Shibao Jie (食宝街), a popular indoor street food market located in Beijing’s Zhongguancun area, is bustling with over 90 vendors that attract a decidedly younger Beijing crowd. Situated at an easy walking distance from Line 4’s Zhongguancun station, a district largely renowned for its mass of technology and electronics markets, this food street offers a relaxed, earthy dining environment with a dash of artistic flair; perfect for those who like to post photos of their meals on WeChat or Instagram.
If you plan on visiting during lunch or dinner hours you can guarantee you’ll need to queue for the best stalls and eats that the market has to offer, a number of which we’ve listed below to help you narrow down those worth your time and money.
Aganguokui
Aganguokui is a handmade flatbread shop hailing from the city of Jingzhou in Hubei, and it’s not hard to find because there is always a line of loyal customers excitedly waiting for the next batch. There are only and few flavors of flatbread to choose from: “molded dried vegetables” (meigancai, the same meicai typically found in meicaikouroufan), brown sugar and red bean, and beef. The latter is star of the show though we also recommend the brown sugar and red bean flatbread – that is if you can get your hands on some given that they were already sold out on the day we visited. The flatbreads are baked in a charcoal oven, resulting in a thin, crispy, and fragrant snack.
Xianglixiang Teppanyaki
Teppanyaki is usually found buried in an izakaya rather than an open food market but this roadside teppanyaki store bucks the trend. Some of the most popular dishes here include the sliced beef, chicken wings, prawns, and scallops, all marinated in and in-house secret recipe. The meats are cooked to perfection, with traditional sweet and salty Japanese flavors shining through in every bite. On a whim, we opted for the salmon, and we weren’t disappointed, the tantalizing and flaky fish served with a dash of tangy, zesty orange sauce.
Leshanerjingtiao
The reason to stop by this stall is simple: chuan’r. A classic and ubiquitous staple in Beijing’s food repertoire, the meat skewers here come with a special twist: a tongue-numbing mala topping. Almost every meat is on offer here, including the processed kind more often found in malatang, as well as fresh vegetables (at an average of RMB 1 per chuan’r, purchased in sets of five). Each skewer is zapped in piping hot oil before being doused in a generous seasoning of mala and cumin, topped with a sprinkling of spring onion and parsley, and finally placed in a cute newspaper bag. Enjoy these bad boys on the go, but be warned: that they will set your mouth on fire.
Douxia Haixianxiaochi
Douxia Haixianxiaochi serves seafood cooked with clean, light flavors (oil, garlic, and soy sauce), which lets the mollusks and crustaceans speak for themselves. You need only wait five minutes for your seafood to be steamed to perfection before indulging in every tender, succulent bite. As an added bonus, most items come in a tub with vermicelli in order to soak up the natural juices. A must-try if you like seafood.
Yiliangdian
To finish off your Shibao Jie experience, pop by Yiliangdian, which specializes in the Japanese favorite dessert of mochi i.e. dense glutinous rice balls with a sweet, creamy, and fruity fillings. Each substantial mochi is priced at RMB 6 (seriously, one is probably enough to have you look for somewhere to sit). That means you might have a hard time choosing, as there are 12 varieties on offer. The matcha mochi was lactose-free and made for the perfect summer dessert to finish off our marathon eating session.
With the huge array of international foods and local delicacies on offer, we recommend heading to Shibao Jie with an empty stomach, a dash of patience, and a fair amount of curiosity – we guarantee that you’ll be handsomely rewarded for your troubles.
Shibao Jie
Daily 10am-10pm. 15 Zhongguancun Da Jie, Haidian District
海淀区中关村大街15号
Images: www.ce.cn, Haidian Tourism, Laura Zheng
