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Muslim Cuisine at Its Best

There is much to savour and enjoy when one considers fine dining in Beijing. From traditional Beijing snacks to typical western food, or even a perfect mix of western and Chinese cuisines, the capital is rife with restaurants offering tasty treats of great variety.

But for those who want to ensure that their discerning palates are properly rewarded with the skimming of a menu, the Hongbinlou Restaurant on Zhanlan Lu in Beijing's Xicheng District is the place to go.

The Hongbinlou Restaurant, which in 1955 moved to Beijing from Tianjin at the request of former Premier Zhou Enlai, is a century-old Muslim restaurant and laozihao (Time Honoured Brand) that serves what have been described as "the best Muslim dishes in Beijing." This has been more than confirmed by the restaurant's loyal following among Beijing's laobaixing (old hundred surnames or common folk), who come for more than just the restaurant's famous fare.

With new restaurants of different styles popping up everyday in Beijing, people are inclined to seek out novelty, but the tried and true menu of the Hongbinlou Restaurant never disappoints its fans. The halls of the restaurant never yield a hollow sound, in part, because in addition to its fine food, Hongbinlou is also associated with the observance of traditional Chinese customs.

As with other fine restaurants in a booming Beijing, several months prior to the traditional Chinese Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year), Hongbinlou begins to get ready to serve festival feasts. During this time, it is swamped by admirers and local revellers searching for tasty treats.

Li, a Beijinger, dines at the Hongbinlou to celebrate the New Year. "The New Year's Eve dinner is a major event for the family. My parents would not change the convention."

More than 800 seats were booked by diners for the most recent Lunar New Year's Eve, according to Yang, a manager of one of Hongbinlou's branch restaurants.

On offer were set menus priced at double or treble those for regular dinners. "Feasts that cost between 1,000 and 2,000 yuan (US$123 to US$246) for a table of eight to 12 people were the most popular," Yang said.

Festival observances have brought prosperity to Hongbinlou. Ever since the restaurant began offering its New Year's Eve dinners in 1999, the restaurant's business has grown by 20 percent per year. About 90 percent of its reservations are made by large families.

The Muslim-styled yuanxiao (sweet-filled rice dumplings) of another traditional holiday, the Lantern Festival (Yuanxiaojie), and mooncakes (yuebing) of the Mid-autumn Festival (Zhongqiujie) are welcomed by Muslims and non-Muslims. Yuanxiao sales rose to 4,000 boxes per day during 2006's Lantern Festival.

People also turn to this popular laozihao to celebrate their weddings, which are, in their way, as important as the Spring Festival.

In China, choosing a wedding day is a job for parents and even grandparents that is considered as important as the ceremony itself. This takes on added importance in the lunar Year of the Dog, because this year is seen by Chinese as a golden period to "tie the knot." It is said that there are two "springs" in this Year of Dog on the lunar calendar, which some people believe will bring luck to their marriages. The seven-day holiday week from May 1-7 gave many lovers an opportunity to have their weddings.

And Hongbinlou was ready to help them celebrate with a range of services tailored to their needs. From grand banquet celebrations to hall decorations, it creates a perfect ambience to highlight its special dishes and its customers' special days.

Since weddings are all about happiness and good wishes, almost every dish presented by the chefs has a symbolic meaning or a name that sounds like Chinese characters for fortune, happiness, longevity and prosperity.

Fish, a typical main course, is used because it symbolizes a profitable year ahead.

Vegetables embody the freshness of "evergreen'' and store good fortune in their roots. Fish balls and meat balls symbolize "reunion" since their round shape portrays "togetherness."

For all this special care, this century-old restaurant is now the scene of more than 200 wedding ceremonies each year.

Locals favour Hongbinlou for more than its century-old brand; its dishes are renowned far and wide. Among them, the Muslim Yuanbao dishes are some of the most favoured and renowned, as with its yuan bao ji si (芫爆鸡丝),quick-fried chick slices with caraway. It tastes tender, and stimulates the appetite without being greasy. Famous Muslim dishes such as roasted whole sheep (kaoquanyang), hot pot and roast mutton are also popular among Beijingers and visitors from home and abroad.

As with weddings, people go to restaurants for more than just for delicious food, and with changing times, the people's reasons for seeking out this laozihao are changing too. They now normally gather for reunions, dating, fun, negotiations and even for work meetings. Added to the list recently was the celebration of World Cup football.

Hongbinlou was not immune to the excitement as 2006 World Cup football fever swept across the globe. As football fans around the country crammed into bars and open-air venues to watch live coverage of the Cup's opening matches, despite the six-hour time difference between China and tournament host Germany, Hongbinlou found it was no exception.

A football fan in Beijing said, "Staying at home watching World Cup games is nice, but without the passion and energy of a crowd, the experience is not complete."

Sitting in the capacious hall of Hongbinlou, enjoying the specialty dishes and cool beer, and, above all, watching long-expected games on a giant TV screen, people gathered together, spending passionate, sleepless nights.

"I found watching the exciting games in a traditional Chinese setting while tasting the genuine local food a totally different experience than that of the bars in Houhai, Sanlitun or Gongti. It was really cool," the fan said.

While maintaining the local flavour of its dishes, Hongbinlou has also expanded its fare to more trendy cuisines. The restaurant is offering more dishes with less oil and fat and a lighter taste. Dishes with medical functions, such as soups and congees, have been developed by skilful chefs.

That is the magic of Hongbinlou Restaurant. Though it's history of service spans more than 100 years, it still stands out among its competitors, young or old, in Beijing. The adventure at the end of your fingertips on the laozihao's menu will never stop. If you haven't tried it, an amazing experience awaits you.