Snack Attack: Shaobing Jia Rou, Beijing's Answer to the Roujiamo

Snack Attack is your weekly guide to the sometimes flavorful, sometimes smelly, sometimes odd munchies to be had in the capital.

Of the many snacks Xi’an, our neighbor to Beijing’s southwest, is known for, it’s 肉夹馍 ròujiāmó.

This sandwich made of stewed pork belly available in varying degrees of fattiness – making it more of a Chinese pulled pork sandwich than it’s translation as a “Chinese burger” would have you believe – is worthy of top snacking glory.

The thing is, Beijing also has its own special snack sandwich utilizing pork that’s worth considering for your next snack time – the 烧饼夹肉 shāobǐng jiā ròu. Shaobing jia rou features pork, most commonly sliced pork elbow (肘子肉 zhǒuzi ròu; meat from the upper part of the leg), or sliced beef sandwiched between a 烧饼 shāobǐng.

Allegedly hailing from Shandong, this thin flatbread made from wheat flour and topped with a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds, can be found throughout the capital and filled with any number of savory fillings – including those listed above.

I had my first taste of pork-filled shaobing in 2019, but it just didn’t cut it for me. The dried meet and equally dry bread made for a dull snacking experience – nothing really stuck flavor wise.

I decided to give it a try a few years later when a story on a years old shaobing jia rou eatery that had for some reason become a wanghong hot spot popped up in my WeChat feed thanks to an account called Eat Too Much Team (follow them if you aren’t doing so already).

Intrigued, I went for their recommendation of a shaobing filled with stewed pork belly – not unlike a roujiamo, but with bigger pork belly chunks – and a bowl of topao tang, basically a simple soup filled with chives and big hunks of fried tofu.

It was, more or less, underwhelming. Perhaps it was because I didn’t order it in shop, but the pork belly was bland and a bit dried out, not at all worth it.

For comparison, I sought out another shaobing jia rou joint on Baiziwan Lu, getting the same order. This one was far superior than it’s wanghong counterpart. The pork belly was juicy, the soup flavorful. All in all a satisfying snack before heading to a nightshift at my previous job.

These two places are far from the only shaobing jia rou eateries to be found in Beijing. Here’s two more for your consideration, plus the Baiziwan Lu joint, for the next time you’re craving something savory for a snack.

Shichengji Shaobing Shop 实成吉烧饼铺
40-2 Dongsiliutiao, Dongcheng District
东城区东四六条40号-2
Hours: 7am-7pm

Niu Jie Old Full Belly 牛街老爆肚满
105 Chaoyangmen Bei Xiaojie, Dongcheng District
东城区潮阳门北小街105号
Hours: 10am-9pm

Remember Old Beijing Shaobing 还记得老北京烧饼
101, Unit C, 1F, Bldg 5 Baiziyuan, 16 Baiziwan Road, Chaoyang District
潮阳区百子湾路16号百子园5号楼1层C单元101
Hours: 6am-9pm

READ: Snack Attack: The Sweet Spot+ Makes Youtiao with a Sweet Twist

Images: Dianping, Vincent R. Vinci