The capital's early birds don't have to munch worms to eat for
dirt-cheap. Beijing's traditional snack spots, such as
Shougongfang, offer bountiful breakfasts of fare for the frugal.
For just 4.5 yuan, you can start the day with a roast cake, an
aiwowo - a soft mashed bean cake stuffed with mashed red bean, a
"donkey-rolling-over" - a soft multi-layered bean cake, and a bowl
of bean curd jelly. Low-cost meals make for high competition among
the capital's eateries, making it tough for dim sum diners -
especially the pricier places - to keep the lights on and the
trolleys rolling.
But Shougongfang is confident enough in its cuisine, it made the
gutsy move of opening a mere 20 meters away from Huguosi
traditional snack restaurant - a longstanding Beijing
institution.
The reason for the eatery's hyperactive self-confidence is that
the chef, Wang Shihua, comes from a lineage of pastry-makers
spanning back to the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) who have
remained local legends for making the best sesame cakes and fried
crisp flour loops in the city. Indeed, the restaurant's "smart
Wang" sesame cake is made a terrific treat by its distinct layers
and rich herbal flavors.
Other Beijing bites worth tasting include the crisp shelled cake
with mashed red bean stuffing and deep-fried glutinous rice flour
with mashed red bean stuffing.
More adventurous snackers can sample the fermented bean juice,
which is usually ordered with a plateful of deep-fried crispy flour
loops and a few pickled turnip slices. It is believed to be a
traditional treat for old Beijingers.
The place also offers standards, such as fried shredded cake,
noodles and cake with pork stuffing.
These meals can be washed down with millet and rice porridge,
fragrant ried-flour tea or mutton giblet soup. The restaurant is
small, with only five tables for four, and a Chinese-language menu
displayed on the wall.
(City Weekend January 9, 2008)
