Famous Chinese Muslim Food Beijing: Longtan Hotpot, Niujie Lamb Spine & Halal Dumplings
Reposted from the web
Summary: A famous Chinese Muslim food guide for Beijing, covering Longtan hotpot, Niujie lamb spine, halal dumplings, pancakes, snacks, and restaurant addresses, with the long original article kept as one full post.
Through years of travel, I have gradually discovered that Beijing has the most complete variety of halal food in the world, bar none. Even in an international metropolis like New York, the variety of halal restaurants does not compare to Beijing. Beijing not only has halal restaurants with flavors from many countries, but also gathers halal food from all over China. You can find almost any halal food you can think of in Beijing.
1. Longtan Hot Pot (Longtan Shuanrou)
This copper pot hot pot restaurant near Longtan Lake Park is run by the seventh-generation descendant of the Niujie Yongli family. Yongli is short for the Li family of Yongan Tang. Yongan Tang was a shop opened by the ancestors of the Yongli family at Yongdingmen during the Qing Dynasty, with the hall name Yong Sanyuan. The owner's father was an apprentice at Donglaishun in his early years. The restaurant uses high-calcium lamb from Sunite, Inner Mongolia, which is halal-slaughtered. They serve Niujie sesame flatbread (shaobing), and the sesame paste dipping sauce is stamped with the character for good fortune (fu). The small shop is full of Beijing character and is often used as a filming location. If you do not want to wait in line at Jubaoyuan, come here instead.
Address: No. 16 Zuo'anmen Inner Street, next to the northwest gate of Longtan Lake Park.
2. Laochengyi Lamb Spine Hot Pot (Laochengyi Yangxiezi)
The lamb spine hot pot at Laochengyi tastes truly excellent. The lamb chops are stewed until very tender. The mouth-watering chicken (koushuiji) is also a must-order dish. After finishing the lamb spine, you can add vegetables to the pot. The shop has two floors and plenty of seating, so even if you come during meal times, the wait will not be too long.
Address: No. 3 Commercial Street, Niujie North Entrance, Beijing.
3. Dashuntang
Dashuntang has been around for a long time. They make very authentic Beijing-style halal food. Usually, when families have special occasions, Dashuntang is the first choice. I recommend the roasted lamb chops, boiled beef, deep-fried lamb tail, and roast duck. The crispy-skin roast duck and lamb chops are especially well-received.
Address: Building 5, Jia 4, Fayuan Mosque West, Jiaozihu Tong, Xicheng District.
4. Junlian Halal Dumpling House
This shop has dumplings with all kinds of fillings, like pineapple or tomato. It is very popular, and you need to queue during meal times. My favorites are the traditional beef and lamb with green onion, and chive and egg dumplings.
Address: South Gate, Niujie Xili District 2, Xicheng District.
5. Shandong Sha Dacu Pancake (Jianbing)
This shop used to be in Jiaozihu Tong. Later, due to urban renovations, it moved into the vegetable market in Shuru Hutong. They have added several new flavors, but I still like the classic version best.
Address: Entrance of the Shuru Hutong Halal Vegetable Market.
6. Suzhou Hui Muslim Restaurant
Although soybean paste noodles (zhajiangmian) are a representative Beijing dish, there are not many halal versions. Some small Beijing-style eateries make them, but the taste is average. Most Hui Muslims make soybean paste noodles at home. This Suzhou Hui Muslim Restaurant is not run by Suzhou people; it is just named that because it is located in the Suzhou community. It is actually a small Beijing-style eatery, and I recommend their soybean paste noodles.
Address: No. 36, Suzhou Hutong, Dongcheng District.
7
Dardanelles Turkish Restaurant
Beijing has four halal Turkish restaurants: Istanbul Restaurant, Turkish Mama Restaurant, Doner Turkish Cafe (which serves kebab wraps) near Xiushui Street, and Dardanelles Restaurant. Dardanelles is my favorite because of its beautiful Ottoman-style decor. The salmon, grilled meats, and steaks are all delicious and reasonably priced.
Address: Units 1-21-22, Courtyard 39, Shenlu Street, Ritan North Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing (west of the North Korean Embassy).
8. KAVKAZ Azerbaijani Restaurant
At KAVKAZ Azerbaijani Restaurant, I tried the Caucasian salad, Azerbaijani soup dumplings, Caucasian beef, and Azerbaijani salty yogurt drink. The staff are all from Azerbaijan. The young waitress did not speak much Chinese, but she was very cute and enthusiastic.
