A Little Oasis in Beijing’s Food Desert

For anyone living away from home, surely there’s nothing more comforting than being able to eat hometown food while you’re far away.。

As someone from Shanxi trying to make a life in Beijing, I can count my trips home each year on one hand. But chances to eat food from home are few and far between too. On a recommendation from someone from back home, I discovered the Beijing liaison office for Yuncheng, Shanxi. Apparently they serve lots of hometown dishes there, so off we went to check it out.

On Saturday, after a relay of taxi, subway, and bike rides, we finally made it to the liaison office. (We didn’t take a taxi all the way because halfway there, we found out the road ahead was closed to traffic. Sob, sob.)

The entrance alone looked pretty grand, but once we went inside, we found there was more to it. There was a statue of Guan Yu in the middle of the lobby, looking seriously imposing. Well, Yuncheng is his hometown, after all.

That’s enough about the place itself—time to get to the main event. Having come all this way, how could we skip the hot pot, liangfen starch jelly, or stir-fried knife-cut noodles? Enough talk, pictures first!

To be fair, I thought the stir-fried liangfen was pretty good, and the stir-fried cat’s-ear noodles were decent too. You do need to eat them quickly, though: once they cool down even a little, they get a bit hard, and the texture isn’t so great. But anyone who likes them firmer might be absolutely thrilled, hahaha.

Next up, the main attraction:Hot Pot

First off, just look at that pot—a seasoned veteran! Honestly, the pot itself looks pretty authentic
, especially since I’ve hardly seen any proper ones when eating out away from home
, but what’s inside falls a little short. At best, I’d call it a stripped-down version. The flavor’s decent, though, and it’ll certainly do for satisfying the occasional craving. I found a photo of hot pot back home for a little comparison—the difference is obvious at a glance.

All in all, this was a pretty decent experience. When you’re far from home, having somewhere to satisfy your cravings even a little is already pretty great. The setting is nice too, and all the seating is in private rooms. If you’re interested, go give it a try.

Oh, and they measure their noodles in three different units: a “gu”, a portion, and a serving per person. I’d suggest asking what those mean for your group size before ordering. Most of this is staple food, after all, and it’s seriously filling.

Finally, we stopped by the mall for a cup of HEYTEA, and that wrapped up a day of eating, eating, and more eating! Honestly, HEYTEA does wash its fruit pretty thoroughly. (Perfume lemon is my absolute favorite
）