(Beijing weekend)
Updated: 2007-05-18 09:41

Xianlaoman is a reasonably priced place to sample Beijing snacks. While not perfect as a restaurant, this eatery is doable for a quick bite. The place is always crowded, with its jiaozi, or boiled dumpling, most welcomed by customers. Beijing style traditional snacks, or "small eats", are also popular.

More than 20 different stuffings are available for dumplings. But the most notable ones are Laoman signature dumpling, with pork and leek stuffing, and a vegetarian version of it. Dumplings are priced from 2.5 yuan-5 yuan per 50 grams.

Service is not always efficient, especially when busy. And it could be quite crowded at meal times.

Traditional Beijing snacks seem appealing but can take some getting used to, and admittedly are not everybody's cup of tea.

Douzhi'er, fermented green soy sauce, for example, smells and tastes strangely sour. Although old Beijingers love it, and claim it is a healthy drink, the smell is rather distinct.

Chaogan, fried pork liver and giblets with gravy, is another example. The restaurant is one of the places that prepare this dish well, but if you don't eat giblets at all...

On the other hand, one can always try some more "ordinary" Beijing snacks, such as Ldagun, "donkey roll over," which is a green bean cake with yellow millet flour wrapping, and Wandouhuang, yellow pea paste cake.

For cold dishes, try hawthorn fruit jelly with pear slices and soft-boned grass carp which is easy to chew.

A very different dish is fried crisp chip made with green bean paste, which tastes sweet and sour, and gives an interesting crack when you chew the chip. Another two hot dishes to recommend are fried fish slices seasoned with yellow rice wine and fragrantly fried duck.

Decoration is in Beijing traditional style. The restaurant's Asian Games Village branch is at underground level, but sanitation is acceptable. The restaurant's two-floor Andingmen branch is more simply decorated, but next to hutong areas.

Average spending is 20 yuan per person. Menu is in Chinese.

Address:11am-10:30pm.
Address:Asian Games Village, Bldg 5, Yayuan, Anhui Beili, Chaoyang District. 6497-2097. Andingmen branch: 252 Andingmennei Dajie, Dongcheng District. 6404-6944.