Cheap replacement for missed meals:
Spiced meat in pastry.
Alack and alas, the 'pie of 5 kuai' place on Nanluoguxiang appears to have closed. Its status and prospects have always seemed more-than-usually uncertain: the cafe/restaurant which was home to the stall has gone through numerous revampings and refurbishings (and thus, perhaps, changes of ownership); the pie stall was shunted from the left of the main doorway to the right of it, inside the restaurant, then back to the front, then into the cupboard-like space at the far right-hand end, then (I think) briefly back into the area to the right of the door, then back into the cupboard, and now...... well, the cupboard serving window is locked up, and the space inside the door has been given over to a different variety of snack vendor. I have no idea if the restaurant has changed hands again, or if the pie stall was always under separate ownership anyway. I can't think why the pie stall would close so suddenly, other than because of a landlord dispute - it had appeared to be one of the great successes on the street in recent months (despite its sometimes frustratingly irregular opening policy, and its rather perverse reluctance to keep serving beyond 8pm or 9pm).
I had been restraining myself from indulging too often, guarding against allowing it to become a too-convenient alternative to a proper meal. If I had known that these scrumptious pies would so soon disappear from my life again, I would have eaten one every day.
Change is our constant companion in Beijing, but still, sometimes, it catches you off guard, deals you a painful blow. The 'pie of 5 kuai' place had only been around for 6 months or so, but it had found a place in my affections and become a significant element of my 'lifestyle'.
We can only hope that the pie stall will soon reappear in another venue... Fingers crossed!
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