Best Halal Food Beijing: Pakistani Buffet, Halal Barbecue, Niujie Skewers and Silk Road Cuisine
Reposted from the web
Summary: This Beijing halal food guide shares issue 38 of the map, covering Pakistani buffet, halal barbecue buffet, tea space, iron pot stew, Arabic food, Silk Road cuisine, Qingyanglou, Niujie skewers, and newly opened Muslim restaurants.
Beijing Halal Food Map (Issue 38) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: The restaurants in this issue are all newly opened. When I wrote the 10th issue, I worried about running out of unique halal restaurants in Beijing to feature. 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.
The restaurants in this issue are all newly opened. When I wrote the 10th issue, I worried about running out of unique halal restaurants in Beijing to feature. It turns out I was overthinking it. New halal restaurants have kept popping up in Beijing over the last two years. Even though many have closed, the variety is getting richer overall. After traveling to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt last year, I am even more convinced that no other country or city has a wider variety of halal restaurants than Beijing. Beijing truly deserves to be called the world capital of halal food.
The list of halal restaurants featured in this issue is as follows:
1. Habibi Pakistan Buffet
2. Halal Small Stove Barbecue Buffet (Xiao Luzi)
3. Achuiji Stinky Fried Skewers
4. Sanbanhui Tea and Coffee Space
5. Dunyishou Northeast Iron Pot Stew
6. Habibi Arabic Restaurant
7. Yerushahan Silk Road Cuisine
8. Qingyanglou Fried Cake Xin
9. Jiangweiyuan Aisha Cuisine
10. Maimaiti Western Regions Cuisine
1. Habibi Pakistan Buffet
There is a new Pakistani buffet on Minda West Road. When you see McDonald's, walk inside to the very back and take the elevator to the third floor. The environment is nice and clean. They do not have many types of dishes, and the taste is average, but the highlight is the affordable price of 66 yuan per person.
The owner is a Pakistani friend who speaks Chinese and is very welcoming. Pakistani restaurants in Beijing usually do well, and this one had quite a few diners.
For Indian and Pakistani food, I still prefer the taste at Hanbaba and Samosa.
2. Halal Small Stove Barbecue (Qingzhen Xiaoluzi Shaokao)
This is a new barbecue buffet on the 8th floor of Souxiu City in Chongwenmen. You can take the elevator from the Souxiu Cinema on the first floor directly there. The restaurant has an industrial decor style that looks like it was never finished. The buffet is 139 yuan per person, but you can grab a 99 yuan package deal on their livestream.
Drinks and ice cream are unlimited, or you can choose a 59 yuan buffet that does not include drinks.
The restaurant is still in its trial period and is clearly short-staffed, so it might be hard to get food during peak hours. We chose to go on a weekday at noon when it was less crowded, so we could eat as much as we wanted.
The skewers are Northeast Chinese style, and you can even see grilled silkworm pupae.
The set meal includes beef brisket stew.
The ice cream is Yili brand.
3. Achuiji Stinky Fried Skewers
Achuiji is a fried skewer shop run by a Beijing couple, and they even have skewers that taste like stinky mandarin fish (chouguiyu).
Their signature beef pie (xianbing) is delicious and cheap at only 22 yuan. I asked and found out they own the building, so they do not have to pay rent.
They have many flavors of fried skewers. Besides the stinky lamb skewers, they have lemon chicken skewers, and I prefer the fresh scent of the lemon ones.
The spicy chicken cutlet rice has a Korean style, but it is not actually very spicy and tastes quite good.
The owner recommended we try the roasted pigeon. It is roasted to order, so it takes a little longer, but the taste is great.
The exploding tofu (baojiang doufu) is excellent. You can taste the owner's care in every dish; they really put their heart into the cooking.
I have been here twice. The second time, I tried the lamb spine hot pot (yangxiezi guo) recommended by the owner, and the meat on the spine was very high quality.
4. Sanbanhui Tea and Coffee Space
Sanbanhui near the West Railway Station is a themed tea and coffee shop with a background in the finance industry. Most people who come here to talk business work in finance. Since the person in charge is a Hui Muslim from Qinghai, the food at this shop is halal.
The simple meals are mostly pizza, pasta, and fried rice, and there are meeting rooms on the second floor.
5. Dunyishou
Dun Yishou is a Northeast-style iron pot stew (tieguo dun) restaurant located in the Huanhu Town of Tongzhou, which is quite far away.
The restaurant is very spacious and the iron pot stew is delicious, but the only downside is that they do not serve stir-fried dishes, unlike Wanfu in Daxing where you can also get sweet and sour pork (guobaorou).
The two-person set meal comes with white fungus soup (yin'er tang), snacks, and fruit, leaving both of us feeling very full.
6. Habibi Arabic Restaurant
This is a newly opened Arabic restaurant in Jiugong, Daxing. It used to be just a small stall, but the new owner recently invested some money into the renovation.
