Beijing Yaoji Chaogan Restaurant is a time-honoured no-frill eatery owned by a family with the surname of “Yao”, well-known for its authentic Beijing local food.
“Chaogan” (Chao Gan) literally means “Pork liver stew” or “Fried liver”, the signature dish of the restaurant. The dish of “Chaogan” is a bowl of starchy stew with slices of liver and large pig intestines flavored with much garlic.
Many old customers say the dish of “Pork liver stew” here is the best in Beijing, smooth, fragrant,and not oily, hence the name of Yaoji Chaogan given to the restaurant.
Another famous Beijing flavor is known as “Luzhu Huoshao”, a kind of bean-paste stew with pieces of huo shao (dough dumplings), bean curd puffs, stewed lungs and large intestines.
The dish is a traditional street food for the common folks of Beijing.
As a westerner, probably you don’t eat animal internal organs and have no culture of eating offal dishes.
But you can order other Beijing flavor dishes instead which are also very savoury and delicious, such as noodles and steamed buns.
On August 18, 2011, American Vice President Joe Biden and his entourage came to Beijing Yaoji Chaogan Restaurant, escorted by the U.S. Ambassador to China, Gary Locke.
They didn’t order the signature dish of Chaogan and other famous entrails dishes.
They five people asked for five bowls of noodles topped with rich stir-fried bean paste, 10 steamed buns with pork and onions, smashed cucumber salad, mountain yam salad, shredded potatoes and Coca Cola for lunch totally at 79 yuan.
They all ate up the five bowls of traditional noodles, known as “Zhajiang” noodles – handmade noodles flavored with deep, rich stir-fried bean paste, shredded cucumber and watermelon radish.
Biden’s visit is a big boost to the long-time already popular family run eatery. Everyday, Yaoji Chaogan Restaurant is packed with diners, who very often need to wait for one hour for a table, cheap and delicious.
Plan your Beijing tour? Next time, if you are going to visit Drum Tower or Bell Tower in Beijing, it is worth dropping in for a bowl of Zhajiang noodle or a few steamed buns to feed yourself, a kind of Beijing locavore travel experience.
Its address: No.311, Gulou Dongdajie (just below the east side of Drum Tower), 鼓楼东大街311号. Tel: 010-84010570. Business Hour: 06:00 – 22:30.
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If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Beijing guided tours:
Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
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Beijing Autumn Tour
Great Wall Tour
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Further Readings
Best Time to Visit Beijing
How to plan a trip to Beijing
Top 10 Attractions in Beijing
How to Visit Forbidden City
How to Visit Temple of Heaven
How to Visit Summer Palace
How to Visit Ming Tombs
How to Visit the Great Wall of China
How to Visit Tiananmen Square
How to Visit Hutongs
How to Visit Olympic Sites
Top 10 Markets in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Beijing Shopping
Wangfujing Walking Street
Qianmen Commercial Street
Gui Jie ( Ghost Street) Food Street
Any questions, just drop a line.
