Beijing Halal Street Food Guide: Shaomai, Savory Guobaorou, Stewed Pigeon and Shrimp Hotpot
Reposted from the web
Summary: This Beijing halal street food guide covers issue 29 of the author’s map, including shaomai, savory Hui-style guobaorou, stewed pigeon, grilled fish, pepper chicken, and shrimp hotpot.
Beijing Halal Food Map (29) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: I have found many new restaurants in Beijing over the past month. Friends complain that the places I write about are getting further from the city center, often in far suburbs like Fangshan or Daxing. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Halal Food, Muslim Travel, Middle Eastern Food while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.
I have found many new restaurants in Beijing over the past month. Friends complain that the places I write about are getting further from the city center, often in far suburbs like Fangshan or Daxing. This is because it is hard to find new, unique restaurants inside the Fourth Ring Road. Lower rents and a quieter environment in the suburbs help many small shops survive. These shops far from the city center usually have more consistent flavors and more 'wok hei' (the smoky flavor from high-heat stir-frying), with less artificial additives.
1. Traditional Steamed Dumpling (shaomai) Restaurant
This is a Northeast Chinese restaurant. It has been open for three years, but I only just discovered it. It is located in the South District of Jindi Green Garden in Tongzhou District. What drew me here is that they can make savory-style stir-fried meat in batter (guobaorou). You need to tell the chef when you place your order.
Savory-style stir-fried meat in batter is a specialty of Hui Muslims in Harbin, which is different from the sweet version made with pork.
Northeast-style starch noodles (lapi)
For our main course, we tried the beef and lamb steamed dumplings (shaomai), but they were not as good as the ones in Inner Mongolia.
Beef and lamb steamed dumplings (shaomai)
The method for making savory-style stir-fried meat in batter is quite particular, and it is hard for most families to recreate the restaurant flavor. The best savory-style stir-fried meat in batter I have ever had was in Harbin.
Savory stir-fried meat in batter (guobaorou)
Besides Northeast Chinese food, this restaurant also serves some Southern dishes. We tried the chopped chili fish head, a Hunan dish. It tasted pretty good, but for authentic halal Hunan food, you have to go to Shaoyang. Shaoyang has the best halal Hunan restaurants I have ever eaten at.
Chopped chili fish head (duojiao yutou)
2. Yilan Pavilion (Yilan Ge)
We noticed Yilan Pavilion while looking for the Daxing Tongying Mosque. The shop is right across from the mosque.
Stewed pigeon
This large restaurant in the village serves delicious stewed pigeon and grilled fish. It was a pleasant surprise.
Grilled fish
Chive pockets (jiucai hezi)
Deep-fried shredded meat (zha songrou)
The deep-fried shredded meat was fresh out of the fryer, and the owner invited me to try some. In my experience, it is hard to find good versions of this Hui Muslim home-style dish in restaurants because they usually skimp on the meat. One bite confirmed my suspicion.
3. Yanfu Restaurant
Yanfu is not far from Tongying Village. It is another large halal restaurant where I unexpectedly found they could make savory-style stir-fried meat in batter (guobaorou).
Beef tendon and brisket stew (jintou banao)
Experience shows that if you order stir-fried meat in batter at a non-Northeastern restaurant, you should be ready for a disappointment. Currently, the only place in Beijing that makes authentic savory-style stir-fried meat in batter is Uncle Oyster's Iron Pot Stew (Houshu Tieguo Dun).
Dry-fried green beans (ganbian doujiao)
Homestyle griddle-baked flatbread (jiachang laobing)
Savory stir-fried meat in batter (guobaorou)
4. Daquan Feizai Braised Beef Noodles
This is a chain restaurant specializing in old Beijing-style beef noodle soup (jiaotang niuroumian). The beef noodles are quite tasty, and you can choose to add extra meat.
