Best Halal Food Beijing: Japanese BBQ Buffet, Xinjiang Cuisine and Lanzhou Muslim Snacks

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Beijing halal food guide maps issue 37 of the restaurant series, featuring a Japanese barbecue buffet, Xinjiang cuisine, Heluo noodles, lamb soup, hot pot, sour soup, Lanzhou dishes, and practical notes for Muslim diners.

Beijing Halal Food Map (37) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: It has been just two months since my last Beijing halal food map (36), and I have already found eight new halal restaurants worth visiting. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Halal Food, Muslim Travel, Middle Eastern Food while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

It has been just two months since my last Beijing halal food map (36), and I have already found eight new halal restaurants worth visiting. I still have a long list of places saved that I have not tried yet. I stick to my rule of only writing original content based on my own experiences, so I will take my time to visit these spots one by one. Here is the list of restaurants for this issue:

Shixiang Japanese BBQ Buffet & Jiangguoer Xinjiang Cuisine
Xihan Meatball Soup
Yixiangyuan Restaurant
Niuwanfeng Heluo Noodles
Laohui Lamb Soup
Big Head Hot Pot (Danaodai Shuanrou)
Xiangshui Sour Soup Hot Pot
Lan 931
Shixiang Japanese BBQ Buffet & Jiangguoer Xinjiang Cuisine

This new Japanese BBQ buffet is right by the Guangqumen subway station. The owner used to run the Musefeilin Xinjiang Restaurant and the Yinmadeng Skewer Hot Pot. He also worked at the Xinjiang Office in Beijing for many years. After closing his previous two shops, he opened this new place. The buffet costs 188, 238, or 298 yuan per person, and the 298 yuan option includes all-you-can-eat fresh durian.

This is the menu. Once you sit down, just tell the server what you want to eat and wait for your food. You can help yourself to the fruit and drinks.

They have a full range of Japanese snacks like sushi, mixed rice (bibimbap), and cold noodles (lengmian).

They serve steamed seafood, and it arrives at the table alive. One crab even crawled out of the pot.

The server felt a bit embarrassed about the runaway crab, but I told them it was fine because it showed the food was fresh. The restaurant buys crabs in bulk without tying their legs with string. It is hard to tell if a tied crab is alive, and the string just adds extra weight anyway.

I think the best thing about this place is how fresh the ingredients are. The abalone also comes to the table alive, and you have to grill it on an iron plate before eating.

There is unlimited sushi.

They have beef rice bowls and ice cream. The ice cream is the Mengniu brand.

There is a four-part platter of marbled beef. The beef on top is my favorite; it is fragrant and tender once grilled.

Baked crab casserole with cheese.

Roasted durian.

Grilled oysters.

Cold noodles (lengmian).

Mustard shrimp balls

Pasteurized egg, a very small one, used for dipping sauce.

Matsutake mushroom soup

Sashimi platter

Unlimited drinks of all kinds

Mention Dosti to eat at Shixiang buffet, and friends of Tiyehaya can get 20 yuan off the set meal. You can get 15% off at Jiangguo Xinjiang Restaurant. This is a secret between us, so don’t tell anyone else.

Xihan Xinjiang meatball soup

A Xinjiang meatball soup shop on the first floor of Jianwai SOHO East District, decorated in a fresh and artistic style.

The main color is Ili blue. They specialize in meatball soup and also serve various Xinjiang snacks.

Meatball soup

Meatball soup served with steamed flower rolls (huajuan), absolutely delicious.

Steamed flower rolls (huajuan)

Deep-fried cake (youzhagao)

Ili smoked horse sausage (yili xunmachang)

Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that on the day of the Battle of Khaybar, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade eating donkey meat but allowed eating horse meat. (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Asma bint Abu Bakr reported: During the time of the Prophet, we slaughtered a horse and ate its meat (Sahih Muslim).

Yixiangyuan Restaurant

There is a Yufa Town mosque (Yufa Zhen Qingzhensi) near Daxing Airport. After visiting the Yufa mosque, I went to the nearby Dongwenggezhuang Village for a quick meal.

This is the closest restaurant to the Yufa mosque. I ordered the stir-fried beef with chestnuts, and it tasted pretty good.

Niuwanfeng Heluo Noodles

A new Jia County noodle shop (hela mian) from Henan opened in Fengtai. I have been there twice, and the taste is quite authentic.

Jia County noodle soup is made with lamb broth. They use plenty of high-quality lamb, and the soup is good enough to drink on its own.

They fry their chili in lamb fat, so the flavor is very strong.

Besides the buckwheat noodles (heluo mian), their spiced beef (jiang niurou) is also quite good. The kitchen staff are all cousins from Henan.

Lamb liver

Spiced beef (jiang niurou)

Laohui Lamb Soup

Pingquan is a county in Chengde, Hebei, famous for its lamb soup (yangtang). This shop, Lao Hui, is a lamb soup restaurant opened by people from Pingquan.

You can get free refills on the lamb soup (yangtang). This shop really boils it from scratch, and you have to eat it with a sesame flatbread (shaobing).

A bowl of lamb soup (yangtang) on a cold day warms you right up. The shop also offers charity meal sets for people in specific professions.

Big Head Hot Pot (Danaodai Shuanrou)

A Beijing-style hot pot restaurant opened not far from the North Square of the West Railway Station. Now I have another option if I am not in a rush when visiting the station.

Fennel mini fried dough sticks (huixiang xiao youtiao)

Overall, the place feels quite affordable. They have copper charcoal pots and individual small pots, costing about 100 per person.

Xiangshui Sour Soup Hot Pot

The sour soup hot pot restaurant at the entrance of Nanxiapo Mosque uses property owned by the mosque, so they do not sell alcohol.

I recommend the yellow lantern chili and red tomato soup split pot, so you can try both flavors.

The signature Zhongjiang large fried dough sticks (youtiao) are delicious, especially when soaked in the soup.

Their hand-crushed lemon black tea and green tea are both great, and they are better to drink than alcohol.

Lan 931

This is a high-end Lanzhou specialty restaurant located quite far away in the Tongzhou National Defense Art District.

They have a full range of Lanzhou snacks and dishes, with an average cost of about 150 per person.

Cold starch noodles (niangpi)

Sweet pea soup (huidouzi)

Hand-grabbed lamb (shouzhu)

Cold sliced beef (niurou liangpian)

Fermented vegetable starch noodles (jiangshui yu)

Stir-fried meat with chili (lazi chaorou)

Spicy hot pot bowl (maocai)

Lily bulb (baihe)

Jingyuan lamb (Jingyuan yanggaorou)

Traditional Lanzhou mixed vegetable stew (lao Lanzhou huicai)

Hui Muslim meat-stuffed egg rolls (Hui min jiasha)

Hezhou steamed buns (Hezhou baozi)

Dongxiang potato slices (Dongxiang tudoupian)

Lamb bone broth (yangtang)

Except for the beef noodles, we tried all the signature Lanzhou dishes at the restaurant. Overall, it was just average. Unless you are staying nearby, there is no need to travel far to eat here. For snacks, it is better to visit smaller shops for more authentic flavor.