Doctors say the best baaa none

By Ye Jun (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-15 14:05

Lamb, considered "warmly replenishing" by traditional Chinese medicine doctors, is the best food to beat Beijing's chilly winter wind. It is a specialty at Yi Jin Yuan, a high-end Muslim restaurant combining authentic Muslim cuisine with traditional Beijing imperial style dcor.

The restaurant's lamb soup uses lamb under 20 kg, transported from Gansu, where it feeds on wild vegetables and herbs. All meats at the restaurant, including the lamb, are processed first by a Muslim priest. Yi Jin Yuan's lamb soup with mushrooms and spices is simmered for more than 10 hours before serving.

Another dish is lamb back, which is roasted for three and a half hours to a golden crisp color. The lamb is served with a bun to make a Chinese style lamb hamburger. Besides that there is whole-roasted lamb, and roast lamb leg.

Two other great-tasting dishes are braised beef tail chop with saffron sauce, which is soft and smooth tasting, with the nourishing saffron, and fragrant mashed potato on top. Braised Liaoning sea cucumber with millet and pumpkin is both good looking and great tasting, with the sea cucumber replenishing the yin. Te restaurant's imperial style public hall makes it one of those rare well-decorated Muslim restaurant in Beijing. The private rooms are Beijing-style courtyard houses. The food has the best of Cantonese, Sichuan, Shanghai and imperial Chinese style, besides Muslim dishes.

There is a performance by beautiful Xinjiang Uygur dancers starting at 6:30pm and lasts an hour. Average spending in the public eating area is 200 yuan per person. The restaurant has lucky draws on Christmas Eve and Spring Festival Eve, with the grand prize of two air tickets to Hong Kong.

10:30am-9pm. Opposite south gate of University of International Business and Economics, Yuan Da Du Relics Park, Beitucheng Donglu, Chaoyang district. 8465-0088.