Marvellous mutton

Beijing Weekend By Xing Yangjian Away from the noise of the street, Shengtangzhai Restaurant offers a flavour of old Beijing inside a nice courtyard at the Asian Games Village. Shengtangzhai specializes in hot pot and is doing very good business during the cold winter days. According to the waiter, the main features of old Beijing hot pot are the bronze pot, the charcoal fire and the delicately prepared sauce. The latter includes fermented bean curd and sliced Chinese chives. The mutton served comes direct from Inner Mongolia and is cut into slices in its open kitchen. The best mutton, 7 kilos or so, is taken from five parts of a sheep. Every kilogram of mutton is cut into 160 slices. For nutritional purposes, the hot pot soup is made adding more than 30 kinds of Chinese herbs which improves the taste and helps digestion. As the Spring Festival approaches, Shengtangzhai is aiming at the family dinner market. Its private rooms are nicely furnished with nice pictures of old Beijing culture and New Year decorations. A hot pot for five is available for 150 yuan(US$18) and comes with some free side dishes. Location: 1 Datun, Anli Lu, (behind the Celebrity International Hotel), Asian Games Village, Chaoyang District Tel: 6494-3101

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