Beef noodle soup (jiaotang niuroumian)
5. Muhelan Ningxia Tanyang Hand-Grabbed Lamb
The owner of Huiwei Palace invested heavily to open this new Ningxia cuisine flagship store. They brought all the local specialties from Ningxia to Beijing.
During the soft opening, the restaurant is giving away steamed lamb (zheng yanggaorou). It is steamed to order, which is quite unique for Beijing.
Steamed Ningxia salt-lake lamb (longzheng tanyangrou)
Ningxia salt-lake lamb (tanyang) has become very popular in Beijing over the last few years. The meat is tender and has a perfect balance of fat and lean, making it great for grilling or hot pot.
Peppery and numbing lamb tripe (jiaoma yangdu)
I am most looking forward to their upcoming Wuzhong morning tea, which should arrive by the end of the year. Wuzhong morning tea has only been around for 20 years, but it has already become a local cultural staple that deserves to be shared. Halal breakfasts in Beijing are limited and not very healthy, so I hope Muhelan's Wuzhong morning tea can fill that gap.
Yinchuan cold skin noodles (niangpi)
Jingyuan yellow beef (huang niurou)
Cold hand-grabbed lamb (liang shouzhuo)
Bowl dishes (wancai)
6. Habibi Arabic Food
My team found this Arabic takeout spot near Jiugong. I happened to be nearby, so I went to check it out right away. Since they only do takeout and have no seating, and I couldn't get into the market, I had to order and pick it up at the door. The food was surprisingly delicious and very affordable.
Corn tacos, Turkish kebab, and hummus (humusi jiang)
7. Daqi Stewed Meat Noodles
Their stewed beef over rice is better than their beef noodles. The best part is that they do not sell alcohol. Honestly, it is rare to find a traditional Beijing restaurant that doesn't serve alcohol; this is the only one I have seen, which really surprised me as a local. You can also get free soup and noodle refills, so I highly recommend it.
Beef noodles
Stewed meat over rice
8. Fatty's Classic Quality Pan-Fried Buns (shuijianbao)
This Henan spicy soup (hulatang) shop in Dayuan Village, Liangxiang, is run by people from Zhengzhou. Everything from the shop's style to the taste is very Zhengzhou.
They are only open for half a day, closing at 2 p.m. They serve classic Henan breakfasts like spicy soup (hulatang), pan-fried buns (shuijianbao), fried dough strips (youmotou), and fried vegetable pockets (caijiao), along with Anhui flat noodles (banmian).
The flavors are very authentic and the prices are affordable. They have been in the village for five or six years with steady business.
Fried vegetable pockets (caijiao) and fried dough strips (youmotou)
Pan-fried buns (shuijianbao)
Flat noodles (banmian)
Beef spicy soup (hulatang)
9. Bayi Laoye Workers' Stadium Flagship Store
This flagship store next to the Workers' Stadium is the most spacious and has the best environment of all the Bayi Laoye locations.
The private rooms are beautifully decorated, the food is delicious, and there is free parking at the entrance. Business is booming.
Hand-torn cabbage
Hand-grabbed rice (shouzhua fan)
Hot pot lamb offal (guozai yangza)
Xinjiang spicy chicken (Xinjiang lazi ji)
We arrived on Wednesday at noon. Every seat filled up quickly, which shows people really love Xinjiang food. Bayi Laoye stands out as a top brand among the many Xinjiang restaurants.
10. Heiyaochang sugar oil pancake (tangyoubing) and lamb spine hot pot (yangxiezi)
Heiyaochang recently added lamb spine hot pot in their basement. You have to wait in line at the door to buy the sugar oil pancake, but if you eat the lamb spine hot pot in the basement, you can order the pancake directly.
The lamb spine tastes good, but there is not much meat on the bones. We also ordered the crispy stir-fried meat (xiaosurou) and small fennel fried dough sticks (huixiang xiaoyoutiao). The dough sticks were delicious.
