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( 1-6 Anwai Dongheyan, 1-6 dumplings ¥5, noodles ¥7-10; 6am-9pm; Yonghegong-Lama Temple)
This is a
no-nonsense, hole-in-the-wall dumplings joint serving up bamboo baskets of dumplings -
steamed (
xiǎolóng bāo
) or boiled (
zhēng jiǎo
) - as well as decent noodles with beef (
niú ròu miàn
), egg (
jī dàn miàn
) and Chinese cabbage (
qīng cài miàn
). No English.
GHOST STREET
For a close-up look at how Beijingers treat their restaurants as party venues and not just places for a meal, take a
Beixinqiao) .
This 1.4km strip of Dongzhimennei Dajie is home to over 150 restaurants that attract everyone from hipsters
to office workers, man-bag-toting businessmen and families, as well as the odd celebrity. It never closes, mak-
ing it one of Běijīng's most buzzing streets, and it's especially fun on Friday and Saturday nights. From sun-
down to sunrise, it's lit by hundreds of red lanterns, and traffic slows to a crawl as the restaurant workers line
the side of the road trying to entice passing cars to stop at their joint. Crowds of people spill out onto the pave-
ment waiting for a free table, while inside the packed restaurants the sweating staff rush around delivering food
and beers to people celebrating the end of the week.
Most styles of Chinese cuisine are represented on Ghost Street, but it's best known for its hotpot and spicy
seafood restaurants.
ways jammed with people cracking open crayfish and shrimp. For classic Mongolian hotpot, try
Little Sheep
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( Xiǎo Féi Yáng; 209 Dongzhimennei Dajie, 9am-4am) , which sources its
mutton from Inner Mongolia. For the spicier, Sìchuān version of hotpot, cross the road to
Chóngqìng
gredients ¥7-20;
9.30am-3am) .
Ghost Street gets its English name from a mistranslation for the Chinese nickname of the street, Gui Jie. (pro-
nounced 'guǐ') is an ancient bronze food vessel, a statue of which you can find at the far eastern end of Dong-
zhimennei Dajie, by the 2nd Ring Road, but it's pronounced the same as - Chinese for ghost.
CAFÉ SAMBAL$$
( 6400 4875; 43 Doufuchi Hutong, mains from ¥60; lunch & dinner; Guloudajie)
This cool
Malaysian restaurant located off Jiugulou Dajie is in a cleverly converted courtyard house
at the entrance to Doufuchi Hutong. The minimalist bar opens into a narrow dining area
that has a temporary roof during winter, but is open in summer so you can dine under the
stars and satellites. It's a popular spot for dates. The food is classic Malaysian. Try the
|MALAYSIAN
