King of Snacks

A week or so ago, a new little snack shop opened up at the very top end of Nanluoguxiang, just off Gulou Dongdajie. It appears to be entirely a Chinese-run operation, and I haven't yet been able to work out where their 'concept' came from. They appear to speak only Chinese, and most of the notices are in Chinese, but their main menu board does at least have some English translations on. It was the prominence of the word "pie" that caught my eye. A really good meat pie is something I often pine for here in Beijing (particularly since the demise a couple of years ago of the old John Bull Pub, which used to do a rather nice steak & kidney). This is a complaint I hear particularly often from Australian acquaintances. Australian meat pies are indeed a thing of wonder, as I fondly recall from my trip to Sydney back in the mid-90s (it is rumoured that a decent version of these is available in the pub inside the Oz Embassy, but I've never been able to get in to find out).

Well, the 'pies' at the new NLG shop are a wondrous hybrid of the Chinese baozi and an Aussie meat pie. The shape is more-or-less that of these traditional Chinese steamed buns, a flat-bottomed dome - somewhat flattened, but compensatingly broader than usual. The pastry is quite thick but very light, again a little like the spongy casing of the baozi, but with a rich pie-crust glaze on the outside. And they are very generously filled with MEAT.

At 5 kuai each, they are quite a bargain. 1 is a decent snack, 2 is practically a meal, and 3 is a veritable pig-out. It is an invaluable addition to the late-night food options in the area. (Yes, one can grow tired of rou chuanr, the mini-kebabs which are the ubiquitous street snack here. The only other option, really, is a jian bing, a strange, sweet & spicy pancake roll filled with scrambled egg and bulked up with a crispy waffle; however, these always sit rather heavily on my stomach at night, and I regard them as more of daytime snack. And you've got to go all the way over to Houhai to find a vendor for these, anyway.) These little round dumpling-pies are already in danger of becoming a daily indulgence for me - at least on those days when I go out (not so many recently, because of the sudden onset of some viciously cold weather), and when I have neglected to eat a proper meal in the evening.

One reservation, though; one word of warning - they are bit heavy-handed on the spices. The pepper in the 'ground beef and black pepper' option - my favourite - is sometimes a bit overdone, and the 'hot chicken' variety appears to have been doused in Chongqing hotpot (which is a couple of steps up from sulphuric acid!). Yes, it can provide some comforting 'central heating' to protect against this brutal north wind we've been suffering this last week, but..... it will strip the lining from your intestines if you indulge too often.

My investigations into this place are still in an early stage. I imagine they might well have some less spicy fare, and perhaps even some vegetarian offerings. I did happen to notice the last time I was in there that one of the items on the board was translated simply as 'pineapple' - do they have a dessert pie?? Or do they simply sell that pineapple-on-a-stick thing? I'll let you know when I find out.