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Friday, December 11, 2020, 18:02
Time-honored eateries warm Beijing diners
By Du Juan
Friday, December 11, 2020, 18:02 By Du Juan

Long lines form for popular winter dishes


As winter arrives in Beijing, a wide range of long-established restaurants are helping diners keep the chilly temperatures at bay.

During the cold weather, long lines of customers form outside the Shaguoju restaurant, which is widely known for its eponymous special dish that combines hot soup and delicately cooked streaky pork.

The (Kaorouji) restaurant has never changed its location or its flavors. This is what we believe in. Many people eat here while enjoying views of Shichahai outside, especially in winter when it snows

Lu Jianwei, general manager of Kaorouji

Cong Lei, 36, the eatery's general manager, said shaguo bairou, the name for this dish, which translates as "a casserole with meat", is highly popular.

"Diners are eager to taste this dish made from pork and vegetables cooked slowly in an open-fire oven."

Having worked in the catering industry in Beijing for 12 years, Cong said she is not a picky eater and does not have many favorite dishes, even at the restaurant she works for.

She added: "The dishes all taste good. If I had to name one, I would choose sesame seed pancake, as I eat it frequently and it has a beautiful name, yuanmeng (dream coming true) pancake."

The dish is served with crackling pancakes and fried minced pork.

According to Cong, the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) dreamed of eating yuanmeng pancake one night, but did not tell anyone. By coincidence, her chef cooked this dish and served it during a meal. The pancake got its name, as the empress was delighted and her dream was realized.

Founded in 1741, the Shaguoju restaurant serves imperial cuisine and traditional Beijing dishes.

Located in Xisi South Street, Xicheng district, it can cater to 500 customers at a time, covers three floors, has the same number of dining halls and boasts 10 private dining rooms with traditional-style furniture and decorations.

Cong said the "busy season" started in October and the restaurant is taking more than 100,000 yuan (US$15,214) each day.

In autumn and winter, it is always crowded, with customers waiting at least half an hour for tables from midday.

Cong said: "Shaguoju is popular not just because the food tastes good, but also because the dishes are customer-friendly. They are cooked in a traditional, simple way and are reasonably priced.

"Most of our customers are more than 50 years old and dining here is a daily habit for them."

Diners sample roast meat on Monday at the Kaorouji restaurant near the Shichahai scenic spot in Beijing. (FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY)

Yang Xin, a 35-year-old Beijinger, said she first went to the restaurant when she was a child.

"My grandpa likes it a lot. Even though we don't live nearby, we still go there often for a taste of the past. It used to be relatively expensive and it was a treat to eat there when I was a kid. However, the prices nowadays are very reasonable."

For Spring Festival, which next year falls in February, all the private dining rooms at the restaurant have been reserved for Lunar New Year's Eve.

One of the reservations was made by a local family that has used the same dining room on the eve of the festival for the past seven years.

Every year, the great-grandfather of the four-generation family, whose surname is Su, invites a professional photographer to take pictures of the annual gathering.

Su, 84, said:"I like to eat at a familiar place and see younger members of my family growing up. Life changes, but love stays in this family in this familiar dining venue."

Scenic location

Beijing has many other well-established restaurants that have witnessed changing times while retaining their locations and reputations for flavor.

Kaorouji, which was founded in 1848 and is located in Qianhaidongyan near the Shachahai scenic spot, is one them.

The name "kaorou" means roast meat, while "ji" refers to the surname of the restaurant's founder, Ji Decai.

In 1848, Ji had just one stand selling roast mutton, but he attracted a large number of customers. Ji Gechen, the grandson of Ji Decai, bought premises near the stand, which have housed the restaurant since 1927.

A chef makes the dish at the Shaguoju restaurant. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The capital's residents traditionally eat mutton in winter, with the meat forming an ingredient of Beijing-style hotpot. The sliced mutton is placed in a pot of boiling soup and eaten after being dipped in sesame paste.

The general manager of Kaorouji, Lu Jianwei, a Beiinger who has worked for the business since 2008, said roast mutton is also popular during winter.

"The restaurant has never changed its location or its flavors. This is what we believe in," he said. "Many people eat here while enjoying views of Shichahai outside, especially in winter when it snows."

The restaurant serves roast mutton in up to eight flavors. In special dining rooms, customers can eat the dish in the traditional manner-standing up and washing it down with strong liquor.

Lu said: "Our reputation has attracted many visitors over the years, including celebrities such as the writers Guo Moruo and Lao She, along with Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang.

"However, the majority of our customers are locals, because they like the atmosphere and the unchanged flavors."

Lu gets to know many of his customers well-one of them being a 90-year-old man who came to Beijing in 1949.

Until three years ago, this elderly customer visited the restaurant five or six days a week for lunch, only ordering one dish of tofu and two Chinese pancakes. He ate alone.

Lu asked the customer why he always had tofu, and he replied that it was a favorite of his and his late wife. The couple held their wedding feast at Kaorouji in the 1950s.

After his wife died, the man chose to eat alone at the restaurant to relive some of the couple's memories, even though he lives some distance away on the North Fifth Ring Road.

Lu added that customers become emotionally attached to a restaurant with rich traditions and history, as they feel connected to it in some way.

Shaguoju in Beijing is known for its special dish that combines hot soup and delicately-cooked streaky pork. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Long history

In addition to its imperial cuisine and local food, Beijing boasts numerous outlets serving food from other areas of the country.

The Laoxi'an Restaurant, founded in 1954 in Xicheng district, serves dishes from the northwestern province of Shaanxi.

The Shaanxi cooking style, also known as Qin cuisine, is one of the oldest in China, dating to the Yangshao period about 5,000 years ago.

Most customers at the restaurant order the traditional Shaanxi dish of yangrou paomo, a mutton soup with chopped steamed bread.

In 1956, Chairman Mao Zedong dined at the restaurant.

Bai Musha, the restaurant's general manager, said it is always highly popular in winter, as customers want hot soup with mutton or beef to provide energy.

"I love the mutton shashlik at our restaurant the most. Our chef has a real talent for cooking mutton," he said.

To meet demand, the restaurant also serves soups in other flavors, such as beef, chicken, mushroom and seafood.

"Temperatures are falling in Beijing, which means we are seeing more customers every day. At the busiest time, some 200 people are waiting outside for tables," Bai said.

Zhang Qiang, a white-collar worker from Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi, often has lunch at the restaurant.

He said that initially he did not know it was a well-established business.

"I work nearby and I think that spending 40 yuan for a delicious lunch in a city like Beijing is very reasonable. It's convenient, fast and is a taste of home," he said.

"Knowing the restaurant has a long history, I trust the quality of the food. However, most of all, I just love having a delicious, hot meal on a cold winter's day, no matter how many years the business has been operating," he said.

dujuan@chinadaily.com.cn


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