We ordered a 200-yuan set meal for two, and the taste was very similar to the Arabic food we had in Egypt.
7. Yerushahan Silk Road Cuisine
There is a new Silk Road cuisine restaurant across from Xuanwu Hospital on Changchun Street. Its style is very similar to Samarkand, serving mainly Xinjiang and Northwest Chinese dishes, along with roast duck and seafood. The environment is very beautiful, but the prices are a bit high, averaging 150 to 200 yuan per person. If you are on a date near Niujie, you can come here to eat as it is quite quiet.
The pilaf (zhuafan) has a light flavor and is served in a small electric rice cooker; this small pot costs 68 yuan.
The Middle Eastern avocado salad is 88 yuan, and the rack of lamb (jiazi rou) is 128 yuan, which comes with two pieces of grilled pineapple and tastes quite good.
8. Qingyanglou Fried Cake Xin
A new Beijing-style restaurant just opened in Xianyukou near Qianmen. The founder is Zhagaoxin, so you can buy fried cakes (zhagao) there.
For a restaurant in a tourist area, the food is pretty good. It is not amazing, but you will not be disappointed.
The highlight is their Shengmu yogurt. It is quite thick and tasty, and they even have a sea buckthorn flavor.
The crust of the fried cake was a bit bitter, and I did not get to the filling on my first bite, but the bean paste inside tasted fine and was not too sweet.
There are quite a few halal restaurants around Qianmen Street, but many do not taste very good. This Qingyanglou is a solid choice.
9. Jiangweiyuan Aisha Cuisine (formerly Northwest Muslim Restaurant)
Ever since the Northwest Muslim Restaurant on Niujie moved away, the area lost a great spot for eating skewers. Recently, this old shop moved back, though the location is now on Baiguang Road.
This was our go-to place for skewers when we were students. Even though my classmates do not live on Niujie anymore, they still travel a long way to eat here. When they heard the shop was back, one friend even drove from the suburbs at 11 p.m. just to meet me for skewers.
They stay open until 2 a.m.
Besides the skewers, I also like their noodle dishes.
10. Maimaiti Western Regions Cuisine
This fusion restaurant is run by locals from Linxia. The food really surprised me because the chef perfectly recreates the authentic flavors of Linxia. I asked the owner and found out their head chef has won national awards. Their hand-grabbed lamb (shouzhua) is also incredible.
I first stopped by for a bowl of mixed noodles (banmian) and thought it was delicious, and the grilled skewers (kaochuan) were great too. I went back later for the stir-fried dish (laochao) and liked it even more. Next time, I plan to try their hand-grabbed lamb.
Summary: This Beijing halal food guide shares issue 38 of the map, covering Pakistani buffet, halal barbecue buffet, tea space, iron pot stew, Arabic food, Silk Road cuisine, Qingyanglou, Niujie skewers, and newly opened Muslim restaurants.
Beijing Halal Food Map (Issue 38) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: The restaurants in this issue are all newly opened. When I wrote the 10th issue, I worried about running out of unique halal restaurants in Beijing to feature. 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.
The restaurants in this issue are all newly opened. When I wrote the 10th issue, I worried about running out of unique halal restaurants in Beijing to feature. It turns out I was overthinking it. New halal restaurants have kept popping up in Beijing over the last two years. Even though many have closed, the variety is getting richer overall. After traveling to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt last year, I am even more convinced that no other country or city has a wider variety of halal restaurants than Beijing. Beijing truly deserves to be called the world capital of halal food.
The list of halal restaurants featured in this issue is as follows:
1. Habibi Pakistan Buffet
2. Halal Small Stove Barbecue Buffet (Xiao Luzi)
3. Achuiji Stinky Fried Skewers
4. Sanbanhui Tea and Coffee Space
5. Dunyishou Northeast Iron Pot Stew
6. Habibi Arabic Restaurant
7. Yerushahan Silk Road Cuisine
8. Qingyanglou Fried Cake Xin
9. Jiangweiyuan Aisha Cuisine
10. Maimaiti Western Regions Cuisine
1. Habibi Pakistan Buffet
There is a new Pakistani buffet on Minda West Road. When you see McDonald's, walk inside to the very back and take the elevator to the third floor. The environment is nice and clean. They do not have many types of dishes, and the taste is average, but the highlight is the affordable price of 66 yuan per person.
The owner is a Pakistani friend who speaks Chinese and is very welcoming. Pakistani restaurants in Beijing usually do well, and this one had quite a few diners.
For Indian and Pakistani food, I still prefer the taste at Hanbaba and Samosa.
2. Halal Small Stove Barbecue (Qingzhen Xiaoluzi Shaokao)
This is a new barbecue buffet on the 8th floor of Souxiu City in Chongwenmen. You can take the elevator from the Souxiu Cinema on the first floor directly there. The restaurant has an industrial decor style that looks like it was never finished. The buffet is 139 yuan per person, but you can grab a 99 yuan package deal on their livestream.
