(This venue is closed.) In Tianjin, the northern Chinese city once home to Yi Lan's proprietors, yangza tang ($5) is popular morning fare. Literally it's a "mixed" or "miscellaneous" lamb soup, but those names might not provide adequate notice to squeamish non-Chinese speakers. "Offal" would get the message across, but bluntly.
Instead, the menu proposes, why not breakfast on "haggis soup"? True, unlike the classic Scottish dish, this haggis is not minced with oats, and it's served without ceremony, apart from the presentation of the condiment — a wee dram of peanut sauce.
Also shown: jianbing guozi ($3). Compared with the neatly folded, grab-and-go version prepared by Liang Pi Wang, here the "egg pancake" is wrapped around a deep-fried dough stick, or youtiao. After a few bites, my jianbing became nearly as floppy as a highlander's kilt.
Yi Lan Halal Restaurant
42-79 Main St. (opposite Blossom Ave.), Flushing, Queens
718-886-3622
