Cleared for Takeoff: My China at Terminal 3
My China offers a collection of cuisines from China’s spiciest culinary regions – Sichuan and Hunan – as well as a range of classic Beijing dishes. Chefs hailing from those regions ensure authenticity, scaling the quality up with organic ingredients. Three levels of spiciness are indicated by the number of green chilli symbols beside the name of a dish; red chillis are a guide to the “authenticity” of the dish.
Kaishui baicai (RMB 28 per person, 开水白菜) looks humble, but plenty of labor is invested in the dish. It looks like two simple cuts of Chinese baby cabbage boiled in a crystal-clear soup reminiscent of plain boiled water – hence the name “kaishui”. It is in fact a consommé of chicken, pork and ham born from hours’ slow stewing. As a classic Sichuan dish renowned for its lightness, this delicacy flips the typical assumptions of what “Sichuan” flavor is about.
But pungency and spiciness does exist in other dishes. One Sichuan signature is the guaiwei liuda ji (RMB 48 怪味溜达鸡). Topped with chilli sauce, spring onion and peanuts, this is a successful adaptation of koushui ji (“mouth-watering chicken”) – fragrant, nutty, spicy, slightly sweet and as soft as sponge.
Hunan cuisine typically uses less numbing (ma la 麻辣) pepper corns – here, the heat comes more from the use of chilli, sometimes stealthily hidden away, always ready to creep up and surprise you. Watch out for the ivory steamed shrimp balls (RMB 88 锦绣辣妹子): your taste buds are firstly soothed by light and fresh minced shrimp and julienned white turnip, then suddenly stimulated by the spicy pork filling inside, which harbors a notably vivid spiciness.
Noodles, dumplings and other sweet Sichuan snacks (mainly made of glutinous rice) on the last page ensure there are dozens of affordable options (RMB 12-18). The dan dan noodle (RMB 12) is typical both in terms of flavor and portion size. The standard serving is short on dongcai (冬菜), the typical preserved vegetable essential to a good dan dan noodle. But you can ask for an extra supplement like I did – when I got a quantity of dongcai and a sincere apology from the wait staff, I felt the 15 percent service charge had been earned. I left for the airport terminal stomach full, ready for my flight to Chengdu.
My China 腾香居
Daily 11.30am-10pm. 2/F, Hilton Beijing Capital Airport, Terminal 3, Capital International Airport, Chaoyang District. (6450 4889, 6458 8888 ext 8901)
朝阳区首都机场3号航站希尔顿酒店2层