Address: East side of Shenlu Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing.
9.
Shashi Castle Restaurant
This is an Uzbekistan-style restaurant themed around a romantic meeting between a prince and a princess. They serve Middle Eastern, Russian, and Western food. You must order the grilled steak, and the Napoleon cake is quite delicious. There is belly dancing at 7:30 PM.
Address: First floor of the Saint Angel Hotel, near Exit E of Hujialou Subway Station, Chaoyang District, Beijing.
10.
Persepolis Restaurant
Persia is Iran. The restaurant next door changed its sign. I used to go there often for the lunch buffet. You must order the Iranian black tea and the grilled meats. You can also eat saffron fried rice here.
Address: Right at Exit A of Tuanjiehu Subway Station, Chaoyang District, Beijing.
11. Lazeez Indian Music Restaurant
Beijing has many halal Indian restaurants, such as Indian Kitchen, Ganges Restaurant, and Sadhu, but I like Lazeez Music Restaurant the best. The halal sign is hung inside. Luckily my classmate reminded me, or I would have missed this uniquely styled Indian restaurant. The atmosphere inside is very exotic, and you can hear beautiful Indian songs. You can eat authentic Indian spicy beef curry, chicken curry, cream of mushroom soup, Mughal royal flatbread (naan), samosa chaat, and rose yogurt lassi. There is a wide variety of dishes.
Address: 31 Gulou West Street, Xicheng District.
12. Sukhothai Thai-Malaysian Restaurant
Sukhothai was the capital of the first Thai dynasty, the Sukhothai Kingdom. The Nanyang Yiyicheng Malaysian restaurant in Dongzhimen closed, and I was worried about where to find halal Malaysian food. I recommend the original milk tea, pineapple fried rice, and coconut pudding with sago.
Address: Ju'er Hutong, Nanluoguxiang, opposite Saduli Restaurant.
13. Hefeng Banquet (Hefeng no Utage)
This is the first halal Japanese restaurant in Beijing. The head chef is the former Japanese cuisine chef from the Kempinski Hotel. The space is bright and roomy with private rooms. The food is carefully prepared for its look, smell, and taste, and you can order Australian wagyu hot pot. The owner is a Hui Muslim from Lanzhou who is very devout, so you can trust the ingredients. The palm-sized prawns are fresh and tender. The tempura sushi and Pacific saury (sanma) taste just like they do in Japan, and they serve free pudding after the meal.
They recently launched a 298 yuan seafood buffet. You can order anything from the menu, including abalone, lobster, king crab legs, Pacific saury, salmon, oysters, and other treats. It also includes fruit juice and desserts, making it a great value.
Address: 1st Floor, Shaanxi Building, Shilihe, Chaoyang District.
14. Alameen Lebanese Restaurant
Lebanese food is one of my favorite Middle Eastern cuisines. This place has a nice, quiet atmosphere and reasonable prices. They serve pizza, steak, and salads, and the grilled chicken breast is delicious.
Address: Next to the German Embassy in Sanlitun.
15. Khan Baba Pakistani Restaurant
Pakistani food is as common abroad as Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles (Lanzhou lamian) are here. There are two Khan Baba locations in Beijing: one in Wudaokou and one in Sanlitun. The Wudaokou shop is larger. There is also a Shalimar Indian and Pakistani restaurant near the Shunyi China International Exhibition Center.
Address: Room 511, 5th Floor, Building 2, Sanlitun SOHO, No. 8 Gongti North Road, Chaoyang District.
16. One Thousand and One Nights
One Thousand and One Nights is a high-end Middle Eastern Arabic restaurant with two branches in Beijing: one in Solana and one in Tuanjiehu. You can eat pan-fried foie gras here, and there are song and dance performances every night on the hour.
Address: No. 6 Chaoyang Park Road, Solana, Chaoyang District.
17. Changji Iron Griddle BBQ (Changji Zhizi Kaorou)
Changji Iron Griddle BBQ is a very authentic old Beijing halal restaurant. It only has six tables and specializes in iron griddle barbecue. The soybean paste noodles (zhajiangmian) and quick-boiled tripe (baodu) are absolutely perfect. Next time, I will try the barbecue and the lamb noodle soup (yangrou cuamian). The decor in the shop has a cool, confident vibe. Everyone calls the owner Fourth Master Chang (Chang Siye), and he is very hospitable. These kinds of small hutong eateries are rare now. They serve grilled pickled cabbage, grilled shiitake mushrooms, grilled chicken cartilage, grilled beef, and grilled lamb. They marinate the meat before grilling it. The taste is just as good as the famous Kaorouji, but because it is a small hutong shop, the price is less than half of what you would pay there.
