Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
»
Yáng Zá
Similar to
bào dǔ
, but includes an assortment of sheep's innards, not just tripe, and is always served
in a broth.
»
Ròu Bǐng
Meat patty, usually filled with pork or beef before being lightly fried.
»
Jiāo Quān
Deep-fried dough rings, usually accompanied with a cup of
dòu zhī
.
»
Dòu Zhī
Sour-tasting soy milk drink.
YÁNG FĀNG LAMB HOTPOT $
( Yáng Fāng Shuàn Ròu; 270 Guloudong Dajie, broth ¥6-10, dips ¥2-4, raw ingredients ¥5-20; 11am-11pm;
Shichahai)
There are two main types of hotpot in China: the ridiculously spicy one that
comes from the fire-breathing southwestern city of Chóngqìng, and the milder version
which is cooked in an unusual conical brass pot and which originally hails from Mongolia
but has been adopted as a Běijīng speciality. Yáng Fāng is a salt-of-the-earth version of
the latter, and is a real favourite with the locals round here. First order the broth you for
your pot - clear (
qīng tāng guōde
), or spicy (
là guōde
). Then choose your dipping sauce
- sesame (
má jiàng
) or chilli oil (
là jiāo yóu
) - before finally selecting the raw ingredi-
ents you want to cook. Our favourites include wafer-thin lamb slices (
xiān yáng ròu
), lo-
tus root slices (
ǒu piàn
), tofu slabs (
xiān dòufu
), sweet potato (
hóng shǔ
) and spinach (
bō cài
). No English sign; no English menu; no English spoken.
|MONGOLIAN HOTPOT
RÓNG TIĀN SHEEP SPINE $
|HOTPOT
( Róngtiān Tǔguō Yángjiézi Guǎn; 8 Jingtu Hutong, off Beiluogu Xiang, sheep spine per jīn ¥29, other ingredients
¥5-10; 10.30am-10pm; Guloudajie)
Rough-and-ready locals' favourite serving mouthwater-
ingly good sheep-spine hotpot. Order your sheep-spine chunks by the
jīn
(500g). Two
jins' worth (
èr jīn
) is normally about right. They will then come ready-cooked in a boil-
ing broth - the longer you leave them to simmer, the juicier they get. You then add other
raw ingredients to cook in the broth like a standard Chinese hotpot. Our favourite extras
include sweet potato (
hóng shǔ
), tofu blocks (
xiān dòufu
), mushrooms (
mù'ěr
), Ori-
ental raddish (
bái luóbo
) and Chinese spinach (
yóu mài cài
). Complimentary fresh
noodles are thrown in at the end, to soak up the juices. When you're ready for them, say '
fàng miàn
' (put the noodles in). No English sign or menu, and no English spoken.
BǍIHÉ VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT$$
( Bǎihé Sùshí; 23 Caoyuan Hutong, dishes from ¥25;
|CHINESE VEGETARIAN
11.30am-3pm & 5-9.30pm, tea-drinking only 2-5pm;
Dongzhimen or Beixinqiao)
This little gem is made up of a large courtyard that's divided in-
;
