This is part 5 of the China Series detailing my recent trip to Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai. Other posts in this series include part 1: Wander the Streets of Beijing, part 2: Xian'r Lao Man (Dumplings), part 3: Made in China {Peking Duck}, part 4: Noodle Bar and some other preview posts: China: Lost in Translation, and Happy Birthday Bryan: an Ode to Noodles and Ducks.
Back early in the days when we were still dating, Bryan once asked me,
"If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?"
The silence lasted only a few moments. "Dumplings!" I blurted out with confidence.
You can imagine his surprise. Not fatty tuna? Not ice cream? Dumplings???
I think dumplings are the perfect food: tiny complete packages with virtually all your food groups tucked inside. An ideal dumpling (in my opinion), has a healthy ratio of vegetables to meat (I prefer about 7:1, but I'm veggie-centric in that way), and is wrapped up in a thin yet strong and wonderfully chewy skin. My favorite dumplings are from Din Tai Fung.* Their pork vegetable dumplings have the absolutely perfect combination of the three elements I describe above.
So of course while I was in Northern China, which is known for its dumplings, I had to seek out Beijing's local rendition of my favorite food.
Bao Yuan is the perfect place for anyone who likes to try interesting flavor and texture combinations. Their dumpling menu is vast and slightly overwhelming. Thankfully, the menu has tons of pictures, though I can't remember if the menu had English or not - maybe not. They have all sorts of interesting filling options, such as water chestnuts, pumpkin, fennel, various types of greens, corn, etc. You also have your choice of meat fillings (chicken, pork, lamb, shrimp, beef, etc).
What's also fun is that you can get the colored dumplings (dyed with vegetable juice) for only a few extra RMB (less than $1 US).
This place is typically very busy, as it is popular with both foreigners and locals. Luckily, since we were catching an early flight that evening, we stopped by Bao Yuan around 5PM, so we did not have to fight any crowds at all.
All dumplings are made to order, so expect to wait around 20-25 minutes before your dumplings are ready. It's worth the wait! If you love vegetables (which I do), you will love the variety of choices that are available . We did not order any vegetarian dumplings, but I'm sure they would be pretty tasty as well given the wide array of vegetables offerings.
The prices are really cheap (about 4-8 RMB for 50g, with a minimum of 100g per order; between $1 and $2 USD). I think our entire bill was around $5 USD and we were stuffed with all the different dumplings we tried (I think we ordered like 30 dumplings!!).
I would highly recommend trying this place. Excellent food, great prices, and a fun experience overall.
Tip: Most Chinese taxi drivers do not speak any English. The best way to tell them how to get somewhere is to print out the name of the place with address in Chinese, ideally with a small map print-out in case they do not know where it is. Your hotel concierge can help you with that, or just come armed with some map printouts!
Bao Yuan Dumpling House
北京朝阳区麦子店街6号楼侧
Běijīng Cháoyángqū Màizi Diàn Jiē 6 Hào Lóu Cè
ChaoYang Park
+86 10 6586 4967
*The Asian branches are my favorites (The Shanghai & Beijing ones are awesome - more on those soon!), but the one in LA is pretty good too).
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