Address: In the bungalows south of Guangnei Street that are waiting to be demolished. There is a wall built in front of the entrance, so you cannot see it unless you walk inside.
18. Tangdou Conveyor Belt Buffet Hot Pot
This is the first halal conveyor belt buffet hot pot restaurant in Beijing. It costs 59 yuan per person, and you can eat dozens of different items, including seafood, cooked dishes, vegetables, peanuts, fruit, various staples, snacks, and ice cream. Drinks are unlimited. A conveyor belt runs through the whole restaurant, so you can eat everything without moving from your seat. It is quite a good deal.
Address: North side of the 8th floor, Souxiu City Shopping Plaza, Chongwenmen Outer Street (opposite the 2nd phase of the New World Department Store in Chongwenmen).
19. Xingyuege Muslim Restaurant
Friends (dosti) from Northeast China in Beijing are in luck, because I finally found a restaurant that specializes in halal Northeast-style dishes.
The restaurant's home base is Harbin.
The decor style is also very Harbin.
Double-cooked pork (guobaorou) is a famous Northeast dish, served here in the Harbin-style savory version.
Steamed dumplings (shaomai) are also a common Northeast home-style dish.
They also have home-style tofu (jiachang doufu). Friends (dosti) from the Northeast who miss the taste of home should take the chance to try it.
Address: Shop 102, Building 2, Courtyard 2, Lixiangcheng, Hongye Road, Xihongmen Town.
20. Ningxia Flavors, Summer Language
This is a halal restaurant serving Ningxia-style food. It is located in the busy Chaoyangmen area and has a great atmosphere.
Our group of over ten people tried almost everything on the menu.
Sweet rice made by Northwest Hui Muslims.
The lamb trotters are very flavorful.
Every dish is solid and they put a lot of effort into the presentation.
Rice sausage (michangzi).
Hui Muslim fried dough (youxiang).
Hui Muslim snack platter.
This place is great for group meals. You can push tables together for over ten people, and the prices are not expensive.
Address: 2F, Fenglian Plaza, No. 18 Chaoyangmen Outer Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing.
21. Eliya Halal Bakery
This is a high-end halal pastry shop.
They have all kinds of beautiful desserts.
They use imported halal cream as an ingredient. The prices are actually not expensive, and the taste is top-notch.
Address: Ground floor shop 06, Building 56, Changying Minzu Jiayuan, Changying Middle Road, Chaoyang District.
22. Xingu Halal Charcoal Barbecue
This shop was originally labeled as Korean BBQ, but business was affected by the THAAD incident, so the owner removed the word Korean. After all, the owner is from Changying and has nothing to do with Korea.
Walk up the stairs to the second floor and you will find a hidden gem. The owner bought the whole building and rented the space next door to the Changying Three Brothers.
If you go in the afternoon, you do not need to wait in line. People say it was packed when it first opened, but business is not as good as before due to the THAAD incident.
The meat is fresh and the service is top-tier.
Servers help you grill the meat the whole time, so you do not need to do it yourself.
The lettuce is for wrapping the grilled meat.
You can also eat the steamed egg custard and cheese on the side of the grill.
Halal soybean paste soup (dajiangtang).
Dip the tender beef in five-spice seasoning to eat it.
Address: Opposite the south gate of Minzu Jiayuan residential area on Changying Middle Road, next to Yunding Billiards Club (west side of Minzu Primary School).
23. Aiyidian Halal Yunnan Cuisine
It is not easy to find authentic halal Yunnan food in Beijing, but this restaurant is quite genuine. There is another halal Yunnan restaurant in Yizhuang called Dianxinyuan. It has a nice atmosphere, but the food is average and it is quite far away.
The decor is fresh and elegant, and the owner is a young woman from Yunnan.
Tamarind (suanjiao) is a local specialty of Yunnan, so I chose to try the tamarind juice.
Beef wrapped in mint leaves; mint is as common in Yunnan as cilantro and is delicious even when eaten raw.
This is fried grasshopper.
