老北京家常菜 (Old Beijing Home-style Cuisine) @ Andingmen, Beijing

Located at No. 130 Andingmen Inner Street, Dongcheng, Beijing. Chinese version: 东城区安定门内大街130号.

We were going to visit the night market at Nan Luo Gu Xiang when we chanced upon this eatery. Looked like a reasonable place to have our dinner (we didn't do any research so didn't know what to expect around this area) as it looked sizeable and there are local diners in it. Moreover, we're in Beijing... so should try some local cuisines, right?

big signboard, inside looked bright and there are local diners equals good signs, yes?

our table and menu

There were diners smoking in the restaurant even though there's a 'No Smoking' sign. Faints.

looks retro

local soft-drink (polar bear brand) - taste like Redoxon

local beer for the drinker

chrysanthemum tea for the rest of us

As usual, we left the ordering task to our senior manager and without fail, he'd order alot because he always asks the waitress whether we have enough dishes and everytime, the waitress would reply, "No, not enough." Hahhaa.

guess what we're eating

Frankly speaking, it was like an adventure eating here. Finally we found a dish that tasted good but we had no idea of what we were eating. Probably tofu. I hope it was tofu...

sweet and sour pork or chicken?

pork dish that looked innocent enough till still reddish meat (that looked raw) was discovered underneath...

best tasting but no idea what it was!

The sweet and sour dish was appetising and tasted most familiar. And its meat tasted pretty lean. It was like a snack that one could continously pop inside the mouth. The pork dish looked too raw for my liking. Didn't dare to eat. The tofu dish had a name that none of us could reproduce. Must be authentic local old Beijing dish (I guessed). Very flavourful, and its texture was like a cross between yam and tofu. Goes super well with steamed rice! The beancurd just melts in your mouth. Awesome.

stir fried mushrooms and green pepper

The green pepper lent a spicy edge to the mushroom dish. Nice! Was excited to try the zha jiang mian (炸酱面) here. Imagine the disappointment when it was served. The sauce was meatless! *Sobs* I guess, the restaurant's own recipe was to make it vegetarian styled.

zha jiang mian

pork dumplings

For pork dumplings, I'd prefer the way we eat it in Singapore. With vinegar and ginger. Always. It's a must for me. No these condiments, no shioks.

roasted duck

not crispy skin

The roasted duck here, well, let's just say that it was normal at best. It's definitely not the expected Peking duck standard. It's more like the hawker roasted duck kind of taste, but even so, it didn't taste as good as that. Perhaps, just not quite used to this retro taste. For good Peking duck, go for those that are freshly roasted upon order. Try 鸭王.

Having said that, the pancake skin here was nice. Had a hint of sweetness.

nice crepe skin

The remaining duck bones, we opted for it to be deep fried with salt and pepper. Similar to what we had at another restaurant but perhaps our expectation was too high... But it did taste like home-styled cuisine.

looked more like stir-fried with ginger and spring onions

All in all, we did finish the food. At least we tried Old Beijing home-styled cuisine.

the aftermath