Heilongjiang ProvGov Serves Up Real Foreigner Crack: Incredible Disanxian and Guobaorou

Following the trauma (and mild belly ache) of the previous provincial government restaurants, I had barely any hope for Heilongjiang, located near Fuxingmen. Except for the fact that Heilongjiang is where my favorite Chinese dish of all times comes from: disanxian. I was hanging all hope on disanxian.

Walking in, there was a definite laowai whisper hanging in the air, and much confusion over why four people would need a table with four chairs. However, it quickly became clear that the Heilongjiang provincial government restaurant is actually really good. The menu is full of all that good stuff that you used to eat before you learned to speak Chinese, and before you discovered Chinese food wasn't just gongbao jiding. 
 

The disanxian (pictured at top, RMB 36), the star of the show, was the right balance between sweet and savoury, with the morsels of pepper, potato, and aubergine fried to a slight crunch. Things got even better when the Dongbei dadoufu (RMB 32) arrived, with tofu chunks floating in a delicious gravy that was definitely not vegetarian-friendly, and we started dunking the disanxian into the gravy.
 

We also tried a variation of jingchang rousi  (RMB 46) which came with larger pancakes than most Beijing-style restaurants usually provide, and more flavors to stuff the pancake with, too. Although wrapping remained a bit of a challenge, the meat and its sauce went really well with the tardiness of the spring onion, beansprouts, slightly pickled potato, and the freshness of the coriander.
 

Even the guobaorou (RMB 58), a dish that usually is ruined by heavy batter throughout Beijing, was tasty. The batter was light, and the sweet sauce wasn't the kind that makes you instantly head into a food coma. Although more than a couple of pieces per person is generally unadvisable, we cleared the entire plate.
 

The only dish that was perhaps less recommendable was the liangcai, or cold shredded vegetables (RMB 36). Usually a favorite, this rendition clearly was pre-mixed, and left in the fridge for a few hours too long, leaving the vegetables to lose their crunch and will to live. Poor vegetables. 

Regardless of the sad cold dish, I'm going to actually say this was the best ProvGov mission so far. Next up on my list is the Henan ProvGov which is located in Fengtai District (why?!) so I might skip it... Unless there's anything else good to do down there?

Heilongjiang Provincial Government Restaurant
Daily 11am-2pm, 5-9pm. 5 Fuxingmen Beidajie, Xicheng District (6802 5511)
西城区复兴门北大街5号

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Photos: Margaux Schreurs