Ibn Abi Awfa narrated: We went on seven expeditions with the Prophet, and we ate locusts. Sunan an-Nasa'i, Hadith 37;
The Prophet described the sea, saying: 'Its water is pure, and its dead creatures are halal.' He also said: 'We are permitted two types of dead creatures: fish and locusts;' and two types of blood: liver and spleen.' (Musnad Ahmad)
Sour soup beef jerky (niuganba); you must eat beef jerky in Yunnan cuisine because the most famous beef jerky in Yunnan is made by Hui Muslims.
It happened to be just before the Dragon Boat Festival, and the restaurant was developing beef rice dumplings (zongzi). The manager gave me two; I had only eaten sweet ones before, so this was my first time trying a meat version.
Yunnan cold rice noodles (mixian); the broth is rich and fragrant, and the noodles are chewy.
Address: First floor, north commercial section, axes 19-21, west side of Fengyayuan Zone 2, Huilongguan Town.
24. Old Ma's lamb spine hot pot (yangxiezi) and pan-fried dumplings (guotie).
Halal lamb spine is easy to find, but halal potstickers are rare these days. This shop makes pretty good ones.
Beef and green onion potstickers were my childhood favorite. There used to be a tent in Xuanwu District that sold halal snacks, but after it was torn down, I never found good potstickers again. I later heard the old man who made them passed away (wuchang), so that authentic skill is likely lost forever.
I was surprised to find they also sell spicy hot pot (maocai), a Chengdu snack similar to spicy soup (malatang), but you can drink the broth.
Address: South entrance of Hongju Street, Xicheng District.
25. Eating noodles at the Drum Tower.
I found this popular restaurant on Dazhong Dianping. At first, I thought it was categorized incorrectly because it had no obvious halal sign. I learned from the reviews that it is a halal shop owned by a Beijing Hui Muslim, and the halal sign is in a very inconspicuous spot inside.
This is a Western-style rock music restaurant.
They have mushrooms with foie gras.
Roasted chicken leg, but it is named Eight Hammers (badachui).
It is called Gold Medal Meat Sauce Noodles, but when it arrived, it was just soybean paste noodles (zhajiangmian).
Vegetable salad. Overall, the taste suits women, and the environment is good for dates.
Address: No. 25 Gongjie, Gulou East Street.
26. Old Yang's halal restaurant.
This is the highest-rated restaurant in the Changping area and is highly recommended.
Let's start with the environment: they have small semicircular tables that make it easy to chat.
I told the owner I came here specifically to break my fast. He recommended the house-made sour plum drink (suanmeitang). It was very thirst-quenching, sweet, and tart. I ordered two pitchers and took the second one to go.
I ordered the restaurant's signature dishes, starting with the cold shredded bottle gourd with sesame paste (majiang liangban hulusi), which was crisp and refreshing.
Fairy tofu (shenxian doufu) is another popular delicacy, and the tofu is made in-house.
Old Yang's beef pie (lao yangjia niuroubing) is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. You have to eat it with raw garlic.
The dry-pot duck heads (ganguo yatou) are spicy, numbing, and fragrant.
The stir-fried radish sprouts (qingchao luobomiao) were great. Another feature of Old Yang's restaurant is the attentive service. They greet you with a smile and check in on how you like the food. It is rare to see such good service in a place that is so busy. I didn't get to eat the fish head with flatbread (yutou paobing) at Old Yang's today, so I will have to try it next time.
Address: No. 30, West Lane 1, Xiguanshi Village, Yangfang Town, Changping District.
27. Cheng's Shan County Lamb Soup (yangtang) Restaurant
I did not expect to find such good lamb soup (yangtang) in Beijing. Shan County is a place in Shandong famous for its lamb soup. There is a Gao Laosi Lamb Soup shop on Niujie Street, but it does not taste as good as the Shan County lamb soup.
The oil and salt flatbread (yousuan shaobing) is hollow inside, perfect for soaking in lamb soup or stuffing with spiced beef.
The soup is milky white, a natural color from boiling lamb bones.
Large starch noodles (dalapi).
Half a jin of spiced beef (jiang niurou) stuffed into a freshly baked flatbread is delicious.
I also had some grilled fish tofu and seafood skewers.
Address: Sanzhong Lane (near Xingfeng Street), about 525 meters from Huangcun West Street Station.
28
. 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.
29. Chongqing Sausage Lips Old Stove 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.
30. Camel Caravan Moroccan Halal Restaurant
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
31. Cantonese-style seafood bistro
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.
