Try the Noodles, Not the Ciba at Mr. Meng Chongqing Gourmet
Sanlitun is so dense with restaurants it can often feel like a gustatory jungle, a maze that's home to anything from RMB 20 per person street-style baozi joints (like Xiaoqinglong) to luxurious establishments like Sifangsanchuan, Char, and others in Taikooli.
Mr. Meng Chongqing Gourmet occupies the middle ground, offering higher quality than the street eats without burning a hole in your wallet.
Located on the second floor of Topwin Center, Mr. Meng Chongqing Gourmet was opened by Meng Fei, a celebrity TV host who bears an uncanny resemblance to Gregg Wallace, the presenter of MasterChef. Born in Chongqing, Meng Fei has now brought his hometown flavors to Beijing, proving that Sichuan is about more than just dandan mian. His menu offers nine spicy noodles (RMB 28-40) served in chili oil, and five noodle soups in clear broth, as well as chaoshou (Sichuan-style meat-filled dumplings, RMB 30).
READ: Beyond Sichuan: Exploring the Spicy Traditions of Four Chinese Provinces
The wanza mian (碗杂面, RMB 32) was a large pile of dry noodles sitting in fiery chili oil, topped with minced pork, and starchy cowpeas. The pork was generous, and the chili oil along with the extra chili pepper sauce brought burning heat to this dish. The result? It was really good, but we suggest you stir it carefully and evenly, or it’ll be overwhelmingly numbing.
If you have a sweet tooth, try the laozao tangyuan (RMB 8). Laozao (醪糟), also known as jiuniang (酒酿), is a sweet soup-like dish with glutinous rice balls. Here, they use a generous amount of brown sugar but the acidity from its low alcohol content (around 1.5 percent) balances out the sweetness.
Not everything was a success. They dropped the ball with deep-fried rice cakes (RMB 8, 红糖糍粑 hóngtáng cíbā), made of glutinous rice dusted with sesame. Here the color was wrong, white instead of golden from deep-frying, and the cakes were served lukewarm, making the melted brown sugar taste like cough syrup.
READ: Street Eats: Hearty Hong Kong-Style Cart Noodles at Nerdy Noodles in Sanlitun's 3.3 Mall
While the place is larger than the average stall on the street, the service is not restaurant standard. You have to pour your own water and order the food yourself by scanning the QR code on the table. But the quality of the food is better, and the price is correspondingly higher.
Mr. Meng Chongqing Gourmet
Daily 10.30am-10pm. 2/F, Topwin Center, Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District (8367 4665)
孟非的小面：朝阳区三里屯路通盈中心2楼
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Photo: Tracy Wang
