What's New Restaurants: Xuepan Kaochuan

Two a.m. Smoke in the air. The buzz of a hair dryer. Squatting on tiny stools. These are the sensory experiences most of us remember, and indeed enjoy, about chuan’r in Beijing. So an upscale chuan’r restaurant has much to do to prove itself worthy of the trip.

To start with, it might open the menu with a diagram of the animal that will become the focus of your meal. At Xuepan Kaochuan, the animal in question is an Inner Mongolian lamb, available in eight cuts, from pricey tenderloin (RMB 29 per skewer, 黄瓜条) to frugal leg (RMB 9.9 per skewer, 后腿). All cuts are grilled on single-use tamarisk wood skewers, which are intended to impart a savory dimension to the meat before being recycled into napkins. An admirable sentiment, but we couldn’t discern the extra flavor in the otherwise delicious neck meat skewers (RMB 12 per skewer, 颈肉).

Pay a base fee of RMB 58-158 (depending on range of dishes and where you sit in the restaurant) and get free-flowing tea, cold dishes and noodles. A bowl of piquant saozi noodles (RMB 19, 英雄臊子面) is almost as well dressed as the restaurant, which with its Transformers figurines and polished black surfaces looks more like it belongs in Parkview Green than sunny Solana. 

Does Beijing need a high-concept chuan’r restaurant? The ever-swelling crowds outside Xuepan Kaochuan would seem to suggest it might. 

Also try: Diaoye Niunan, Crescent Moon Muslim Restaurant

Xuepan Kaochuan

Daily 11am-2pm, 5pm-10pm. L-DS-17a, Bldg 1, Solana, 6 Chaoyang Gongyuan Lu, Chaoyang District (5905 1777)

薛蟠烤串: 朝阳区朝阳公园路6号蓝色港湾国际商区1号楼L-DS-17a号店铺

1.2km southeast of Liangmaqiao station (Line 10)

Photo: Sui