According to Wikitravel, Eight Treasure Tea “yields (not surprisingly) eight ingredients.” Then it lists: “Sugar lumps, wolfberries, tea leaves.” That’s not eight ingredients, Wikitravel.
Nor do there appear to be eight ingredients in the version in front of me, but rather 8,888 – the cup explodes with dried fruits and candies. I am left with a sugary aftertaste and more questions, when all I want from new restaurant Ningxia Taste is answers. Namely, to the following questions: What do people eat in Ningxia? What is the capital of Ningxia? Where is Ningxia?
Well, Ningxia Taste is in a mall. It’s the kind of cookie-cutter restaurant that has long rows of identical tables, where groups of coworkers form lines during workday lunch hours like cattle waiting for feed. But it is also a banger, a welcoming place with friendly service and unusually tasteful decor (well, for a mall).
Colorful photos on the walls and menus confirm that we’re not the only ones unaware of Ningxia cuisine – this place is practically an exhibition on the subject. We’re recommended the Wuzhong boiled mutton (RMB118), which for a star dish is disappointingly dry and flavorless. The local flavor eggplant (RMB29), fares better – it’s both sugared and spicy. Our favorite is the squeaky, chewy fried oat noodles (RMB39). But if you want the full experience, get a camel meat skewer (RMB9, we’re not joking).
Ningxia Taste, alas, is not the mind-blowing culinary discovery we hoped for. But it is a solid choice for lunch in Chaoyangmen. (Ningxia, by the way, is sandwiched between Inner Mongolia and Gansu. We Googled it later.)
Images by Victor Liu
See a listing for Ningxia Taste & read more Beijing Restaurant Reviews
0 User Comments