halal Dining Guide (Including the Most Complete List of Foreign Restaurants)] (Part 3)
A Guide to Halal Dining in Beijing (Part 4)
A Guide to Halal Dining in Beijing (Part 5)
