In China, traveler finds halal restaurants in Beijing and Shanghai — Dawn

A Pakistani traveler visited halal restaurants, a tea house, and venues serving Chinese and international cuisine during a six-day trip to Beijing and Shanghai in China. She concluded that tourists from Pakistan do not need to bring a supply of canned food to China: in her experience, halal and other suitable food can be found in both cities, Dawn reports.

Halal venues in Beijing

The first stop was Niujie Street in Beijing, where the Niujie Mosque, considered the oldest in the city, is located. At a Muslim restaurant, the traveler tried hot pot with shrimp, beef, lamb, fish, octopus, squid, tofu, mushrooms, vegetables, and noodles.

She noted that thinly sliced meat and vegetables for the hot pot were dipped separately into boiling broth for several seconds. Niujie also sold fried Chinese xianbing buns with various fillings, including chicken, shrimp, beef, or lamb.

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At a traditional tea house in Beijing's old quarter, guests were served green jasmine tea in a gaiwan, a lidded bowl for brewing loose-leaf tea. The drink was accompanied by melon, sunflower seeds, salted peanuts, dried plums, cashews, cherry tomatoes, hawthorn berries, and sweets.

Shanghai dumplings and a restaurant without reservations

In Shanghai, the author noted the variety of cuisines: according to her, it is easy to find Indian, Turkish, Lebanese, and halal Chinese restaurants, as well as Italian and Mexican venues. One of the main dishes was xiaolongbao, steamed dumplings with hot broth inside. The traveler chose the crab meat option; the waitress advised her to first carefully drink the broth through a straw, then eat the wrapper and filling with chopsticks.

The final stop on the itinerary was the No. 3 Warehouse restaurant on the fourth floor of the New World City complex on Nanjing Pedestrian Street. The venue does not accept reservations, so the group waited one hour and 50 minutes for a table. Due to the limited selection of halal dishes, the guests ordered yellow croaker and steamed shrimp with a special sauce. The author noted that the restaurant impressed primarily with its interior and presentation of dishes, while the taste of the food did not fully meet her expectations.