Liu Residence 刘宅食府 @ Beijing (2023)

My first trip to Beijing in three years, and old friends brought me back to our usual “canteen”. Welcome to our home away from home!

Liu Residence Restaurant 刘宅食府 is situated at the back of a nondescript alley, and you would have missed it if you are not eagle-eyed. We have been to this restaurant more than 10 times over the years. The cuisine is mixed – you get the classic Beijing dishes like mustard cabbage 芥末墩, and home style dishes like the eggplant and stir-fried vegetables. And you can also order the restaurant stuff like Peking duck (which is done over a traditional wood fire).

Mustard Cabbage 芥末墩

This is one classic Beijing appetiser that was passed down over time while many others were lost along the way, only to appear in historical texts. The Tianjin cabbage is blanched and then marinated in yellow mustard, sugar, white vinegar and sesame. The pickled cabbage is appetising with a sharp, mustardy taste.

Deep Fried Eggplant Wrapped in Bacon 茄子肉卷

This is a signature dish of Liu’s. The eggplant is wrapped with unsalted bacon and deep fried to a crisp. It is then smooched with a sweet and sour sauce. You cannot stop at one.

Pig Intestine Sautéed with Pickled Garlic 腊八蒜肥肠

It’s a classic Beijing-style dish. There’s nothing to fault with the sour and crispy pickled garlic 腊八蒜 matched with the chewy, fatty pig’s large intestines. The tastiness made one forgets about the cholesterol and calories, and one cannot stop at one piece.

Sautéed Broccoli with White Fungus 蒜蓉木耳西兰花

A simple home style sautéed vegetable dish.

Crispy Skin Prawns 酥皮虾

The prawn used was not the freshest, but the cooking technique compensated the fault. The shell has been deep fried to a crisp and you can eat it whole to enjoy the sweet, sticky sauce on the shell. It would be perfect if the prawn was larger and fresher.

Peking Duck 北京烤鸭

If you want to eat the Peking roast duck here, you have to be patient enough. Everything is done from scratch, and only by slowing down and attention to details can you enjoy the signature dish of Beijing.

The condiments included some pickled radish and dried plums in addition to the usual dark sweet sauce, sugar, paprika powder, leeks and cucumber.

The back of the duck near the neck is the fattiest part of the duck. and it produces the crispiest piece of skin. This is usually served as the first course of the Peking duck. And traditionally this is eaten by dipping a piece of duck skin in white sugar.

Next up, a plate of pure duck meat which you dip it in the sweet dark sauce. Very dry and almost tasteless saved for the sauce.

And finally the half-skinned roast duck that you roll with the flour skin with shredded spring onions and cucumber strips, accompanied with whatever condiments you like.

The carcass of the duck was not wasted – it was boiled with cabbage and served as a soup. The Peking duck here was not the best in Beijing, but it was value-for-money and comparatively better than some of the branded Peking duck restaurants in town.

This old Beijing courtyard gem has a loyal following who pack it to the rafters every night, so make sure you book ahead.

Liu Residence Restaurant 刘宅食府
8 Meishuguan Dongjie (opposite Sanlian Bookstore)
美术馆东街蒋家大院胡同8号(三联书店斜对面胡同内)
电话：13520028821,+86-10-64005912

Visited Jun 2023

#liufamily #刘宅食府 #蒋家大院胡同 #hutongcuisine @北京刘宅食府