Street Eats: Chinese Burgers, Beer, and Football Combine at Gongti's Buy N Large Foodbeer Club

As voting continues in the Beijinger 2016 Burger Cup, we once again went off the beaten path to try another "street eats"-style burger. Thankfully, today's adventure went much better than last time.

After we dug into the 7-Eleven rice burger, we also found this Chinese beef burger (烧饼 shāo bǐng). Yes, this is another burger blog, and if you're not into it, you better get involved, because the 2016 Burger Cup is not over and we are still scouring the streets for the best burgers in town. Think of it as your burgercation. 

Located west of the Workers' Stadium, this is the second Buy N Large Foodbeer Club to have been opened recently by founder Lu Yu and sits opposite the Hotel G and the former Pizza Buona. The first Buy N Large is a small shop in Sanlitun, next to the trotter place and right opposite where we tried a fried chicken fillet i.e. the perfect spot to take on Beijing's aspiring fast food hotspots.

Lu introduced the business to us, saying: “Buy N Large has become a famous chain restaurant in Tianjin. We sell hundreds of signature beef burgers (RMB 8) a day. The burgers are based on our special recipe, and we only serve up dishes that we like: potato salad (RMB 12), pork wontons (RMB 12), and seafood congee (RMB 20). Our bean curd jelly's availability is limited during the day, and our fried chicken sausage is made homestyle.”

And, of course, like any upstanding Beijing-based establishment, they also put together a mean jianbing (RMB 12).

The restaurant is a mere 15 square meters. However, the limited space is put to good use, decorated with various football paraphernalia, including a huge Beijing Guo'an poster. Their beer selection is also on the small side, but with RMB 20 bottles of 1664, Hoegaarden, and Franziskaner Weissbier they all come in at fairly good deal.

We tried the signature beef burger, which had lots of pulled beef stuffed into a crispy bun, and a big meaty flavor. Apologies, dear donkey burger, we think we prefer this rendition. Its main flaw: a slight dryness, which we combatted with an order of seafood congee which comes loaded with plenty of shrimp, adding a nice umami tinge to the porridge. 

This place combines three elements: all-day snacks, drinks, and football, adding up to, you guessed it, Foodbeer Club. At night, you'll find the bar bustling with hungry patrons and football fans who have come to watch football on the big screen TV. Conveniently located right next to Gongti, it has become a lot of football fan's second home, and will continue to be so during the Euro Cup 2016

Buy N Large Foodbeer Club
Daily 11am-midnight. Opposite to Hotel G, Gongti Xilu, Chaoyang District (138 1158 1196)
买又大: 朝阳区工体西路聚龙花园南门向东底商

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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Buy N Large Foodbeer Club, Tracy Wang