What started two years ago as a simple blog about my adventures in Beijing has taken a life of its own, especially as things relate to music in Beijing. It has become increasingly difficult to fit the food posts in this this format for me with most readers now expecting music related news, reviews etc….
So, as of today, the food section of this blog is frozen with all the content duplicated over at a new location: The Noodle Diaries: Tales of Chinese Food from Beijing and Beyond

While ‘daze will remain the center of my music musings, along with whatever else I feel like blabbering about, new blog posts about food will all from now on appear on the new site. This is an effort not to dilute any of the information (food or music related) and make sure they both get their respective spaces.

The noodle diaries will also explore my growing fascination with the universe of Asian Noodles, most specifically the Chinese variety….So please, update your bookmarks, share the news and tell your friends, food posts are back on the menu folks

The best way i can describe it: You’re thinking you’re walking into a rustic restaurant for a meal and you find yourself in a Stephen Chow movie with swords, funky furniture and waiters talking weird…. yup, that would be Feng Bo Zhuang!
I picked the place initially because it looked like the only decent eatery i could find on dianping close enough to pingguoyuan where my MIDI crew could meet and eat before the musical onslaught. Boy am i glad i picked that.

The restaurant itself has an unassuming rustic wooden facade, much in line with those you see in old Kung Fu movies, down to the bowl of water outside to wash your hands. Once you walk in you’re greeted by smiling shouting staff dressed in replica outfits making them look as if they were ready for kungu class as opposed to serving you dishes. Everything from the tables to the bowls and plates is just like the movies.

How about the food? It’s good!
There is no menu to be had, the staff decides what to bring you and you can accept the dish or send it back. They also make it a point to ask whether anyone at the table suffers from any specific allergies as to avoid problems. The dishes themselves have funky names, all kung fu related, which sound nothing like what you’d see in a normal menu. I got lucky that particular day as both my dining companions were kung fu movie freaks (in a good way) so they could understand and explain the nuances of what was taking place.

We got served some pretty tasty dishes, all varieties or different takes of classics but with funky names:
Stuffed sticky riceballs are called 大力丸 dà lì wán ( big power pellets? ), whereas a lovely dish of meat over noodles with scallions and other goodies goes by the name 九阳神功 jiǔ yáng shén gōng ( nine principles of harmony?).

Other standouts were their version of 口水鱼 (saliva fish) and 叫花鸭 (beggar’s chicken), both better than those of many famous restaurants in town.

What really got me was the attention to details: The cups were old style, the words used were almost comical, the staff so freaking cheerful and friendly and the experience overall outstanding. It’s a place I’m looking forward to trying again, especially with a big group because it takes the ordering hassle out of the equation. I don’t think i’m likely to go to their west side branch much but dianping lists a total of 6 all around Beijing, most of which are actually closer to me.

Be aware that this is not the place you go in for a quiet dinner, it’s busy and happening without getting to “loud” levels but still, I know some people that might be put off by it. I’m not sure an out-of-town visitor would really appreciate the difference but I liked not hearing the word “fuwuyuan’r” even once.

Most people would probably end up in the haidian or xinjiekou branches which I will list here:

Feng Bo Zhuang 风波庄

Xicheng, Xinjiekou (Inner NW 2nd Ring Rd)
No. 44 Zhaodengyu Rd
西城区赵登禹路44号(近新街口地铁站)
Mobile Native | Dianping

Haidian, Zhongguancun (Outer NW 3rd Ring Rd)
海淀区保福寺75号
No. 75 Baofusi
Mobile Native | Dianping

The restaurant is tucked in an alleyway north of yugong yishan making it a great little spot for a pre-gig meal. Adding to the neighborhood convenience, the place has rock n roll credit due to the owner, Sijia, being a regular on the Beijing music scene as the current drummer for Ska outfit, The Rudeness.

The place is small and fits about 20 people on a good day. The food is prepared by Sijia and his mom who joined him from his home province of Ningxia to help out with culinary duties. I guess one way to think about this is a hui version of Jia xiang cai.

