ProvGov: Doupi, Mianwo, and Reganmian at Hubei Provincial Government Restaurant

After Henan comes Hubei in our ongoing trawl through Beijing’s provincial government restaurants. Given that the capital of Hubei is Wuhan, a city well-known for its reganmian, or hot dry noodles, a favorite dish across China, there were plenty of high expectations.

Hubei Weidao’s menu has a huge list of Hubei-specific dishes, prompting us to consult the waiter so as to select those dishes considered most authentic to the region. The waiter suggested doupi, mianwo, yijiangguoqing, nuomi lian’ou, a cold sweet sticky rice with lotus root dish, and of course the aforementioned reganmian.

The first three dishes were more like traditional Wuhan-style snacks. Doupi, a type of rice cake, is usually served at breakfast and gets its “bean skin” name from its top layer, which is made out of a blend of green bean powder, eggs, milk, and flour. The rest of the rice cake consists of fried sticky rice with a bean curd glaze, sliced pork, mushrooms, and scallions, making for a range of textures in every bite. While this rendition of doupi was a little too salty for my tastes, especially for breakfast, the combination of flavors made for a moreish snack.

The reganmian – noodles served with a melange of soy sauce, sesame paste, pickled vegetables, chopped garlic chives, and chili oil – were also a little too intense and there was a very peculiar bitter aftertaste that I didn’t care for.

Rounding off this trio of nibbles was the mianwo, a deep-fried doughnut-shaped treat made from soy milk, rice milk, flour, sesame, and chopped scallion. The ingredients balance the slightly salty and sweet flavors, but lacked any real character, needing to be dipped in vinegar and chili for any substantial taste.

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Finally, the yijiangguoqing, rounded off a pretty disappointing Hubei experience. In the soup sat a river fish and fish cakes that looked more like luncheon meats, the broth only containing a hint of cumin. As I’m not a fan of processed fish cakes or luncheon meats, it was left to the fish to save the soup. But given that it was full of bones, I left it almost entirely untouched for fear of choking.

It’s likely that we won’t be coming back to this provincial government restaurant, as honestly, you can find much better reganmian at just about any other noodle shop in the city.

Hubei Weidao
Daily 11am-9.30pm. Hubei Weidao, Hubei Dasha, 36 Zhongguancun Nandajie, Haidian District (6210 8377)

湖北味道:海淀区中关村南大街36号湖北大厦1层 

This article first appeared in our magazine. Read the rest of the Beijinger July/August issue here.

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Photos: Margaux Schreurs