If you are in Beijing long enough, you might have learned to shout fuwuyuan (serving waiter/waitress) in a Chinese restaurant when you want something. Also, you might have learned to tolerate poor service at some local restaurants. After all, the waiting staff are usually poorly trained and paid, and overworked.

If you are aware of the above facts, you may quite enjoy yourself dining at Xianheng Restaurant . It is "the other restaurant" known for Shaoxing cuisine, or Zhejiang and Jiangsu foods in Beijing, besides Kongyiji .

The name Xianheng is famous among the Chinese because it appeared in the short story of famous Chinese writer Lu Xun (1881-1936).

Despite the somewhat lacking service, the restaurant maintains a good business. It is often full at lunch, and you might have to wait to be seated for dinner. There can be only one reason people come back: great food.

Classics of Shaoxing cuisine include salted water-boiled horsebean , deep-fried smelly bean curd , braised pork with preserved dried vegetables , and yellow rice wine .

These are still some must-order dishes at Xianheng. Only braised pork with preserved vegetables is a bit too oily, although it comes with small steamed breads to stuff the pork into. The classic Ningbo-style mashed eel may also taste too oily for many people. But there are other dishes that are good. There are different price levels of yellow rice wines, but the one coming in bulk that costs 38 yuan per 500 grams is both reasonable and of good quality.

You need to remove the outer part of the hand-peeled bamboo shoot , to eat the tender part inside. Fried, dried fish with spring onion tastes a little salty, but is still a worthy choice. A good dish is bound pork , which is a big piece of pork with pork jelly, with the fragrance of yellow rice wine.

Three crisp has fried lettuce, water chestnut, and preserved lettuce slices in it, and tastes true to its name. If you want more meat, try fried wheat and grass duck , which comes packed in hay. It is a special small-sized duck that is supposed to be tastier than the ordinary ducks.

Average spending is 60 yuan, excluding wine.

Xianheng Restaurant
11am-1:30pm, 5-8:30pm
Address:Northwest corner of Heping Xiqiao, 19 Eastern North Third Ring Road, Chaoyang District.
Tel:010-6443-1558, 6443-1668.