I’ve eaten there a few times by now and always tend to get the same items on the menu: Rou Jia Mou and steamy hand pulled noodles in one form or another. I’ve had a few of the other dishes on the menu like a stewed beef with potatoes amongst others which were all satisfactory if not good. The flavors are fairly basic when you look into it with the taste of vegetables and fresh halal meat shining through without too much grease and oil getting in the way. You can especially taste the difference in their version of a roujiamou, stuffed with tender strips of meat, capsicum, onion and more…. It’s one hell of a treat! One fact that bares noting is that the lamb all comes in fresh from Ningxia.

For it being such a small place, the place is very foreigner friendly with an English menu as well as decent wine bottles when they’re available. I also love the fact that someone’s mom is in the kitchen cooking, much like she would be doing in her own house. This just makes the food taste better, it does!
The prices are also unbeatable with dishes starting at RMB8 and going up from there. Don’t be in a rush though because like most home cooking, it does take a little while to get the dishes out. Having 2 persons take care of the place does slow things down a bit but on average, 2 persons can go in and out within half an hour.

The place has been around for a few months but is still pretty much under the radar, one of those hidden gems to be treasured before the masses discover it. Don’t be surprised to run into plenty on Ningxia musicians over there as everyone from Buyi to Lidong has made it their homebase……. for food

Xixia Fengqing (西夏风情)

28 Xiguan Hutong (off Dongsi Bei Dajie)
东城区东四北大街细管胡同28号
6407 9782
Maps and Reviews: City Weekend

It started a month ago as a “convenient place to grab a quick bite” during an intensive capoeira workshop in the vicinity. previous experiences made me think twice before agreeing and i strongly considered sneaking next door for a hotdog. Boy I’m glad I didn’t.

The staff at the gongti location is super friendly no matter the time of day. They display an unusual amount of patience with those of the Genus-Expatus who are Mandarin-challenged as far as taking orders and even keeping the dialog simple enough to get things done. I’m sure being in constant contact with laowais has helped that attitude and I sincerely hope they keep it.

The menu is simple enough, plastered in photos all over the wall that actually are quite representative of the dishes. What you see is what you get!!! There’s also a side board with a few chuanr options that should not be regarded as an afterthought. I’ve gone through a number of items there over the past week given that I average 2 or 3 stops/week and while just about everything was good and premium quality, some dishes just stand out:

Youpo Chemian (油泼扯面): Sticky noodles topped with veggies dressed with chili oil, garlic and fried chili flakes; These are the quintessential Shanxi noodle. I’m actually a big fan of the meaty variety which is closer to what Biang Biang Mian started off at.
Yangrou Chuanr (羊肉串): These mini lamb sticks are juicy, tender and roasted to perfection. They’re a heck of a lot better than most of the offerings around the neighborhood. I can tell you most of my capoeira group is addicted by now.
Rou Jia Mo (肉扎某): made to order with tender stewed meat freshly shopped to go in. I hated it the first time i was there but since then, It’s been part of my regular order. The bread (mo) is not too dry, the meat juicy with a nice balance of fat.

The location is super convenient in the gongti area and can fit quite a few people. While it might look small from the outside, the place has 3 floors for seating and can handle big groups easily. Another plus is the really good pricing: Noodles are pretty much RMB12 each and side dishes more often than not under RMB10.

It’s quite rare for me to radically change my mind about an establishment but it does happen. So far, I’ve clocked in about 16 visits the past 2 months, enough to claim the 4SQ mayordom and I’m planning to keep at it. oh, the 24 hours things doesn’t hurt either. I haven’t eaten at the original branch in a very very long time and the quality of the offering in gongti has improved so much that i have not needed to.