Summary: A famous Chinese Muslim food guide for Beijing, covering Longtan hotpot, Niujie lamb spine, halal dumplings, pancakes, snacks, and restaurant addresses, with the long original article kept as one full post.
Through years of travel, I have gradually discovered that Beijing has the most complete variety of halal food in the world, bar none. Even in an international metropolis like New York, the variety of halal restaurants does not compare to Beijing. Beijing not only has halal restaurants with flavors from many countries, but also gathers halal food from all over China. You can find almost any halal food you can think of in Beijing.
1. Longtan Hot Pot (Longtan Shuanrou)
This copper pot hot pot restaurant near Longtan Lake Park is run by the seventh-generation descendant of the Niujie Yongli family. Yongli is short for the Li family of Yongan Tang. Yongan Tang was a shop opened by the ancestors of the Yongli family at Yongdingmen during the Qing Dynasty, with the hall name Yong Sanyuan. The owner's father was an apprentice at Donglaishun in his early years. The restaurant uses high-calcium lamb from Sunite, Inner Mongolia, which is halal-slaughtered. They serve Niujie sesame flatbread (shaobing), and the sesame paste dipping sauce is stamped with the character for good fortune (fu). The small shop is full of Beijing character and is often used as a filming location. If you do not want to wait in line at Jubaoyuan, come here instead.
Address: No. 16 Zuo'anmen Inner Street, next to the northwest gate of Longtan Lake Park.
2. Laochengyi Lamb Spine Hot Pot (Laochengyi Yangxiezi)
The lamb spine hot pot at Laochengyi tastes truly excellent. The lamb chops are stewed until very tender. The mouth-watering chicken (koushuiji) is also a must-order dish. After finishing the lamb spine, you can add vegetables to the pot. The shop has two floors and plenty of seating, so even if you come during meal times, the wait will not be too long.
Address: No. 3 Commercial Street, Niujie North Entrance, Beijing.
3. Dashuntang
Dashuntang has been around for a long time. They make very authentic Beijing-style halal food. Usually, when families have special occasions, Dashuntang is the first choice. I recommend the roasted lamb chops, boiled beef, deep-fried lamb tail, and roast duck. The crispy-skin roast duck and lamb chops are especially well-received.
Address: Building 5, Jia 4, Fayuan Mosque West, Jiaozihu Tong, Xicheng District.
4. Junlian Halal Dumpling House
This shop has dumplings with all kinds of fillings, like pineapple or tomato. It is very popular, and you need to queue during meal times. My favorites are the traditional beef and lamb with green onion, and chive and egg dumplings.
Address: South Gate, Niujie Xili District 2, Xicheng District.
5. Shandong Sha Dacu Pancake (Jianbing)
This shop used to be in Jiaozihu Tong. Later, due to urban renovations, it moved into the vegetable market in Shuru Hutong. They have added several new flavors, but I still like the classic version best.
Address: Entrance of the Shuru Hutong Halal Vegetable Market.
6. Suzhou Hui Muslim Restaurant
Although soybean paste noodles (zhajiangmian) are a representative Beijing dish, there are not many halal versions. Some small Beijing-style eateries make them, but the taste is average. Most Hui Muslims make soybean paste noodles at home. This Suzhou Hui Muslim Restaurant is not run by Suzhou people; it is just named that because it is located in the Suzhou community. It is actually a small Beijing-style eatery, and I recommend their soybean paste noodles.
Address: No. 36, Suzhou Hutong, Dongcheng District.
7
Dardanelles Turkish Restaurant
Beijing has four halal Turkish restaurants: Istanbul Restaurant, Turkish Mama Restaurant, Doner Turkish Cafe (which serves kebab wraps) near Xiushui Street, and Dardanelles Restaurant. Dardanelles is my favorite because of its beautiful Ottoman-style decor. The salmon, grilled meats, and steaks are all delicious and reasonably priced.
Address: Units 1-21-22, Courtyard 39, Shenlu Street, Ritan North Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing (west of the North Korean Embassy).
8. KAVKAZ Azerbaijani Restaurant
At KAVKAZ Azerbaijani Restaurant, I tried the Caucasian salad, Azerbaijani soup dumplings, Caucasian beef, and Azerbaijani salty yogurt drink. The staff are all from Azerbaijan. The young waitress did not speak much Chinese, but she was very cute and enthusiastic.
