The management insists on fresh ingredients: "It's our respect to this Chinese traditional cuisine," says our host. She says that the restaurant brings in fresh beef every morning at dawn to make sure that it will be tender and juicy when served. The chef's special recommendations: Crispy goose sausage, handmade meatballs and fresh Chengdu beef osmasum. (That's a particular part of a cow's stomach, which is presented so beautifully－sliced and suspended like white harp strings－that you may be tempted to set aside any misgivings about eating guts and give it a try).
We also liked the beef with egg yolk: Customers crack the eggs themselves, mixing them with beef for a dish with an extra level of tenderness. Another fave was the handmade black-bean tofu, which is boiled for a long time for a firm texture without losing its fine, earthy flavor. (These are not the black beans of Mexico: the insides are white, while the resulting tofu is mysteriously green.)
A summer special is litchi tomato salad, a visual treat with the glistening fruits and cherry tomatoes. The fresh hawthorn juice, a sweet-tart sip that's an acquired taste for many foreigners, has a special appeal here: "Drink it and you can keep eating all the spicy food you want," our server confides.
That was good news, since we were happy to linger in this charming space and eat quite a bit. What seemed like an eternal stream of food only costs about 150 yuan ($23) per person.
One last surprise: The restaurant is open until 2 am, making it a great after-theater stop in a city that has too few places for a late-night dinner that's not in a fast-food bag.
(By Mike Peters)
If you go
Yi Jia Ren
3/F, Building 3, Hong (Red) Street, Sanlitun area of Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-6777-7456.