Yellow River 黄河水陕西面馆

6 Workers’ Stadium East Gate, Chaoyang District
朝阳区工人体育场东门内6号看台北侧
T: 5842 6260

More about Yellow River on The Beijinger | Beijing Hao Chi | Local Noodles

for a more complete list along with the Merit Awards, check the time out website

There’s a whole bunch of thoughts crossing my mind about these awards so I’m gonna try and put them in order somehow…. bear with me folks!

The Panel:

This is what makes the Time Out awards stand out supposedly as they use a panel of experts to pick out the nominations and winners in each category. This guarantees the quality of the winners making them “the cream of the crop”… Well, this year, Time Out dining editor Lillian Chou is the only recognized food expert on that panel. The other four members are outstanding representatives of the media industry and probably know their dishes but that doesn’t make them food critics. I actually had problems finding a single food related article by any of them via google, albeit it was a quick search. With all due respect to them, if they’re not used to writing about food or if they haven’t had a background in F&B, what makes them experts?
Another strange fact is that they’re all foreign correspondants… is there no local experts on food? what happened to folks like Eileen wen Mooney who actually have street credit when it comes to talking about cuisine? Again, I don’t mean any disrespect but the question has to be asked.

The winners:
Much like the previous years, most of the winning establishments are on the high end of the spectrum. Places like Bei, My Humble House, Tian Di, Aria etc…. I don’t care to debate them or categorize the pattern of selections. These places do some things right and I haven’t eaten at a few of them so I can’t make a call on it.
That said, I can make a call on Aria! I had a meal there a few months ago that was the biggest waste of money and time ever. There is something wrong when I spend 400/500 rmb for a meal and need to head over to Mc Donalds because I’m still hungry. Again, with all due respect to their new Chef, when did Aria ever qualify as a dining heavyweight in Beijing? Great happy hours, yes! decent wine selection, yes! Top 3 best restaurant in Beijing..hell no!!!
Another carryover from last year is the Time Out-Opposite House connection with Bei walking out with best price. I’ve eaten there, it’s good but not that good… not even close! Still, I can live with that pick… I can’t phantom how Aria can be put on the same level.

Categories:

I don’t get their categories. With a panel of experts, how can you put so many different types of restaurants/cuisines in the same batch? I took exception to that last year and I do again this year! In this regard, the so-called experts fared no better than the TBJ readers at introducing new cuisines/establishments to the public.
Hunanese, Sichuanese, Xinjiangese and Cantonese cuisines are not equal, not by far and thus have no business being huddled together. Same goes for Asian or International….

I’ve come to expect surprises out of Time Out, but generally good ones… this year, I just don’t get it… and maybe that’s my own problem because I have no taste! Maybe I’m not their target market so I can’t relate to their picks… but still, when I’m judging restaurants, I’m not gonna compare a chicken tika massala with a maki roll……
Sadly, I’ll refer to their awards from last year instead…. they’re overall better, more diverse and, for some of them, equally obscure. I’ll also consider The Beijinger awards because all credentials alike, they have more diversity and fell a bit more open minded….

Talking about the Readers, it does sound like they’re unanimous: Maison Boulud is THE popular choice according to both magazines for the second year in a row…. impressive and well deserved!

Some people might like opposite house for lunch as a great value, I’ll have some yopo chemian from the Shaanxi place around the corner.

Looking at the list, one can’t help but notice that Chaoyang in General and Sanlitun more specifically still reigns supreme. Establishments like Mosto, Le Petit Gourmand, South Beauty, Haidilao, Middle 8th and more. Like it, love it, hate it or whatever, it’s just a reality. To get exposure and food traffic, you wanna be in the holly quadrant: dongzhimen, liangmaqiao, guomao, jiangguomen.

Interestingly enough, this year, there doesn’t seem to be much controversy/comments or reactions to the results. Last year’s edition caused quite a few stirs online and offline with people agreeing/disagreeing with over 30 comments on the original post as well as enough reactions around Beijing to keep the conversation going for a while. This year, it’s pretty darn low key so far!