Address: East side of Shenlu Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing.
9.
Shashi Castle Restaurant
This is an Uzbekistan-style restaurant themed around a romantic meeting between a prince and a princess. They serve Middle Eastern, Russian, and Western food. You must order the grilled steak, and the Napoleon cake is quite delicious. There is belly dancing at 7:30 PM.
Address: First floor of the Saint Angel Hotel, near Exit E of Hujialou Subway Station, Chaoyang District, Beijing.
10.
Persepolis Restaurant
Persia is Iran. The restaurant next door changed its sign. I used to go there often for the lunch buffet. You must order the Iranian black tea and the grilled meats. You can also eat saffron fried rice here.
Address: Right at Exit A of Tuanjiehu Subway Station, Chaoyang District, Beijing.
11. Lazeez Indian Music Restaurant
Beijing has many halal Indian restaurants, such as Indian Kitchen, Ganges Restaurant, and Sadhu, but I like Lazeez Music Restaurant the best. The halal sign is hung inside. Luckily my classmate reminded me, or I would have missed this uniquely styled Indian restaurant. The atmosphere inside is very exotic, and you can hear beautiful Indian songs. You can eat authentic Indian spicy beef curry, chicken curry, cream of mushroom soup, Mughal royal flatbread (naan), samosa chaat, and rose yogurt lassi. There is a wide variety of dishes.
Address: 31 Gulou West Street, Xicheng District.
12. Sukhothai Thai-Malaysian Restaurant
Sukhothai was the capital of the first Thai dynasty, the Sukhothai Kingdom. The Nanyang Yiyicheng Malaysian restaurant in Dongzhimen closed, and I was worried about where to find halal Malaysian food. I recommend the original milk tea, pineapple fried rice, and coconut pudding with sago.
Address: Ju'er Hutong, Nanluoguxiang, opposite Saduli Restaurant.
13. Hefeng Banquet (Hefeng no Utage)
This is the first halal Japanese restaurant in Beijing. The head chef is the former Japanese cuisine chef from the Kempinski Hotel. The space is bright and roomy with private rooms. The food is carefully prepared for its look, smell, and taste, and you can order Australian wagyu hot pot. The owner is a Hui Muslim from Lanzhou who is very devout, so you can trust the ingredients. The palm-sized prawns are fresh and tender. The tempura sushi and Pacific saury (sanma) taste just like they do in Japan, and they serve free pudding after the meal.
They recently launched a 298 yuan seafood buffet. You can order anything from the menu, including abalone, lobster, king crab legs, Pacific saury, salmon, oysters, and other treats. It also includes fruit juice and desserts, making it a great value.
Address: 1st Floor, Shaanxi Building, Shilihe, Chaoyang District.
14. Alameen Lebanese Restaurant
Lebanese food is one of my favorite Middle Eastern cuisines. This place has a nice, quiet atmosphere and reasonable prices. They serve pizza, steak, and salads, and the grilled chicken breast is delicious.
Address: Next to the German Embassy in Sanlitun.
15. Khan Baba Pakistani Restaurant
Pakistani food is as common abroad as Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles (Lanzhou lamian) are here. There are two Khan Baba locations in Beijing: one in Wudaokou and one in Sanlitun. The Wudaokou shop is larger. There is also a Shalimar Indian and Pakistani restaurant near the Shunyi China International Exhibition Center.
Address: Room 511, 5th Floor, Building 2, Sanlitun SOHO, No. 8 Gongti North Road, Chaoyang District.
16. One Thousand and One Nights
One Thousand and One Nights is a high-end Middle Eastern Arabic restaurant with two branches in Beijing: one in Solana and one in Tuanjiehu. You can eat pan-fried foie gras here, and there are song and dance performances every night on the hour.
Address: No. 6 Chaoyang Park Road, Solana, Chaoyang District.
17. Changji Iron Griddle BBQ (Changji Zhizi Kaorou)
Changji Iron Griddle BBQ is a very authentic old Beijing halal restaurant. It only has six tables and specializes in iron griddle barbecue. The soybean paste noodles (zhajiangmian) and quick-boiled tripe (baodu) are absolutely perfect. Next time, I will try the barbecue and the lamb noodle soup (yangrou cuamian). The decor in the shop has a cool, confident vibe. Everyone calls the owner Fourth Master Chang (Chang Siye), and he is very hospitable. These kinds of small hutong eateries are rare now. They serve grilled pickled cabbage, grilled shiitake mushrooms, grilled chicken cartilage, grilled beef, and grilled lamb. They marinate the meat before grilling it. The taste is just as good as the famous Kaorouji, but because it is a small hutong shop, the price is less than half of what you would pay there.