Crispy stir-fried meat (xiaosurou)
Small fennel fried dough sticks (huixiang xiaoyoutiao)
11. Ritan Hot Pot (Financial Street branch)
I work out in Financial Street and always felt there were not enough halal restaurants nearby. Recently, I found that Tofu Burger started using imported Australian halal meat again, and this Ritan Hot Pot branch opened right across from the Financial Street Shopping Center. Now I do not have to worry about where to eat after training.
Ritan Hot Pot uses individual small pots. Even though it lacks the charcoal flavor, the meat quality is excellent. Their small sesame flatbreads (shaobing) taste just like the ones at Jubao Yuan, and their various Beijing-style snacks are very well-made.
12. Huainan Beef Scald (niuroutang)
I used to think the Huainan Beef Scald shop in Shunyi had a typo and should have been called Huainan Beef Soup (niurutang). I only realized it was actually called Beef Scald after seeing this shop in Fangshan. The two shops are run by a brother and sister. The owner in Fangshan is the younger brother, a Hui Muslim from Anhui.
Mixed beef tendon
Beef soup (niurutang)
Sesame flatbread (shaobing) with beef
13. Northwest Station: Salt-lake lamb (tanyang)
This is a new salt-lake lamb restaurant opened by people from Gansu. They also have Uyghur staff who prepare Xinjiang-style dishes.
They have all kinds of Gansu snacks here. Among the hand-grabbed lamb (shouzhuayangrou) from the five northwestern provinces, I like the texture of the Dongxiang style from Gansu the best.
Hand-grabbed lamb (shouzhuayangrou)
Roasted potato (kaoyangyu)
Roasted potato served with pickled chives, a unique way of eating in the Northwest.
Stewed yak meat with Chinese yam
Hezhou steamed buns (Hezhou baozi)
Dingxi wide glass noodles (Dingxi kuanfen)
Our friends from Gansu and Qinghai gave this place a thumbs up. The prices are fair and the service is very friendly. The waiter even told me which dishes weren't good and advised me not to order them. You don't see staff that honest very often.
14. Western Regions Yipinxian Hot Pot (Xiyu Yipinxian Huoguo)
This place is listed as Chongqing-style hot pot on Dazhong Dianping, so it caught my eye and I came to check it out right away.
Duck intestines, beef tripe, marbled beef, brown sugar rice cakes (hongtang ciba), and a sesame oil dipping sauce are my go-to order for Sichuan and Chongqing hot pot.
Duck intestines
Beef tripe
Yellow rice cakes (huangmi ciba)
Small fennel fried dough sticks (huixiang xiaoyoutiao)
Marbled beef
Overall, the food here is delicious and the ingredients are fresh. The dipping sauces are very flavorful. It is a bit quiet since it just opened, and the location on Fengyi South Road in Fengtai is a bit out of the way.
15. Wanping Li's Snacks
After visiting the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, we saw this Wanping Li's nearby. It has a huge sign and includes a snack shop, a beef and mutton shop, and a hot pot restaurant. The snack shop caught our eye.
Wanping Li's is famous for its beef noodles, but I think their rice dishes are even better. We chose the abalone sauce steak rice and the seafood sauce fried rice. Both tasted great and were made with Wuchang rice. The seafood sauce fried rice was especially fragrant.
Cold tossed okra
Braised beef noodles
Mutton jelly noodles (liangfen)
Seafood sauce fried rice
Abalone sauce steak rice
16. Heqingzhai Wang Po Shrimp
Heqingzhai brought in Wang Po Shrimp. I have eaten the halal version of Wang Po Shrimp in Hangzhou before. I have always loved shrimp, and this shrimp pot serves large, fresh shrimp that taste very good.
After finishing the shrimp, you can add broth to cook vegetables. Heqingzhai is a brand from Yangfang Town in Changping, and their lamb spine hot pot (yangxiezi) is also delicious.
Yellow rice sticky cake (ciba) as a staple food
Large shrimp and squid pot (daxia youyu guo)
That is all for this collection. The text and photos are original, and you are welcome to share them.