I was really pleased last year with extra categories for Chinese restaurants but unfortunately, that has gone by the wayside. GM Mike Wester explained that there wasn’t enough nominations to warrant a real category for many types of Chinese cuisine…. how about that Beijing? There’s more of you having an afternoon tea than eating Xinjiang food? really? wow, I had no idea that we got so posh in a year. That said, joking aside, what do you expect when one of the winners from the previous years was ” my neighborhood’s Chuanr stand” ?

Looking at the current list of Chinese restaurant that have won, it seems like most of them are extremely foreigner friendly with English names and more often than not English menus. That bothers me a bit but then again, if that’s where the readers go to, then why not? These are establishments that are playing the game and trying to draw a certain clientele.. if it’s working, then even better.

Truth be said, when it was time for the nominations round, I had to think really hard about my meals over the past 12 months to see if anything stood out… and it wasn’t easy! If anything, 2010 was not eventful or breathtaking in Beijing… Yes, there were some great meals but nothing impressed me that much. It was pretty safe actually… and I do eat out quite a bit.

Now, who were my winners for the past 12 months?

Best Sichuan: Chengdu Representative Office
This place is definitely worth seeking out. They’re smaller than their more famous older sibling ( Chuan Ban) and a lot more convivial. The way they managed to handle a giant group of rain-soaked laowais that showed up late and made a mess out of everything was commendable. And the food quite tasty!
http://beijingdaze.com/food/2010/07/26/shudu-binguan-chengdu-provincial-restaurant/

- Best Xinjiang: Kashgar Representative Office
This place is the king of all Xinjiang restaurants. The food is excellent, the atmosphere genuinely authentic and the staff is fairly effective. When I walk into that place, I do feel like I am in Kashgar and that is a feeling i like. Their location is backward at best but that is also why they have remained so genuine. It’s more than worth the trip to niu jie for.
http://beijingdaze.com/food/2010/01/12/kashgar-provincial-restaurant-revisited-one-xinjiang-to-rule-them-all/

- Best Laziji: Xiao Yu Shan (gui jie)
This place just rocks. best restaurant in gui jie for my money! They do dishes from all corners of China and they do it well. Not to mention that their prices are beyond reasonable. The laziji is on a class of its own: Generous amounts of chicken scattered between lovely capsicum. It’s juicy and crispy at the same time and plenty of spice so that you get up the next day singing Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”
http://beijingdaze.com/food/2010/11/03/gui-jies-xiao-yu-shan-delivers-arguably-the-best-la-zi-ji-in-beijing/

- Best Hotpot: Manfulou / Haidilao (sanlitun)
Not being a huge hotpot fan, these are the two restaurants I’ll go out of my way to eat it at once or twice every winter. Manfulou is on the imperial muslim side of things with beautiful setting, classy service and delicious individual servings. Hai Di Lao should actually get a category of their own… It’s one of the few restaurants i’ve eaten at where the staff just decides that we’ve ordered too much and the food shouldn’t be wasted so they drop a few items off the list.
http://beijingdaze.com/food/2009/12/30/man-fu-lou-xianjiang-hotpot-delivers-on-style-and-substance/

- Best Imperial: Na Jia Xiao Guan
I could ramble about them for a long time but I’ll do you a favor and avoid that. Read one of my many posts on this gem!! Venison stew, shrimps, pumpkin cakes…. the whole lot
http://beijingdaze.com/food/2010/08/27/najia-xiao-guan-review-revisited/

- Best French: Brasserie Flo
some of the most memorable meals I’ve had in 2010 were there. once for their anniversary celebration and also during the City Weekend gourmet month. A+ all over the board for quality, variety, presentation, service, atmosphere and more at a price that won’t break the bank. As far as I go, they set the standard in Beijing for mid-high end!

- Best Steak: Brasserie Flo / Salt
What was said above about Flo goes for Salt as well. These two places represent the upper limit of what I’m willing to pay for a quality meal in Beijing.

- Best Service: Capital M / Hai Di Lao / Mosto
It’s a personal thing… I just like how they do things in those 3 establishments. Alex from Mosto is a great host!

