Off the beaten plate: Diaoyu Island mash

In off the beaten plate, we bring you interesting dishes we've come across in Beijing that you may not of heard of or even thought about before.

A small restaurant in Dongsi named Hot Bean is doing a brisk trade in patriotic mashed potato. The Diaoyu Islands Belong to China is the name given to the dish, which is (vaguely) Diaoyu-shaped and comes with a sovereignty-asserting flag. 

We found the contentious rocks, laced with sweetcorn and black pepper, to be pleasantly creamy and chunky. Regular diner Xi Xuebin, is reported saying: “Every time I eat here, I order it.” He added that he always leaves the portion of potato around the flag uneaten, “so it won’t fall off the island”.

> Hot Bean: Daily, 11am-10pm; 63 Dongsi Jiutiao, Dongcheng 东城区东四九条63号 (8401 0276)