Alleyway Gourmet: Hip Jianbing at Huang Tai Ji

The man who invented the jianbing would never have been able to imagine that instead of being sold on chilly early mornings and late nights, the jianbing would become one of the newest trendy eats for hipsters.

The jianbing started its glorious reputation as a food of the commoner centuries back in Tianjin. It migrated to Beijing in the early 1980s and eventually, the jianbing had spread its name all over the streets and alleys of the capital. But in transit, the jianbing lost some of its identifying features. Instead of using youtiao (油条) – those puffy sticks of fried dough – Beijingers substituted baocui (薄脆) – square, crisp and light fried batter – as the jianbing’s stuffing.

How did a jianbing shop get so hot with young and hip Chinese youths? Owner Hao Chang originally worked in the media, and you can tell. When opening his business, he used well-honed, killer moves all over Chinese social media. He dominates on Weibo, reacting quickly to the shop’s followers, winning the attention and compliments of native Beijingers and even those from out of town.

The interior decoration is bright and trendy. Posters on the wall have quirky Chinese slogans and street-culture graphics. You’ll find little figurines along the counter wearing shirts reading “Genius of jianbing.”

But hip as the surroundings might be, Chang is calling back the days of yore by returning to the youtiao as the stuffing for their jianbing, making more layers of flavor inside of large crepe-like wrapper by brushing a secret sauce of their own, and doubling the eggs.

If one jianbing (RMB 9.5) is not enough, try their classic jianbing set (RMB 23), a jianbing with a bowl of spicy doufu nao (豆腐脑, jellied tofu) – though ask for plain if you prefer – and a cup of soy milk.

Huang Tai Ji 黄太吉传统美食
Mon-Fri 7am-2am, Sat-Sun 8.30am-1am. 1/F, Bldg. 10, Jianwai Soho, Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Chaoyang District (5869 9887)
朝阳区东三环中路建外Soho西区10号楼1层

A version of this article appeared in the November issue of the Beijinger.