Address: In the bungalows south of Guangnei Street that are waiting to be demolished. There is a wall built in front of the entrance, so you cannot see it unless you walk inside.
18. Tangdou Conveyor Belt Buffet Hot Pot
This is the first halal conveyor belt buffet hot pot restaurant in Beijing. It costs 59 yuan per person, and you can eat dozens of different items, including seafood, cooked dishes, vegetables, peanuts, fruit, various staples, snacks, and ice cream. Drinks are unlimited. A conveyor belt runs through the whole restaurant, so you can eat everything without moving from your seat. It is quite a good deal.
Address: North side of the 8th floor, Souxiu City Shopping Plaza, Chongwenmen Outer Street (opposite the 2nd phase of the New World Department Store in Chongwenmen).
19. Xingyuege Muslim Restaurant
Friends (dosti) from Northeast China in Beijing are in luck, because I finally found a restaurant that specializes in halal Northeast-style dishes.
The restaurant's home base is Harbin.
The decor style is also very Harbin.
Double-cooked pork (guobaorou) is a famous Northeast dish, served here in the Harbin-style savory version.
Steamed dumplings (shaomai) are also a common Northeast home-style dish.
They also have home-style tofu (jiachang doufu). Friends (dosti) from the Northeast who miss the taste of home should take the chance to try it.
Address: Shop 102, Building 2, Courtyard 2, Lixiangcheng, Hongye Road, Xihongmen Town.
20. Ningxia Flavors, Summer Language
This is a halal restaurant serving Ningxia-style food. It is located in the busy Chaoyangmen area and has a great atmosphere.
Our group of over ten people tried almost everything on the menu.
Sweet rice made by Northwest Hui Muslims.
The lamb trotters are very flavorful.
Every dish is solid and they put a lot of effort into the presentation.
Rice sausage (michangzi).
Hui Muslim fried dough (youxiang).
Hui Muslim snack platter.
This place is great for group meals. You can push tables together for over ten people, and the prices are not expensive.
Address: 2F, Fenglian Plaza, No. 18 Chaoyangmen Outer Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing.
21. Eliya Halal Bakery
This is a high-end halal pastry shop.
They have all kinds of beautiful desserts.
They use imported halal cream as an ingredient. The prices are actually not expensive, and the taste is top-notch.
Address: Ground floor shop 06, Building 56, Changying Minzu Jiayuan, Changying Middle Road, Chaoyang District.
22. Xingu Halal Charcoal Barbecue
This shop was originally labeled as Korean BBQ, but business was affected by the THAAD incident, so the owner removed the word Korean. After all, the owner is from Changying and has nothing to do with Korea.
Walk up the stairs to the second floor and you will find a hidden gem. The owner bought the whole building and rented the space next door to the Changying Three Brothers.
If you go in the afternoon, you do not need to wait in line. People say it was packed when it first opened, but business is not as good as before due to the THAAD incident.
The meat is fresh and the service is top-tier.
Servers help you grill the meat the whole time, so you do not need to do it yourself.
The lettuce is for wrapping the grilled meat.
You can also eat the steamed egg custard and cheese on the side of the grill.
Halal soybean paste soup (dajiangtang).
Dip the tender beef in five-spice seasoning to eat it.
Address: Opposite the south gate of Minzu Jiayuan residential area on Changying Middle Road, next to Yunding Billiards Club (west side of Minzu Primary School).
23. Aiyidian Halal Yunnan Cuisine
It is not easy to find authentic halal Yunnan food in Beijing, but this restaurant is quite genuine. There is another halal Yunnan restaurant in Yizhuang called Dianxinyuan. It has a nice atmosphere, but the food is average and it is quite far away.
The decor is fresh and elegant, and the owner is a young woman from Yunnan.
Tamarind (suanjiao) is a local specialty of Yunnan, so I chose to try the tamarind juice.
Beef wrapped in mint leaves; mint is as common in Yunnan as cilantro and is delicious even when eaten raw.
This is fried grasshopper.
