Street Eats: From Ganjiakou to Sanlitun Soho, Visit Lady Chai for Authentic Beijing Beef Noodle Soup
Originating in Ganjiakou in western Beijing, Ms. "Lady" Chai has been running a small beef noodle business for nearly 30 years, thus solidifying her place in many a Haidian local's childhood memories for her homey and comforting eats. There's no surprise why Lady Chai's brand of noodle soup is particularly popular, and now Lady Chai goes upmarket with her newest and third Beijing venue in Sanlitun Soho.
From the outside you can tell that this store has been streamlined for a fast food dinign experience: the space has warm and welcoming lights, clean wooden small tables, a comfortable seating area, a cashier to order and pay at, and several waiters wandering around. There are the necessary old photographs on the wall, reminding you that this brand has a long and respected history.
The menu is quite simple and includes noodle soup (RMB 12, without meat), beef noodles (RMB 26), spicy beef noodles (RMB 28), majiang liangmian (cold noodles with sesame sauce, RMB 16), signature braised beef (RMB 90/500g), a bowl of beef (RMB 20), a bunch of cold dishes (RMB 13-36), and grilled lamb chuan'r (RMB 8).
Of those, we tried the plain noodle soup, the spicy beef noodles, and a bowl of beef. Both of the starch-based noodle dishes were served with heavy beef soup and topped with chopped raw cabbage, while the spicy noodles were topped with an additional four pieces of braised beef. The noodles were chewy in a good way (think al dente pasta) and the bowl of braised beef was easily the winner with its tender and well-seasoned chunks of hearty beef. Seeing as the beef here is the main draw, we'd suggest getting a bowl of soup noodles and an extra bowl of beef so you can get the most for your buck.
As a side, we had radish which comes doused in majiang, or sesame sauce (RMB 19), making for a sweet and savory palate cleaner inbetween gobfulls of meat.
The drinks are also on the local side, with Beibingyang (RMB 5), Yanjing (RMB 12), Niulanshan erguotou (RMB 12), and Red Star erguotou (RMB 12), the latter too aiding in digestion and a good excuse to get woozy over dinner.
The noodles here taste great and were served fast, and we're happy to say that Lady Chai hasn't lost her touch in the move from a dusty streetside restaurant in the burbs to the heart of Sanlitun's shiny shopping district.
Lady Chai
Daily 11am-9pm. B1-328, Bldg 3, Sanlitun Soho, Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District (8590 0672)
老北京柴氏：朝阳区工人体育场北路三里屯SOHO3号商场B1-328号
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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Tracy Wang