- Most Memorable Meal: Mosto / Brasserie Flo
Brasserie Flo Anniversary meal and Mosto’s charity meal for haiti. They’re both in that “food porn” category and the two best western meals I had in Beijing over the past year.

- Best Value: Peter’s Tex Mex / Flamme
Old favorite and New entry… Peter’s continues their tradition of good value tex mex that still rocks my socks after all this year. I could resent them for removing my “Sangre de Toro” from the menu but I won’t.. meal for two with a bottle of wine still under 300 RMB.
Flamme has taken over my going out habits over the past few months thanks to great cocktails, fantastic specials and a commendable attitude. Their selection of appetizers is second to none in this town, period!

- Best Cheese plate: Scarlett (hotel G)
words cannot describe it… they just can’t! it’s what every cheese platter should be!

- Best Desert Plate: Flamme
The first time I faced it, I was fearing that i might have to go straight to the hospital due to a sugar coma… diabetes in a plate with a great diversity.

- Restaurant of the Year (western): Brasserie Flo
I explained it all above…. it deserves more recognition that in gets.

- Restaurant of the Year (Chinese): Guo Yao Xiao Ju
I had my birthday meal there this year and I can still vividly remember the meal and service…. One hell of an impressive experience. it’s tucked away in a little hutong where it feels like a gem for the initiated only!!! most memorable Chinese meal this year.
http://beijingdaze.com/food/2010/11/11/guo-yao-xiao-ju-of-beijings-best-restaurants/

so… it all comes down to tastes…and you know what? Tastes are like assholes, everybody got one… NExt up, the Time Out awards at the end of the week!!!
This is in no way a connaisseur list or anything like that, but more a starting point for what i hope is a fruitful discussion. I’m curious about what others pick as their favorite restaurants away from the sanlitun/chaoyang cluster.

I was a bit disappointed that we couldn’t get to sit in a yurt but that’s what you get for trying to organize a dinner party for 14 people last minute. The staff was nice enough to set us up with a table in the main dining hall and hindsight 20/20, that just made the experience more memorable: We were a table mostly made up of foreigners sitting next to a table made up of of mostly Chinese, some of which were from Inner Mongolia… this would shape the evening!

The atmosphere:
We couldn’t get the yurts for the meal but we did get to see them and even sit in them long enough to get a taste of what we were missing. Next time, for there will be one, I’ll make sure to plan ahead of time (as if i was capable of such a thing) and book one early. It was overall chilled with the staff relaxed enough to run around, sit with customers, drink along and what not. For a while there, I felt like i was back in the back waters of Hebei province having a Chinese weekend.

The Staff:
Extremely friendly and helpful but their putonghua might be worse than yours. It’s a necessity to speak slowly and stick to basics for both parties..unless you happen to have a few inner mongolians in tow or your own skills in that language are good. They were a bit of airheads in terms of food delivery and forgetting a few things but then again, unlike most Chinese restaurants, they only had about 3 people working there. smiles go a long way.

The food:
It was gooooood! I’ve had the pleasure to spend some time in Baotou, Hothot and a few other cities in the region. The dishes at Ruxiang compared favorably and in some cases were even better. We ordered the family size pot of milk tea that was served ceremonial style. I really liked how it had a bunch of side ingredients that we could dump in or skip as we see fit. One of the diners was a vegetarian (yes in a predominantly meaty place) so we decided not to put in the dried beef jerky in the tea.

The menu was tick and nicely illustrated with pictures albeit a bit misleading in terms of portions. They had a nice variety of lamb dishes, some fish, very little beef and chicken. They also had the whole array of noodles, normal and Mongolian, as well soups, dumplings etcc…

We did order a bit of everything, literally! The neimeng chuan’r were thick and juicy. We also ordered a roasted leg of lamb as well as a half boiled/half roasted dish that was quite tender. The beef and potato stew was tasty without being special. The soup was good. We had a bunch of vegetable dishes whose names i can’t remember. We also had some amazing mongolian style baked baozi which were not as juicy as their Xinjiang brethren but nevertheless good.