Ibn Abi Awfa narrated: We went on seven expeditions with the Prophet, and we ate locusts. Sunan an-Nasa'i, Hadith 37;
The Prophet described the sea, saying: 'Its water is pure, and its dead creatures are halal.' He also said: 'We are permitted two types of dead creatures: fish and locusts;' and two types of blood: liver and spleen.' (Musnad Ahmad)
Sour soup beef jerky (niuganba); you must eat beef jerky in Yunnan cuisine because the most famous beef jerky in Yunnan is made by Hui Muslims.
It happened to be just before the Dragon Boat Festival, and the restaurant was developing beef rice dumplings (zongzi). The manager gave me two; I had only eaten sweet ones before, so this was my first time trying a meat version.
Yunnan cold rice noodles (mixian); the broth is rich and fragrant, and the noodles are chewy.
Address: First floor, north commercial section, axes 19-21, west side of Fengyayuan Zone 2, Huilongguan Town.
24. Old Ma's lamb spine hot pot (yangxiezi) and pan-fried dumplings (guotie).
Halal lamb spine is easy to find, but halal potstickers are rare these days. This shop makes pretty good ones.
Beef and green onion potstickers were my childhood favorite. There used to be a tent in Xuanwu District that sold halal snacks, but after it was torn down, I never found good potstickers again. I later heard the old man who made them passed away (wuchang), so that authentic skill is likely lost forever.
I was surprised to find they also sell spicy hot pot (maocai), a Chengdu snack similar to spicy soup (malatang), but you can drink the broth.
Address: South entrance of Hongju Street, Xicheng District.
25. Eating noodles at the Drum Tower.
I found this popular restaurant on Dazhong Dianping. At first, I thought it was categorized incorrectly because it had no obvious halal sign. I learned from the reviews that it is a halal shop owned by a Beijing Hui Muslim, and the halal sign is in a very inconspicuous spot inside.
This is a Western-style rock music restaurant.
They have mushrooms with foie gras.
Roasted chicken leg, but it is named Eight Hammers (badachui).
It is called Gold Medal Meat Sauce Noodles, but when it arrived, it was just soybean paste noodles (zhajiangmian).
Vegetable salad. Overall, the taste suits women, and the environment is good for dates.
Address: No. 25 Gongjie, Gulou East Street.
26. Old Yang's halal restaurant.
This is the highest-rated restaurant in the Changping area and is highly recommended.
Let's start with the environment: they have small semicircular tables that make it easy to chat.
I told the owner I came here specifically to break my fast. He recommended the house-made sour plum drink (suanmeitang). It was very thirst-quenching, sweet, and tart. I ordered two pitchers and took the second one to go.
I ordered the restaurant's signature dishes, starting with the cold shredded bottle gourd with sesame paste (majiang liangban hulusi), which was crisp and refreshing.
Fairy tofu (shenxian doufu) is another popular delicacy, and the tofu is made in-house.
Old Yang's beef pie (lao yangjia niuroubing) is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. You have to eat it with raw garlic.
The dry-pot duck heads (ganguo yatou) are spicy, numbing, and fragrant.
The stir-fried radish sprouts (qingchao luobomiao) were great. Another feature of Old Yang's restaurant is the attentive service. They greet you with a smile and check in on how you like the food. It is rare to see such good service in a place that is so busy. I didn't get to eat the fish head with flatbread (yutou paobing) at Old Yang's today, so I will have to try it next time.
Address: No. 30, West Lane 1, Xiguanshi Village, Yangfang Town, Changping District.
27. Cheng's Shan County Lamb Soup (yangtang) Restaurant
I did not expect to find such good lamb soup (yangtang) in Beijing. Shan County is a place in Shandong famous for its lamb soup. There is a Gao Laosi Lamb Soup shop on Niujie Street, but it does not taste as good as the Shan County lamb soup.
The oil and salt flatbread (yousuan shaobing) is hollow inside, perfect for soaking in lamb soup or stuffing with spiced beef.
The soup is milky white, a natural color from boiling lamb bones.
Large starch noodles (dalapi).
Half a jin of spiced beef (jiang niurou) stuffed into a freshly baked flatbread is delicious.
I also had some grilled fish tofu and seafood skewers.
Address: Sanzhong Lane (near Xingfeng Street), about 525 meters from Huangcun West Street Station.
28
. 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.
29. Chongqing Sausage Lips Old Stove 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.
30. Camel Caravan Moroccan Halal Restaurant
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
31. Cantonese-style seafood bistro
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.
