Steam pot chicken
Rice noodles
Tucked away in a corner of the Xibianmen Motorway Interchange of the South Second Ring Road, the restaurant affiliated to Yunnan Provincial Government's Beijing Office does not attract much attention. Yet, it is the place many people believe has the best Yunnan food in Beijing.
Foreign expats might need to take an interpreter if they cannot read the Chinese on the menu. One of the two menus provided has pictures of dishes, but only of the recommended choices.
The middle-sized restaurant, which can sit around 100 people in the ground floor section and has private rooms in the basement, is packed on Saturdays for lunch.
Qi guo ji (steam pot chicken) and guo qiao mi xian (rice noodles) are so famous they have spread all over China as representatives of Yunnan food, but don't neglect er kuai (condensed rice cake) and wild mushrooms, also specialties of the cuisine.
Steam pot chicken is Yunnan's version of 'hot-pot.' An opening is made at the centre of a ceramic pot, where steam comes out to cook the chicken. It is then served as a soup, usually with herbs such as aloe for beautifying, gou qi (Chinese wolfberry) to brighten the eyes, tian ma to relieve headache, or san qi (pseudo-ginseng) to promote blood circulation.
The chicken tasted tender and mild. The soup is unexpectedly clear and very mild.
Rice noodles come in 16 variations, differentiated by ways of cooking, seasoning and ingredients.
The most basic one comes in a burning hot bowl of chicken broth, a separate bowl of rice noodles and several pieces of raw fish, chicken and ham slices, and vegetables.
The soup is so hot that the fish and chicken slices are scalded the moment they touch the chicken broth. The meat, noodles and soup are absolutely delicious.
Er kuai is also a traditional food of the region. Rice is made into flour and cooked before being pressed dense, dried and stored. When eaten, it is usually cut into oval pieces and either fried or boiled.
The restaurant also offers a big variety of mushrooms, many of them fresh from the southwest province.
There are also many other interesting foods on the menu such as ku ci hua(cordate houttuynia flower) and dali ye sheng gen (a shrub root deep-fried like potato chips). It tastes dry and a little sweet.
One item on the menu reads "crispy fried bee chrysalis."
Prices range between 36 - 198 yuan (US$4.4 - 24), with a meal for two costing around 120 yuan. Waitresses only speak Chinese.
Location: GF Yunteng Hotel, Bldg No 7 Donghuashi Beili Dongqu, Chongwen District
Tel: 6711-3322 and ask for the 'can ting' (hotel restaurant).
Source：[Beijing Weekend]