We also had the cool mongolian rolled noodles, you mian and qiaomai mian (Oats n Buckwheat), which i’m a big fan of.

There was a bit of disappointment on that side as I’ve had the noodles a few times before when they came with lovely sauces, sometimes multiple sauces and it was a joy to try all the different flavors but in this case, they were served with a mutton broth soup that i didn’t particularly like.

What made the experience memorable that particular evening was interacting with the locals… I’m a sucker for toasting, singing and generally having a good time with complete strangers just because you can. Somehow, Ruxiang Piao Piao seems like the place where that might happen more often than not, especially if you sit in the common room. The managers are likely to be the ones that pull a chair for a chat and they all exhude friendliness.
That said, this would be the perfect place to organize a party provided you plan ahead of time as they definitely did not seem like the kinda place that closed early.. it a welcome difference when all other provincial/rep restaurants seem to shut their kitchen at 9:30pm.

I find myself slowly enjoying Mongolian style mutton… heck, i now specify whether i’m having mutton or or lamb which still seems weird to me. I’ll probably always be a bigger fan of the more complex Uighur meat dishes but the Mongolian ones have their charms.
What matters at the end is that i keep good memories of the meal, good memories of the staff and can’t wait to get back there for another meal. And that in itself is as good of an endorsement as a place can get!

Ruxiang Piao Piao 乳香飘飘
Ordos Hotel Restaurant 鄂尔多斯宾馆内

3 Shanglong Beixiang, Andignmenwai Dajie (just outside the east gate of Qingnianhu Park)
东城区安定门外大街上龙北巷3号(青年湖公园东门)

tel: 8412 4216
Ruxiang elsewhere: The Beijinger | Dianping

Whatever you do, do NOT forget the phone number!!! you will get lost!
Big thanks to the ever lovely islandchick for some of the photos.

Pre-BeijingDaze days, most of my reviews ended up on the Beijinger and i was lucky that the review was still there even though i forgot all about it! What stayed with me however was the memories of great food, the best yogurt I’ve ever had in China as well as the lousiest pushiest staff i had encountered. I was anxious to see how the memories would stack up after having been to Xinjiang a few times and trying some of the better alternatives in Beijing itself.

The plan was set in motion for 8:00 pm on a saturday, giving us enough time to sample the good and order what we needed before the kitchen closed. It wasn’t a problem getting a table for 10 at that time! I had tried calling to reserve earlier but they said they couldn’t do it for that hour.

Location:

Whereas two years ago we had all sorts of problems finding the place, it turned out to be a breeze this time around. Most people ended up taking the subway and getting off on the line 2 stop of 车公庄chēgōngzhuāng. From there on, it’s a 10mn walk and trust me, much easier than trying to get a taxi driver to go in there. Once you know where it is, it becomes easier than most other provincial restaurants to find.

The building itself is a bit hidden but looks quite nice from the outside in its dark little alley. What I really like about this place is that more than any other provincial restaurant, they try and really bring that real experience in there. There are shops selling all sorts of imported good from Urumqi along with a huge display of fruits, nuts, pastries and what not before you get into the seating area of the restaurant.

The Grub:

The menu is better than i remember, complete with illustrations and English Chinese descriptions making it very expat friendly! It had the usual suspects as far as lamb dishes go with a few surprises. It also featured quite a few beef dishes compared to the other two provincial restaurants. As with most provincial restaurants, you also have a few pages offering random expensive abalone dishes and the sort.

We decided to run the gamut and order all the dishes we could think of so that we had a comparison basis: Chuanr, dapanji, yangpai, etc…. unfortunately, we did get there late so the Zhuanfan (xinjiang rice) was sold out and so were the baozi. Shame as I had fond memories of said baozi from that previous visit.

