2015 Year in Review: Best New Cheap Eats

This blog celebrates the hero restaurants that got us through the leaner months of 2015. The restaurants below will get you fed for less than RMB 50 per person.

Hakata Ikkousha (above)
Located in the basement of Parkview Green, the Beijing location of international chain Hakata Ikkousha specializes in Fukuoka’s Hakata-style ramen (which you will have already tried if you have ever visited Ippudo). Hakata-style ramen is all about the tonkotsu (pork bone) broth and you can taste the hours of simmering that have gone into Hakata Ikkousha’s (RMB 38). And what broth it is, clouded with slow-rendered fat and unashamedly porky. We're almost glad the frigid Beijing winter is back so we can dig into this decidedly wintery delicacy.

MoxiMoxi
Fangjia has become quite the hip hutong over the past year or so, what with cool openings like Ramo and Fang Bar. One of our favorite – and most reasonably priced – new openings was Israeli restaurant MoxiMoxi. Little more than a hole-in-the-wall cafe next to Cellar Door, MoxiMoxi dishes out authentic Israeli dishes such as falafel sandwiches, sabich (pita bread stuffed with hard boiled eggs, fried eggplant, chunks of fresh tomato, and topped off with deep fried cauliflower and tahini) (sandwiches RMB 25-30), and shakshuka.
 

Tiger Mama
This inexpensive Macanese eatery has become a favorite Sanlitun lunch spot among the Beijinger team. Although the prices of the traditional Macanese street snacks – braised chicken wings (RMB 16), squid balls in curry sauce (RMB 16), beef offal and radish (RMB 32), dry noodles with shrimp roe (RMB 48), signature beef brisket noodles (RMB 32) – may be cheap, but the sleek, minimalist design of the restaurant is anything but.

Da Dong Duck
A real hype generator this one. We were as surprised as anyone to learn that Da Dong was branching out with a fast food burger chain. And you know what, those burgers are actually pretty good. Da Dong's famously lean and crispy roast duck is as well executed as ever, sandwiched in a bun with all the usual Peking duck trimmings (RMB 22). The sides are pretty decent too – think crispy salt and pepper popcorn chicken and mashed potato with laoganma chili sauce. 

More stories by this author here.

Email: robynnetindall@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Ken, Uni, Kyle Mullin