Summary: This Beijing halal street food guide covers issue 29 of the author’s map, including shaomai, savory Hui-style guobaorou, stewed pigeon, grilled fish, pepper chicken, and shrimp hotpot.
Beijing Halal Food Map (29) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: I have found many new restaurants in Beijing over the past month. Friends complain that the places I write about are getting further from the city center, often in far suburbs like Fangshan or Daxing. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Halal Food, Muslim Travel, Middle Eastern Food while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.
I have found many new restaurants in Beijing over the past month. Friends complain that the places I write about are getting further from the city center, often in far suburbs like Fangshan or Daxing. This is because it is hard to find new, unique restaurants inside the Fourth Ring Road. Lower rents and a quieter environment in the suburbs help many small shops survive. These shops far from the city center usually have more consistent flavors and more 'wok hei' (the smoky flavor from high-heat stir-frying), with less artificial additives.
1. Traditional Steamed Dumpling (shaomai) Restaurant
This is a Northeast Chinese restaurant. It has been open for three years, but I only just discovered it. It is located in the South District of Jindi Green Garden in Tongzhou District. What drew me here is that they can make savory-style stir-fried meat in batter (guobaorou). You need to tell the chef when you place your order.
Savory-style stir-fried meat in batter is a specialty of Hui Muslims in Harbin, which is different from the sweet version made with pork.
Northeast-style starch noodles (lapi)
For our main course, we tried the beef and lamb steamed dumplings (shaomai), but they were not as good as the ones in Inner Mongolia.
Beef and lamb steamed dumplings (shaomai)
The method for making savory-style stir-fried meat in batter is quite particular, and it is hard for most families to recreate the restaurant flavor. The best savory-style stir-fried meat in batter I have ever had was in Harbin.
Savory stir-fried meat in batter (guobaorou)
Besides Northeast Chinese food, this restaurant also serves some Southern dishes. We tried the chopped chili fish head, a Hunan dish. It tasted pretty good, but for authentic halal Hunan food, you have to go to Shaoyang. Shaoyang has the best halal Hunan restaurants I have ever eaten at.
Chopped chili fish head (duojiao yutou)
2. Yilan Pavilion (Yilan Ge)
We noticed Yilan Pavilion while looking for the Daxing Tongying Mosque. The shop is right across from the mosque.
Stewed pigeon
This large restaurant in the village serves delicious stewed pigeon and grilled fish. It was a pleasant surprise.
Grilled fish
Chive pockets (jiucai hezi)
Deep-fried shredded meat (zha songrou)
The deep-fried shredded meat was fresh out of the fryer, and the owner invited me to try some. In my experience, it is hard to find good versions of this Hui Muslim home-style dish in restaurants because they usually skimp on the meat. One bite confirmed my suspicion.
3. Yanfu Restaurant
Yanfu is not far from Tongying Village. It is another large halal restaurant where I unexpectedly found they could make savory-style stir-fried meat in batter (guobaorou).
Beef tendon and brisket stew (jintou banao)
Experience shows that if you order stir-fried meat in batter at a non-Northeastern restaurant, you should be ready for a disappointment. Currently, the only place in Beijing that makes authentic savory-style stir-fried meat in batter is Uncle Oyster's Iron Pot Stew (Houshu Tieguo Dun).
Dry-fried green beans (ganbian doujiao)
Homestyle griddle-baked flatbread (jiachang laobing)
Savory stir-fried meat in batter (guobaorou)
4. Daquan Feizai Braised Beef Noodles
This is a chain restaurant specializing in old Beijing-style beef noodle soup (jiaotang niuroumian). The beef noodles are quite tasty, and you can choose to add extra meat.
Beef noodle soup (jiaotang niuroumian)
5. Muhelan Ningxia Tanyang Hand-Grabbed Lamb
The owner of Huiwei Palace invested heavily to open this new Ningxia cuisine flagship store. They brought all the local specialties from Ningxia to Beijing.