The Chuanr were of the “big” variety, juicy and perfectly cooked but didn’t measure up to those at the main Xinjiang restaurant. I also didn’t like the giant piece of fat in the middle. The dapanji was solid and beyond criticism albeit using different spices. The noodles, chao mian pianr and la tiao zi were pretty darn solid drawing accolades from some of the more discriminating noodle eaters around. Having a vegetarian in our midst, we took the opportunity to try out some vegetable dishes for a change including cabbage, eggplant and mushrooms that also rated favorably.

When all was said and done, the star of the night was inevitably the Yogurt. It drew unanimous wow and amazing comments from the 10 persons in attendance and i couldn’t agree more. I have no idea why but this baby is just as good as it gets!

Overall:

The food is good, there is no doubt and you can do a lot worse than eating here. That said, I was surprised at the speed at which the standard dishes were delivered. we’re talking 5 mn or less!!! The one that took some time was the la tiao zi as we asked for a vegetarian version so I’m tempted to think they had a lot of pre-cooked stuff. As of now, I would put this one as a distant 3rd in the ranking of Xinjiang Representative Office Restaurant, behind the Kashgar and the Main one.

A huge pleasant surprise was how friendly the staff was compared to a few years back. They smiled, made suggestions and were on the ball for just about every request we had. That’s a remarkable improvement.

I still think I’m more likely to travel further to the Kashgar Respresentative office but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a shot and make up your own mind, even if it’s just to see the stalls and markets at the entrance of the restaurant.

Did I mention the Yogurt was amazing?

Xianjiang Fanzhuang- Urumuqi Municipal Office
新疆饭庄- 乌鲁木齐驻京办事处

Xīchéngqū chēgōng zhuāng dàjiē běilǐ 1 hào
西城区车工庄大街北里1号

+86 10 6836 2795

Xinjiang Fanzhuang at City Weekend | The Beijinger | Dianping

My Original review from 2008 on the Beijinger:
http://www.thebeijinger.com/reviews/2008/10/04/solid-offer-but-hidden-lands

I headed over there on a cold november saturday night with some of the usual suspects that were willing to brave the temperatures and tag along for a meal on the less travelled western side of Beijing. The restaurant was quite busy on both floors but we still managed to score a table for 10 persons around 8:00 pm which is usually their busiest hour. I’m gonna take a slightly different approach on this review and try to have it organized!

The Menu

Probably the biggest and most extensive menu out of all 3 Xinjiang provincial restaurants. Not only did it have all the classic dishes but it also boasted a few options I had not seen at the other two especially as far as their variety of fish and beef dishes. Dishes were listed both in English and Chinese with good pictures, clearly organized according to meat type and what not. It’s very much foreigner friendly!

The Service

Probably the biggest surprise of the night: The staff was amazingly on the ball with a service oriented attitude and approach. We were never harassed as we waited for the rest of the party to arrive and there was always a waitress available when needed. The lady that took our order was extremely helpful in recommending dishes and keeping me from over ordering. She also helped balance out the meat dishes with vegetable and providing useful pointers that were not price dependent. This was up there along with the service of places like Na Jia Xiao guan or Hai Di Lao.

The Food

Let’s get serious for a second because it’s all about the food at the end of the day! The had the biggest chuanr this side of the gobi desert using proper wood skewers much like they do back in xinjiang. juicy, tender and heavenly. It’s actually the first time I see a restaurant in Beijing using skewers made out of proper tree branches and there’s something very primal and strangely appealing about it.

The dapanji was an amazing concoction with just the right balance of spice, meat, noodles and veggies. Definitely a joy to eat and the empty plate at the end of the meal was ample proof.
The beef liver was so good that it managed to convert non-liver eaters and help them see the light with ample – but not overdone- amounts of cumin and onions adding to the flavor.
flat bread, lamb, vegetables, jellyfish, lamb ribs and meat baozi were all excellent if not exceptional with only the yogurt scoring below par in my book.

