Beijing Cuisine

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One of the things that I appreciate more than going to restaurants is actually just getting out to some of the small dingy places where the locals eat. Our hotel in Beijing happened to be right next to the apartment complex that my uncle lived in so he had a couple pointers for where Amanda and I could go for a quick bite.

People from Beijing love things that are made from flour so naturally we saw tons of noodle shops and dumpling houses. The first night we were in Beijing,my uncle took us to a place that he said was popular with the younger crowd. The place reminded us of the bare minimum Pho restaurants that we love to go to in Maryland. My uncle got us each bowls of beef noodle soup and lamb skewers,which was another local favorite. The noodle soup was incredibly simple and garnished with just some scallions and bok choy but was still filling and delicious.

Another place my uncle took us is a little more inaccessible. My uncle was part of the Chinese Air Force so he has access to a cafeteria at the military hospital next to their apartment complex. The way it works is that they have a large cafeteria that they rent out to cooks in the area on the condition that they sell the food for discounted prices. There was a huge variety of food from all different parts of China and the way that ordering and paying works is similar to that of a mall food court. The catch is that you have to pay with a military issued payment card so no sneaking in . My uncle ordered for us two huge trays of dumplings,one filled with pork and scallion and the other filled with egg and chive. I was a bit confused at first because I had grown up with the pork and chive fillings but my uncle said that these two were the most popular in the Beijing area. My only thought is that chives have a pretty strong flavor and wouldn’t clash too much with something like eggs and similarly the scallions complement the pork flavor.

Next to our hotel was a small restaurant that had some good breakfast options. Amanda and I got a small bowl of dan dan noodles and a big chive and egg pocket called “jiu cai he zi”and some scallion pancakes. Everything came out nice and hot and all tasted freshly made. There wasn’t too much oil on either one which is always a danger when it comes to fried foods. The scallion pancake was surprisingly light. I don’t know exactly how to make it but I know it involves layering oil,salt,and scallions between layers of flour. Too often I’ve had scallion pancakes that are a little heavy in oil both in the layers and when it’s fried. Don’t get me wrong,it’s super delicious,but I always feel the need to grab a bottle of soda or something to wash down the oilyness at the end. This had just the right amount of oil so that you enjoy it,but not enough that it feels over powering. Again a very delicious simple meal at a very simple restaurant and another two food items that you’ll see plenty of in Beijing.