During the soft opening, the restaurant is giving away steamed lamb (zheng yanggaorou). It is steamed to order, which is quite unique for Beijing.
Steamed Ningxia salt-lake lamb (longzheng tanyangrou)
Ningxia salt-lake lamb (tanyang) has become very popular in Beijing over the last few years. The meat is tender and has a perfect balance of fat and lean, making it great for grilling or hot pot.
Peppery and numbing lamb tripe (jiaoma yangdu)
I am most looking forward to their upcoming Wuzhong morning tea, which should arrive by the end of the year. Wuzhong morning tea has only been around for 20 years, but it has already become a local cultural staple that deserves to be shared. Halal breakfasts in Beijing are limited and not very healthy, so I hope Muhelan's Wuzhong morning tea can fill that gap.
Yinchuan cold skin noodles (niangpi)
Jingyuan yellow beef (huang niurou)
Cold hand-grabbed lamb (liang shouzhuo)
Bowl dishes (wancai)
6. Habibi Arabic Food
My team found this Arabic takeout spot near Jiugong. I happened to be nearby, so I went to check it out right away. Since they only do takeout and have no seating, and I couldn't get into the market, I had to order and pick it up at the door. The food was surprisingly delicious and very affordable.
Corn tacos, Turkish kebab, and hummus (humusi jiang)
7. Daqi Stewed Meat Noodles
Their stewed beef over rice is better than their beef noodles. The best part is that they do not sell alcohol. Honestly, it is rare to find a traditional Beijing restaurant that doesn't serve alcohol; this is the only one I have seen, which really surprised me as a local. You can also get free soup and noodle refills, so I highly recommend it.
Beef noodles
Stewed meat over rice
8. Fatty's Classic Quality Pan-Fried Buns (shuijianbao)
This Henan spicy soup (hulatang) shop in Dayuan Village, Liangxiang, is run by people from Zhengzhou. Everything from the shop's style to the taste is very Zhengzhou.
They are only open for half a day, closing at 2 p.m. They serve classic Henan breakfasts like spicy soup (hulatang), pan-fried buns (shuijianbao), fried dough strips (youmotou), and fried vegetable pockets (caijiao), along with Anhui flat noodles (banmian).
The flavors are very authentic and the prices are affordable. They have been in the village for five or six years with steady business.
Fried vegetable pockets (caijiao) and fried dough strips (youmotou)
Pan-fried buns (shuijianbao)
Flat noodles (banmian)
Beef spicy soup (hulatang)
9. Bayi Laoye Workers' Stadium Flagship Store
This flagship store next to the Workers' Stadium is the most spacious and has the best environment of all the Bayi Laoye locations.
The private rooms are beautifully decorated, the food is delicious, and there is free parking at the entrance. Business is booming.
Hand-torn cabbage
Hand-grabbed rice (shouzhua fan)
Hot pot lamb offal (guozai yangza)
Xinjiang spicy chicken (Xinjiang lazi ji)
We arrived on Wednesday at noon. Every seat filled up quickly, which shows people really love Xinjiang food. Bayi Laoye stands out as a top brand among the many Xinjiang restaurants.
10. Heiyaochang sugar oil pancake (tangyoubing) and lamb spine hot pot (yangxiezi)
Heiyaochang recently added lamb spine hot pot in their basement. You have to wait in line at the door to buy the sugar oil pancake, but if you eat the lamb spine hot pot in the basement, you can order the pancake directly.
The lamb spine tastes good, but there is not much meat on the bones. We also ordered the crispy stir-fried meat (xiaosurou) and small fennel fried dough sticks (huixiang xiaoyoutiao). The dough sticks were delicious.
