Eating In Translation

Beijing Tiankelong Jituan Youxian Zerengongsi

Wet my whistle with three Chinese shandies. Yanjing Lemon Beer (355 ml.; Y1.89) was the color of a pale ginger ale, but even more effervescent; it claims to be flavored with lemon juice, and in fact that's what the smell and taste would bring to mind: lemon juice, not lemons. Blue Diamond Pineapple Beer (350 ml.; Y2.40) was pale amber, with the aroma of Lifesavers and a sour flavor. Ying Ao Lychee Beer (345 ml.; Y1.80) was almost clear; lightly carbonated; surprisingly restrained, with a refreshing aroma and flavor.

Beijing Tiankelong Jituan Youxian Zerengongsi
Dashikou Dajie, Beijing
(one of many locations)

Slushy Desserts and Drinks Stall

I washed down my fried rice with some kind of bean drink (Y6); fine, if you really, really like beans.

On a later visit, this shaved-ice dessert (Y12), large though it was, paled by comparison with even a modest ice kacang. The ice itself was very finely shaved, almost to mush, but none of the four versions on offer had a truly enticing assortment of toppings; the syrup was indifferent, too.

Slushy Desserts and Drinks Stall
No. 14, Megabite Food Court
Oriental Plaza, lower level, Beijing

Fried Rice Stall

Fried rice with sausage and fatty ham (Y14) was OK, no better.

Fried Rice Stall
No. 10, Megabite Food Court
Oriental Plaza, lower level, Beijing

Nut-cake cycle

This extremely dense, honey-bound paste of peanuts and cashews, garnished with apricots and pistachios, was more salty than sweet. I'd bet that the price — at the time, an exorbitant Y50, about $6.25, per kilo — was ratcheted up at the sight of a guy with a camera hanging from his neck. Aggressive bait-and-switch bargaining tactics are reportedly typical of the Russian-speaking street merchants in this area west of Ritan Park; on a later occasion, I saw a slab of nutcake from another vendor flung back in his cart, with appropriately colorful comments.

Building My Bento makes similar observations about the vendors, "ornery cusses from Xinjiang," the Muslim-majority autonomous region of northwest China. The confection, he adds, is known both as má táng (麻 糖, literally "hemp sugar") and qiē gāo (切 糕, "cut cake"). Though these two photos are of two different carts, all the cakes in this part of the city had nearly identical simple decoration. Elsewhere matang, or qiegao, can be much more elaborate.

Nut-cake cycle
Near Yabao Lu, Beijing

Makye Ame

From the street, my friend Glenn and I weren't sure this second-floor restaurant was a going concern; upstairs, the dining room (and the restrooms) were rustic in appearance but otherwise in fine fettle. Following appetizers of sweet and pickled cucumber slices (Y18) and pork slices with "sauce" (Y38), we feasted on nicely fatty yak tail braised in a clay jar (shown; Y58), with star anise and ginger, and chicken fried with corn, peas, carrots, and a vegetable called juoma (Y45) that came on like succotash with a Tibetan touch. As for my selection from the beverage section of the menu, a bowl of yogurt with sugar on the side (Y18) was refreshing, in its way, if not particularly liquid.

Makye Ame
11 Xiushui Nanjie, Beijing

Drink Stall

Plain, drinkable yogurt (200 ml.; Y1.5) in a refillable crock; in fact, vendors insist that you don't stray far while you knock one back. My favorite throat-soother in the capital.

Drink Stall
Near Beijing Book Plaza, Beijing

Snack-Food Storefront

Disdaining more-recognizable kebabs, I also added a little too much hot pepper to this deep-fried item (Y2) — pressed tofu, it turned out.

Snack-Food Storefront
Near Beijing Book Plaza, Beijing

Sweet Potato Cart

Given the size of this fellow's wares, I wouldn't be surprised if he starts things cooking on the go; certainly he wouldn't run awry of the laissez-faire attitude that pervades Beijing street traffic. And given the price (Y2 each, or about 25 cents), the business model must surely be sell early, sell often.

Sweet Potato Cart
Dongsi Nandajie at Dengshikou Dajie

Air China

The in-flight meals typical were unremarkable, save for this "It's Our Pleasure to Serve You" cup with an incongruous Occidental motif. Included in the entertainment: an equally incongruous screening of the travel series Passport to Europe, in which the presenter samples sausages in Prague.

Air China
Somewhere near the Polar Circle

Bereket

Very restorative: a small bowl of lentil soup ($3.75) with a squeeze of lemon, bread on the side.

Bereket
187 East Houston St. (at Orchard St.)
212-475-7700