During my trip to Beijing in November, the only food I ate that was worth mentioning (‘cos the others were just food made by the crappy hotels) was a meal I had at HuaJia YiYuan Restaurant 花家怡园. A friend who works in Beijing brought me there and I was very happy to note that there were many locals filling the place to the brim when we got there. That’s always a sure sign of good food being served.

花家怡园 has four branches in Beijing, but the one my friend took me to was the one along 簋街 (Gui Street), a long street lined with restaurants and eateries. It’s a foodie’s playground!


Thankfully we were only a party of two and could get a place quite easily. There were several people waiting at the entrance when we got there. We sat in what seemed like a courtyard. The rooms surrounding the courtyard were private rooms for dining too. Above the courtyard were trellises lined with fake creepers.
Waiters and waitresses were moving up and down in hurried paces, taking orders and serving dishes and catering to diners’ requests. The place felt very alive and vibrant. It was the sort of thing to lift my spirits.


We had some diced beans fried with minced pork. This was very tasty and it went very well with a steaming bowl of white rice.


My friend recommended the duck meat wrapped in egg rolls which had to be dipped in a light savoury sauce before eating it.


This humongous stewed mushroom had to be cut up to be eaten. It was light and tasty and just the sort of thing I liked.


I’ve never had 蟹粉狮子头 (Lion’s Head with Crabmeat) and this was a variation from all the 狮子头 I’ve had so far in China. It was lighter in colour and was served in a clear broth unlike the usual ones which are served with a dark sauce. I liked the broth but I think I still prefer the more traditional 狮子头 with the dark sauce.


For dessert, we had 红枣雪蛤 (red dates with frog’s glands which is a type of 糖水 (sweet soup) said to be very nutritious. 雪蛤 is said to nourish the lungs and increase the 陰 (Yin) in one’s body.
花家怡园’s cuisine is a mixture of Sichuan (川菜), Shandong (鲁菜), Cantonese (粤菜) and Jiangsu (淮菜) cuisine.
簋街店: 北京市东城城区东直门内大街5号
Address: No. 5 Dongzhimen Street within avenue Dong Cheng District, Beijing