Experiencing historical flavors in modern Beijing

By Wang Yu
The best way for newcomers to experience authentic Beijing is not by visiting renovated temples but through the city’s centuries-old culinary traditions.
Let go of your prejudices and dive into a plate of fried tripe from a neighborhood diner, or salt-boiled wheat cakes sold out of backyards. Granted, it may take a bit of courage to try such exotic food, but Beijing is, after all, a city of fortune and favor, of old emperors and modern-day leaders – it is, in other words, not a city for the timid.
If you can overcome your fears, you’ll get an unforgettable memory of eating the food of Old Beijing.

Dalian Huoshao in old area
Hidden inside a neighborhood at Hepingli, this restaurant’s quality is attested to by experienced epicures who are familiar with traditional foods.
It is always hard to find a seat if you arrive around dinnertime. The restaurant does not take reservations, so diners are suggested to simply wait until the mostly middle-aged diners finish their food and conversation.
Although ordinary dishes and hotpot are available, the restaurant is famous for, as its name implies, Dalian huoshao, a traditional type of pan-fried roll-on-a-stick with different stuffings, from pork with fennel to lamb with green onion to vegetarian options. The sticks are usually eaten with vinegar, like dumplings.
These sticks are fried golden and a little burnt but very soft on the inside. Its smell is one to be savored. The huoshao is best matched with kohlrabi and the restaurant’s sauce.
Make sure to drink your bowl of free corn porridge. It’s the most important part of this vintage working-class Beijing dinner.
Fried tripe (25 yuan) is also available at Xuji, though it doesn’t compare with Dongxingshun’s offering. The sauce (3 yuan) is a must-try.
Traditional Beijing snacks such as zhagezhi (8 yuan) are also special. This snack is simple fried dough eaten with vinegar and sesame oil. The zhagezhi here is creamy on the inside, much to diners’ satisfaction.
Xuji Dalian Huoshao
Where: Opposite to a gas station, east of Jiangzhaikou intersection (first intersection north of Andingmen subway station), Dongcheng District
Open: 11 am – 2 pm, 5-9 pm
Tel: 6420 5345

100-year-old flavor
Dongxingshun is one of the most famous Muslim fried tripe – cow stomach – restaurants in Beijing, but it also has a long and interesting history.
The restaurant is located on the east side of the river at Houhai, putting it in a bustling area full of Chinese traditional handicraft shops, bars and clubs. Though it’s surrounded by modern entertainment options, Dongxingshun, with its 100-plus years of history, has retained its classical feel, as it’s rebuilt from an old three-room courtyard.
Owner Zhang Zixing’s great-grandfather, Zhang Quancai, started the restaurant two blocks away as a street stall in 1883. His restaurant “Baodu Zhang” soon became famous among blue-collar workers in the neighborhood.
New patrons will be impressed by the calligraphy on the walls and photos of celebrities. Many cultural figures have stepped into the restaurant, including top Peking opera singers Mei Lanfang, Ma Lianliang and Li Wanchun. Modern artists, such as rock pioneers Zhang Chu and Dou Wei, can also be seen in the photos.
It’s not the stars that attract diners, however. The restaurant thrives because of its dishes’ unique flavors. Although many dishes are described as “fried,” no oil is used during the process. The raw material is the stomach of cows or sheep.
Different parts of the stomach have different names, such as baiye (20 yuan) and duren (30 yuan). After being carefully washed, the stomach is cut into pieces and boiled in hot water before being served. It sounds easy, but timing is crucial to the final product – something the restaurant has perfected, judging by its popularity.
The food is usually paired with a special sauce of sesame butter, sesame oil, salt, coriander, chili and other spices. The sauce is not too salty or sweet and the flavor of sesame activates the taste buds on first bite.
Besides the main course, snacks in the restaurant are also worth trying. The almond tofu (5 yuan) is made of sugar, almond and something similar to jelly. The plum syrup (4 yuan) is also very popular.
Dongxingshun
Where: 17, Shichahai Qianhai Dongyan, Xicheng District
Open: 11 am – 2 pm, 5-8 pm.
Tel: 6712 3690

Yaoji Fried Liver
Yaoji is the most popular old restaurant in the neighborhood around Gulou, usually with a long queue outside. Most of the residents in the area can still remember the simple pleasure of sharing a bowl of fried liver with their parents after school. The baozi at Yaoji is also recommended.
Where: 331, Gulou Dong Dajie, Dongcheng District
Open: 6 am – 10:30 pm
Tel: 8401 0570

Xiaochang
chen
This restaurant is famous for its salt-boiled baked-wheat cake, which contains pork, tofu, liver and kidney – these are used because traditional working-class people could not afford more expensive meat – in traditional sauces.
Where: Xiaoyou Hutong, Shichahai, Xicheng District
Open: 11 am – 9 pm
Tel: 6402 5858