Drinks and ice cream are unlimited, or you can choose a 59 yuan buffet that does not include drinks.
The restaurant is still in its trial period and is clearly short-staffed, so it might be hard to get food during peak hours. We chose to go on a weekday at noon when it was less crowded, so we could eat as much as we wanted.
The skewers are Northeast Chinese style, and you can even see grilled silkworm pupae.
The set meal includes beef brisket stew.
The ice cream is Yili brand.
3. Achuiji Stinky Fried Skewers
Achuiji is a fried skewer shop run by a Beijing couple, and they even have skewers that taste like stinky mandarin fish (chouguiyu).
Their signature beef pie (xianbing) is delicious and cheap at only 22 yuan. I asked and found out they own the building, so they do not have to pay rent.
They have many flavors of fried skewers. Besides the stinky lamb skewers, they have lemon chicken skewers, and I prefer the fresh scent of the lemon ones.
The spicy chicken cutlet rice has a Korean style, but it is not actually very spicy and tastes quite good.
The owner recommended we try the roasted pigeon. It is roasted to order, so it takes a little longer, but the taste is great.
The exploding tofu (baojiang doufu) is excellent. You can taste the owner's care in every dish; they really put their heart into the cooking.
I have been here twice. The second time, I tried the lamb spine hot pot (yangxiezi guo) recommended by the owner, and the meat on the spine was very high quality.
4. Sanbanhui Tea and Coffee Space
Sanbanhui near the West Railway Station is a themed tea and coffee shop with a background in the finance industry. Most people who come here to talk business work in finance. Since the person in charge is a Hui Muslim from Qinghai, the food at this shop is halal.
The simple meals are mostly pizza, pasta, and fried rice, and there are meeting rooms on the second floor.
5. Dunyishou
Dun Yishou is a Northeast-style iron pot stew (tieguo dun) restaurant located in the Huanhu Town of Tongzhou, which is quite far away.
The restaurant is very spacious and the iron pot stew is delicious, but the only downside is that they do not serve stir-fried dishes, unlike Wanfu in Daxing where you can also get sweet and sour pork (guobaorou).
The two-person set meal comes with white fungus soup (yin'er tang), snacks, and fruit, leaving both of us feeling very full.
6. Habibi Arabic Restaurant
This is a newly opened Arabic restaurant in Jiugong, Daxing. It used to be just a small stall, but the new owner recently invested some money into the renovation.
We ordered a 200-yuan set meal for two, and the taste was very similar to the Arabic food we had in Egypt.
7. Yerushahan Silk Road Cuisine
There is a new Silk Road cuisine restaurant across from Xuanwu Hospital on Changchun Street. Its style is very similar to Samarkand, serving mainly Xinjiang and Northwest Chinese dishes, along with roast duck and seafood. The environment is very beautiful, but the prices are a bit high, averaging 150 to 200 yuan per person. If you are on a date near Niujie, you can come here to eat as it is quite quiet.
The pilaf (zhuafan) has a light flavor and is served in a small electric rice cooker; this small pot costs 68 yuan.
The Middle Eastern avocado salad is 88 yuan, and the rack of lamb (jiazi rou) is 128 yuan, which comes with two pieces of grilled pineapple and tastes quite good.
8. Qingyanglou Fried Cake Xin
A new Beijing-style restaurant just opened in Xianyukou near Qianmen. The founder is Zhagaoxin, so you can buy fried cakes (zhagao) there.
For a restaurant in a tourist area, the food is pretty good. It is not amazing, but you will not be disappointed.
The highlight is their Shengmu yogurt. It is quite thick and tasty, and they even have a sea buckthorn flavor.
The crust of the fried cake was a bit bitter, and I did not get to the filling on my first bite, but the bean paste inside tasted fine and was not too sweet.
There are quite a few halal restaurants around Qianmen Street, but many do not taste very good. This Qingyanglou is a solid choice.
9. Jiangweiyuan Aisha Cuisine (formerly Northwest Muslim Restaurant)
Ever since the Northwest Muslim Restaurant on Niujie moved away, the area lost a great spot for eating skewers. Recently, this old shop moved back, though the location is now on Baiguang Road.
This was our go-to place for skewers when we were students. Even though my classmates do not live on Niujie anymore, they still travel a long way to eat here. When they heard the shop was back, one friend even drove from the suburbs at 11 p.m. just to meet me for skewers.
They stay open until 2 a.m.
Besides the skewers, I also like their noodle dishes.
10. Maimaiti Western Regions Cuisine
This fusion restaurant is run by locals from Linxia. The food really surprised me because the chef perfectly recreates the authentic flavors of Linxia. I asked the owner and found out their head chef has won national awards. Their hand-grabbed lamb (shouzhua) is also incredible.
I first stopped by for a bowl of mixed noodles (banmian) and thought it was delicious, and the grilled skewers (kaochuan) were great too. I went back later for the stir-fried dish (laochao) and liked it even more. Next time, I plan to try their hand-grabbed lamb.