The verdict

Whereas the Kashgar and Urumuqi branches represent their respective cities/regions, the Xinjiang Islam Restaurant is the flag bearer for the rest of the province… I can say without a doubt that it holds that flag high and proud! That was one hell of a good meal, extremely difficult to beat as a dining experience. As far as restaurants go, that place has their act together and it shows at every level. It’s almost too perfect and professional which goes against my idea of Xinjiang and its own flavor of chaos. How does it rank against the other two? very favorably!!! It was almost perfect! The dianping reviews also agree with me as far as i can tell!

That said, I still rank it second, behind the Kashgar representative restaurant but that’s a personal preference: I love me a meal made by a 3 star michelin chef but I am more likely to enjoy that same meal cooked by a grandma that’s been making it for 70 years according to a recipe that came from her own grandma. Either ways, can’t go wrong with any of those two establishments.
Now, I gotta find some time to go back where it all started, the Urumqi Representative Office where my adventures started over 2 years ago.

Xinjiang Islam Restaurant – 新疆伊斯兰饭庄

Xīchéngqū Sān Lǐ Hélù 7 Hào
西城区三里河路7号

Tel: 6830 1820

Maps and reviews:
The Beijinger | Dianping

note: I forgot my camera that day so most pictures from Dianping

As yours truly had Birthday drinks in the Gu Lou area, Guo Yao Xiao Ju 国肴小居 seemed like the best option for a good dinner in good company… and it panned off!

The restaurant is tucked in an alley off of Andingmen nei, just south of Fang Jia hutong but it’s quite easy to find compared to other places i’ve ended up at over the past few years. The outside is fairly standard but once you go inside, a surprise awaits: The coziest, classiest little gem in Beijing! It’s clean, sober without being over the top! 3 waitresses were on hand to deal with 4 tables and 1 private room. Yes, it’s small and reservations are recommended.

They boost a simple menu with the names in English and Chinese, making it relatively easy to choose and deceivingly simple to navigate. The deception mostly comes in from the fact that some of the dishes are individual servings whereas others are in fact center plates to be shared! I wish they actually were more specific about this.

how’s the food? Legit! Between 10 of us, we sampled a fair bit of items on the menu, none more popular that their fried giant shrimps that were amazingly done! It’s rare to taste anything deep fried that actually has some flavor. We ordered over 6 portions in the end!

The eggrolls with chives and duck 鸭丝蛋卷 were exquisite. The mixed mushrooms dish was complex beyond anything i had tasted before.. heck, I could have sworn it was some sort of meat. Nice tangy sauce that was not overpowering but yet managed to linger on for a bit of time. The black chicken soup was also a popular item that just got swallowed down faster that you could spell W-O-W

The venison stew was a bit of a let down, especially compared to the awesome one they have at Na Jia Xiao Guan of which i am a huge fan. Not to say that it was bad, far beyond me! It’s just that i didn’t care for the taste. Another one i took a pass on was the beef knuckles but for those that like them, they couldn’t get enough.

The staff was another highlight of this place, being extremely friendly and attentive, without crossing into overbearing territory. There were within one kick call away and handled the whole dinner beautifully in light of the mess we made: a reservation for 12 persons at 7:30 turned into a smaller 7 person gathering, the last of which came in as the kitchen closed. We still managed to scour a bit of rice out of them though.

I’m no expert on Tan cuisine but my understanding is that it’s a subset of Manchurian Imperial Cuisine, vaguely related to what they serve at Na Jia Xiao Guan. The similarities were definitely there but i do think them different enough to warrant their own category.

At the end of the day, a great meal is a great meal and Guo Yao Xiao Ju delivered! I will be back there soon to enjoy it all over again!

Guo Yao Xiao Ju 国肴小居
东城区交道口北三条58号
Dōngchéngqū Jiāodao Kǒuběi Sān Tiáo 58 Hào
tel: 010-6403 1940

Reviews and Map:
The Beijinger | Time Out | Dianping