Baoyuyuan 寶裕源 @ Pingyao

During my trip to Shanxi, I spent a night with my group in the ancient town of Pingyao. This township has been in existence in this format since Yuan dynasty, and reached its peak during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Pingyao 平遥, officially Pingyao Ancient City 平遥古城, is a walled city in central Shanxi, China, famed for its importance in Chinese economic history and for its well-preserved Ming and Qing urban planning and architecture. The ancient city was built during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou (827-782 BC) and has a history of more than 2800 years.

By the 16th century, it was a regional financial hub; some consider it to have been the financial centre of the Qing Empire in the late 19th century. Baoyuyuan 寶裕源 is a restaurant specialising in Jin cuisine (cuisine of the Shanxi area) located in the ancient city within a Qing dynasty (1644–1912) residential courtyard.

They also offer homestay at the back of the restaurant in traditional Chinese-style courtyard with historical features (like sleeping on a heated bed stove called kang 炕) and modern amenities. Sleeping on a kang is not comfortable, so it seems that they are not operating it anymore.

The dining area covers the front part of the house on the ground floor. As this restaurant was located in a major road in the town colloquially known as 明清一条街 (“Ming and Qing on the same street”), it quickly filled up for dinner. Later did I find out that all the restaurants around this shop belonged to the same boss. No wonder the menu looked similar.

山野菜 Wild Vegetables

The first dish was 山野菜 Wild Vegetables using locally foraged vegetables. Strangely it reminded me of Sayur Manis (sweet leaf), something we have in Singapore that is poisonous if not cooked properly. The Pingyao version was very fibrous and didn’t have the sweet taste. I suspect that it has to be cooked to death like our sayur manis.

干煸烤栳栳 Stir-fry Honeycomb Noodles

干煸烤栳栳 Stir-fry Honeycomb Noodles is made from oat rolled noodles that looked like a honeycomb and instead of the traditional way of eating it (by dipping in a tomato-based sauce), it was stir-fried like normal noodles. Not really used to oat noodles, but definitely a healthier choice than wheat noodles.

香醋土鸡蛋 Free-range Omelette with Shanxi vinegar

香醋土鸡蛋 Free-range Omelette with Shanxi vinegar is so simple yet so delicious because the two main ingredients were excellent, the eggs and the vinegar. Eggs used were from free-range chickens raised locally, and Shanxi vinegar is one of the four major types of vinegar produced in China for over 10 centuries. The vinegar has a special fragrance because it is made from sorghum.

京葱炒野菌 Sautéed Wild Mushrooms and Leeks

The mushrooms used were dried ones rehydrated which were really flavourful as the drying process concentrated all the flavours that were released from the rehydration process. Yet another simple and delicious dish.

牛肉铜火锅 Beef in Copper Hotpot

The most expensive item on the menu, 牛肉铜火锅 Beef in Copper Hotpot is sold in almost every restaurant in the ancient town. Using local cows, these lean and tough beef are braised to tender and then layered on top of other ingredients – beancurd, fried meatballs, pork belly, radish – and then simmered in a beautiful beef stock. Again, the radish had soaked up all the flavours of the hotpot and was the most delicious ingredient in the hotpot. The beancurd was a close second.

As a tourist and spending only a night in Pingyao, I had no other reference to judge how good or authentic the Jin cuisine served tonight. Overall it was a good meal, the speed of serving was quick (which make me wonder if the food was prepped and frozen), and the environment was really nice. Good choice if you are in town.

Bao Yu Yuan 寶裕源
No.171 South Street, Pingyao, Shanxi, 031100, China
陕西省平遥古城南大街171号

Visited Oct 2025