“Enjoy yourself in Beijing traditional snacks” reads the wall-sized sign next to the modest doorway hiding the courtyard of Jiumen xiaochi (九门小吃). In a little hutong off of the quieter end of Houhai is this treasure trove for those seeking old-school Beijing street snacks. Wangfujing is the famous, bustling, and sickeningly touristy “street food” alley, selling row upon row of deep-fried scorpions on a stick, and other assorted weird looking goodies that neither locals, nor tourists, really want to eat. However, I suppose it makes for a good photo opp.
The Jiumen hutong complex is made up of the street food vendors that were relocated from their old location near Qianmen near Tiananmen, and the recessed entryway tucked does not even hint of the rabbit warren of little stalls overflowing with snacks (some delectable and some not so much) tucked inside. Once inside however, it’s a near madhouse. It took forever to find a table upon which to unload our many trays of snacks, not to mention figuring out the payment system (buying credits on a card, which you then tap at each stall).
The center aisle is reserved for the hui stalls, meaning there is no pork products sold there. The rather imposing “No Han Food Allowed” sign at both entrances underscored the importance of this practice, and was amusing to see. There was too much food to really take notes on everything consumed, but the following photo essay on xiaochi will, hopefully, prove a picture is worth a thousand words. Or at least a couple dozen.
Meat-filled steamed dumplings (Tianjin style, I believe). They are beautiful, but the dough on the top is just dry and tasteless. Form over substance in this case, but the filling was juicy and fatty.
Steamed bamboo shoots. Peel ‘n eat bamboo. The shoots were tender and slightly sour from pickling. Appetizing, and Christine loved them.
I do believe these are mung bean jelly cakes, stir-fried with other goodies in soy and chili sauce. Texture was delightful, like a savoury warm jello.
This, is tofu as dessert. Fried beancurd skins, then rolled in sugar, and as light as air. Looked ethereal, what with a dozen layers of delicate beancurd and the frosting of sugar. However, it tasted like… dry beancurd with a frosting of sugar. Still lovely to look at though.
There were many, many more stalls and dishes that we did not have the time to try, nor the money. This kind of traditional snacktime is not cheap – we were quite shocked at how much this street food cost (around RMB 50 each), but the charm of the setting and the knowledge we were contributing some kuai to the preservation Beijing’s food culture made it worthwhile.
Jiumen Xiaochi 九门小吃, 1 Xiaoyou Hutong (off of Gulou Xidajie) Houhai, Xicheng District. 西城区什刹海后海孝友胡同1号
Pingback: East Asia Blog Round-Up : 11/7/2010 « Eye on East Asia
Fifty kuai! I knew it was expensive but not *that* expensive. I guess you’ve saved me a visit – thanks! – but perhaps I should go anyways to satisfy my curiosity. A lot of the Beijing laozihao shops in Jiumen actually have other locations around town that are much more reasonably priced, but then you give up the convenient smorgasbord set-up.
Great photos as usual girls!
I’ve been to Jiu Men’r a few times before and the costs are not that bad! There are plenty of items i tried including deserts, cheeses and BBQ for well bellow 50 RMB.
still, having gone there a few times, it’s a spot i save for new out of town tourists.
I just found this blog and I am thrilled. I leave beloved Beijing in just 5 days and have been wondering how I will survive back in the States without all of my favorite foods. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m looking forward to more!
reading your articles sent me back to beijing, where I lived some years ago.
since then, beijing for me is a sort of second 家.
thank you girls
谢谢你们看了你们的文章之后，我心里马上就温暖！
葛飞
It was 50 kuai each… so quite a number of dishes, and it’s not THAT bad compared to meals outside beijing, but considering i can stuff my face at most of my favorite restaurants here for 30 kuai, including beer….
thanks for reading, guys! beijing is full of good eats if you’re willing to run around and dig in. i think you should come back soon for a visit!
Dear Jen + Christine,
I am the Asia Correspondent for Jax Fax Travel Marketing Magazine: http://www.goldbergontravel.com/travel_writing.html (read my articles). JF is a travel agent magazine in the USA. I will be in Beijing on September 1, 2, 3, and 9. I am wondering if you have time to meet up and wander around some street food and talk about it? Maybe the afternoon of September 3rd or maybe September 9th around 7 or 8 pm (can’t do it earlier) if you think that evening is better to get the real “feeling and flavor”. Please email me, and we can discuss. Thanks!!! Marian
Nice post — but others are correct in pointing out that almost nothing there is 50 kuai, and most items are 6-18 kuai at the most. I’ve been there multiple times and never spend more than 100 kuai total for 2 persons, including a beer. Sounds like you got ripped off! Too bad. Jiumen Xiaochi is a great place to sample Beijing’s famous xiao chi, and it’s really fun there. It’s one of the truer Beijing experiences.
Hey guys – didn’t mean to say that there is a dish that is 50 kuai – I just meant it cost us each about 50 kuai to eat there (I can see how that phrasing is confusing). In general though, it’s quite a bit more expensive than other xiaochi places – for example, a bowl of miancha there is 7 kuai, and it is 2 kuai at Huguosi… so if you fall in love with any of these goodies, there are probably cheaper (if less scenic) places around town to eat them.
Pingback: Emerging Asian » Beijing Snacks (xiao chi 小吃): Huguosi’s Eats (护国寺总店)