A vendor makes jianbing in Beijing. This is one of the most famous and traditional foods to eat in the morning.

 

Youtiao, deep fried dough sticks.

Jiaoquanr, another fried snack.

Jianbing, a Chinese style pancake. Photos: Guo Yingguang/GT

The seats were still full at 9 am in Ciqikou Douzhir Dian, a restaurant in Dongcheng district that provides traditional Beijing breakfast and snacks. The wooden table tops glowed with oil and the black wooden stools were dented slightly after years of use.

Many shared a table due to limited seating space. The elderly with their grocery bags sat next to the young, while the occasional tourist entered after sightseeing at the Temple of Heaven across the street. Strangers sat side by side at a tiny table and sipped the same greenish-gray liquid.

The liquid is douzhir, or fermented bean drink, a traditional Beijing breakfast item considered a delicacy by some and undrinkable by others. While it is still on the list of favorite breakfast items, it no longer dominates the breakfast menu in Beijing.

As Chinese society changes, the way people eat breakfast does too. While some stick with the traditional food, many turn to fast food and Western-style breakfast to fill their stomachs.

Tasting tradition

At Ciqikou, most of the diners are between 30 to 50 years old, store owner Xu Jiaxiang told Metro Beijing.

"Eating breakfast snacks is an old Beijing tradition, so in the morning people keep coming in the door," he said.

Traditional breakfast foods are prevalent throughout Beijing. Many stores that offer ready-to-order snacks, porridge or baked goods are located near residential compounds, making them available to people who still enjoy the old way of living.

Li Shi, a member of the Beijing Folk Culture Association, told Metro Beijing that traditionally Beijingers ate snacks for breakfast.

In the traditional breakfast category, there is red and green porridge, jellied tofu, stir-fried liver and so on.

Many who come to Xu's shop order douzhir and jiaoquanr, a circular, fried snack that typically goes with the bean drink. Made from green soy bean, the drink isn't appealing in appearance or in taste at first.

"Many people can't get used to douzhir's taste, especially the young ones," Zhang Jingli, a frequent diner at the douzhir shop, told Metro Beijing. "But I crave it if I haven't had it for a few days."

Zhang said the bean drink is beneficial to health. He often drinks it after he has consumed a lot of alcohol. Since he lives around this area, he regularly comes to the store and takes the drink home.

Two customers who only gave their surnames, 65-year-old Li and 67-year-old Liu, said they come to the shop for the bean drink two to three times a week. Liu also told Metro Beijing the bean drink is beneficial.

"My health isn't that good and I can't eat fried foods. But one day I ate fried food and drank douzhir and it helped me digest. It's better than medicine," she said.

Aside from health reasons, many are eating the food for breakfast because they always have. Having lived in Beijing since childhood Zhang labels douzhir and jiaoquanr as "authentic old Beijing food."

His opinion is shared by Xu, who said the service, environment and taste has never changed.

"We use the same materials. There's no change quality-wise," he said.

It's a wrap

Zhang Yanqiu has only been making jianbing guozi, Chinese pancakes with a puffed fritter inside, at Chaoyangmen for a month, yet she already has skills.

With her left hand she scooped a ladle full of pancake batter and dumped it on a heated, round stove in front of her. She quickly grabbed a wooden spatula and smoothed the batter into a round wrap.

Then Zhang cracked an egg to place in the wrap, which sizzled on the hot stove top and quickly took form. She sprinkled it with chopped green onions and cilantro, and smeared sweet flour paste and spicy sauce on the wrap.

Finally, she put a puffed fritter on top, quickly folded it into a wrap and handed it to a girl in front of the stand.

The girl, who gave her surname as Zhao, had just walked off the subway at Chaogyangmen. She told Metro Beijing she works in the area and always buys fast foods from such stands for breakfast.

There are many similar stands in Beijing, most located near subway stations, offering fast and convenient foods in the morning for those on their way to work. Indeed, such a sighting is very common throughout the city. 

Yan Shuping has a stand next to Zhang and sells Mexican chicken wraps. Sounding Western, these wraps have been modified to suit Chinese palettes. The wraps usually contain lettuce leaves, fried egg, sausage or chicken wrapped in Chinese-style flat bread.

Both vendors said they serve white-collar workers who get off the subway and want to look for something to eat. Zhang usually sells the pancakes till 10 am. After that, the crowds from the subway begin to thin.

A bite of Beijing

Li acknowledges breakfast in today's society is no longer just about eating the traditional snacks and has gained variety.

Foods from all over China, as well as Western fast food chains, like McDonald's and KFC, are flushing into the Chinese market.

But Li said traditional breakfast has greater meaning. This stems from the city's history and culture. Beijing's breakfast snacks combine the characteristics of foods from many different ethnicities who live in the city.

Many people choose such foods not only for the taste but also for the memory and culture behind them.

"Such foods have become a symbol and memory for generations of Beijingers as they grow up. Whatever grandparents ate back in the day the kids are still eating, and the taste never changes," Li said.