Crispy stir-fried meat (xiaosurou)
Small fennel fried dough sticks (huixiang xiaoyoutiao)
11. Ritan Hot Pot (Financial Street branch)
I work out in Financial Street and always felt there were not enough halal restaurants nearby. Recently, I found that Tofu Burger started using imported Australian halal meat again, and this Ritan Hot Pot branch opened right across from the Financial Street Shopping Center. Now I do not have to worry about where to eat after training.
Ritan Hot Pot uses individual small pots. Even though it lacks the charcoal flavor, the meat quality is excellent. Their small sesame flatbreads (shaobing) taste just like the ones at Jubao Yuan, and their various Beijing-style snacks are very well-made.
12. Huainan Beef Scald (niuroutang)
I used to think the Huainan Beef Scald shop in Shunyi had a typo and should have been called Huainan Beef Soup (niurutang). I only realized it was actually called Beef Scald after seeing this shop in Fangshan. The two shops are run by a brother and sister. The owner in Fangshan is the younger brother, a Hui Muslim from Anhui.
Mixed beef tendon
Beef soup (niurutang)
Sesame flatbread (shaobing) with beef
13. Northwest Station: Salt-lake lamb (tanyang)
This is a new salt-lake lamb restaurant opened by people from Gansu. They also have Uyghur staff who prepare Xinjiang-style dishes.
They have all kinds of Gansu snacks here. Among the hand-grabbed lamb (shouzhuayangrou) from the five northwestern provinces, I like the texture of the Dongxiang style from Gansu the best.
Hand-grabbed lamb (shouzhuayangrou)
Roasted potato (kaoyangyu)
Roasted potato served with pickled chives, a unique way of eating in the Northwest.
Stewed yak meat with Chinese yam
Hezhou steamed buns (Hezhou baozi)
Dingxi wide glass noodles (Dingxi kuanfen)
Our friends from Gansu and Qinghai gave this place a thumbs up. The prices are fair and the service is very friendly. The waiter even told me which dishes weren't good and advised me not to order them. You don't see staff that honest very often.
14. Western Regions Yipinxian Hot Pot (Xiyu Yipinxian Huoguo)
This place is listed as Chongqing-style hot pot on Dazhong Dianping, so it caught my eye and I came to check it out right away.
Duck intestines, beef tripe, marbled beef, brown sugar rice cakes (hongtang ciba), and a sesame oil dipping sauce are my go-to order for Sichuan and Chongqing hot pot.
Duck intestines
Beef tripe
Yellow rice cakes (huangmi ciba)
Small fennel fried dough sticks (huixiang xiaoyoutiao)
Marbled beef
Overall, the food here is delicious and the ingredients are fresh. The dipping sauces are very flavorful. It is a bit quiet since it just opened, and the location on Fengyi South Road in Fengtai is a bit out of the way.
15. Wanping Li's Snacks
After visiting the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, we saw this Wanping Li's nearby. It has a huge sign and includes a snack shop, a beef and mutton shop, and a hot pot restaurant. The snack shop caught our eye.
Wanping Li's is famous for its beef noodles, but I think their rice dishes are even better. We chose the abalone sauce steak rice and the seafood sauce fried rice. Both tasted great and were made with Wuchang rice. The seafood sauce fried rice was especially fragrant.
Cold tossed okra
Braised beef noodles
Mutton jelly noodles (liangfen)
Seafood sauce fried rice
Abalone sauce steak rice
16. Heqingzhai Wang Po Shrimp
Heqingzhai brought in Wang Po Shrimp. I have eaten the halal version of Wang Po Shrimp in Hangzhou before. I have always loved shrimp, and this shrimp pot serves large, fresh shrimp that taste very good.
After finishing the shrimp, you can add broth to cook vegetables. Heqingzhai is a brand from Yangfang Town in Changping, and their lamb spine hot pot (yangxiezi) is also delicious.
Yellow rice sticky cake (ciba) as a staple food
Large shrimp and squid pot (daxia youyu guo)
That is all for this collection. The text and photos are original, and you are welcome to share them.
