Celebrity dining digs

Zhajiangmian (noodles with fried soybean paste) is having a moment. When Stephen Harper, Canada's Prime Minister, visited Yiwanju, a Beijing restaurant notable for its zhajiangmian, on February 9, newspapers and magazines were keen to cover the event. This was not the first time zhajiangmian had appeared in the press. US Vice President Joe Biden, who visited China last August, also had a bowl of zhajiangmian at Yaojichaogan, a well-known Beijing snack store in Gulou.

Are there any behind the scenes stories from when politicians and celebrities visit Beijing restaurants? Are there other dishes besides zhajiangmian that they love? Lifestyle reveals the local restaurants and dishes that famous people enjoy.

Yiwanju

As one of the most popular dishes amongst Beijingers, zhajiangmian can be seen in most hutong and streets in summer. The careful observer would have witnessed scenes of people holding a bowl of zhajiangmian and eating the noodles while squatting.

On the afternoon of February 8, Mark Rowswell, who was appointed by Stephen Harper as the Sino-Canadian cultural goodwill ambassador, brought Harper and his wife to Yiwanju. As a regular at this restaurant, he recommended zhajiangmian and douzhir (a fermented bean drink) to Harper. "I said to Harper, like it or not, you should try douzhir in Beijing," Roswell said. "I also ordered jiemodunr (Chinese cabbage with mustard). To my surprise Harper liked that the most."

Harper also invented a way to eat stewed pork - to dip it into mustard - which later became the notable "Harper pork."

According to Zhang Xiaowang, the manager of Yiwanju, Harper's visit brought more customers. "Jiemodunr and stewed pork are popular here and now they're even more popular. People all want to have a taste of 'Harper pork' and are interested in the details of Harper's meal."

Address: No 24 Pufang Lu, Fangzhuang, Fengtai district

Contact: 6766-6667

Yaoji Chaogan

Located in Gulou, this Beijing snack restaurant is a must-go place for visitors and old Beijingers and subsequently always has long lines. Established in 1989 with their notable food chaogan (Beijing style stir-fried liver), this restaurant became the place where Biden ate last summer.

"We just got notified by the security department three hours before Biden would visit our place," Yao Yan, the restaurant manager, told the Global Times. "We were told a delegation from America wanted to eat here, but since foreigners often don't like eating entrails, we were worried and wanted to recommend some lighter dishes."

When Biden was there, he ordered zhajiangmian, some cold dishes including shredded potatoes, mashed cucumber, Chinese yam and Coca Cola, all of which later became the "VP Combo" set meal and sells well now. "We couldn't prepare before because we didn't know what dishes he would order," Yao said. When Biden visited Yaoji Chaogan, there were still lots of customers eating or waiting inside the hall. Yao didn't clear the hall for Biden because she believes that a good reputation lies in treating customers equally. Other celebrities also come here as frequent customers, Yao told us, but even then there is nothing different from welcoming an ordinary customer. "We treat everyone equally with a price that ordinary people can afford," Yao added.

Address: No 311 Gulou Dongdajie, Dongcheng district

Contact: 8401-0570

Lijiacai

Located in Yangfang Hutong, this restaurant specializes in cooking imperial cuisine. Despite this, it is not that ostentatious from the outside. It has only a small door and can be easily missed if it weren't for the English sign reading "Family Li Imperial Cuisine." However, the restaurant has been visited by hundreds of people, including Bill Gates, Uma Thurman and Eugenio Bregolat, the Spanish ambassador to China.

According to Li Aiyin, the current manager of Lijiacai, Bregolat has actually visited the restaurant twice. "The ambassador visited 20 years ago and came back to taste the food again last year," Li said. "And he ordered his own 480 yuan ($76) set meal after viewing the menu." Despite having been open for decades, the restaurant's menu does not change much. "All the recommended dishes are the same, which reminded the ambassador of his experience 20 years ago." The menu has dishes ranging from 280 to 2,280 yuan. The ambassador had spicy venison, a Manchurian specialty, and lobster infused with special Beijing flavors.

As a doctor, Li's abundant medical knowledge helps her explain to foreign customers more about how the dishes are made. "My father Li Shanlin was a physics and chemistry professor and he liked to explain each dish by using science jargon too." Li believes many customers like this approach and keeps them coming back.

To eat here people need to pre-order two or three days before.

Address: No 11 Yangfang Hutong, Deshengmennei Dajie, Xicheng district

Contact: 6618-0107

Baijiaoyuan

Baijiaoyuan is a Tianjin restaurant and has opened several locations in Beijing. It is known for its thinly wrapped but decently filled dumplings, which come in 229 flavors. Their interesting shoe shape is popular among customers. Besides eating dumplings there, customers can also have a taste of Tianjin, Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong and Minnan cuisines.

The one located in Xidan, Xicheng district, is famous for serving former US president George Bush and his wife Laura Bush, who visited here twice, in 2005 and 2008 respectively. Wei Zhiyong, now the manager, was a waiter when Bush visited the restaurant. He remembers this experience clearly to this day. "He ordered four cold dishes, eight main courses and dumplings," Wei said. "It was his second time here, so he ordered the food himself. His wife Laura was interested in guotie (dumplings fried in a pan) and liked them very much."

Address: No 1-2 A2 Xinwenhua Jie, Xicheng district

Contact: 6605-9371