Seeking out great dim sum this far north of the Pearl River Delta was once a quest doomed to failure. The naysayers will tell you there is NO good dim sum in Beijing. One must journey to Guangdong or Hong Kong for a bona fide cha siu bao fix. Well, naysayers… prepare to eat your negative words, drizzled in tangy XO sauce and bound up in a lightly steamed bun.
Jing Yaa Tang at the Opposite House, best known for classic Peking duck with all the fixings, has come to the rescue of forlorn foodies with one of the best lunchtime dim sum fests the capital has ever known. Every day from 12pm-2.30pm, the all-you-can-eat dim sum deal comes in at RMB 118 per person (+15%), with each dish you order on the check-box menu served to order.
Naturally, we scarfed pretty much the whole menu on a recent visit (35 dishes in total) in order to provide you, our discerning readers, with the best possible recommendations. So here goes: visit in a big group and order the lot (intolerances or cultural sensitivities aside, of course). It’s the most fun way to do it and you can try everything without wasting anything.
Executive Chef Dong Li reckons the best dish they do is the sweet custard buns. Well, yeah. He’s right, they were excellent. But we had a whole lot of love for the xiaolongbao (Shanghai-style soup dumplings), the lip-smacking pork and chive potstickers, tender beef short ribs with black pepper sauce, plump shrimp dumplings, crispy durian pastries, grrgrrggrgllll [UNINTELLIGIBLE HOMER SIMPSON DROOL SOUNDS].
For this quality and price point, coupled with the Opposite House’s five star service, it’s a tremendous deal. Ergo popular – book ahead on weekends. Drinks are not included – a trio of teas are available for RMB 28 per person (and a full bar). All the pics above are Opp House’s arty press shots; see below for the dishes we managed to photograph before they were devoured.
Missed our review of Jing Yaa Tang’s dinner menu, including the Peking duck? Read it here. For more hot resto tips like these, click the EAT tab above.
About the author: Tom O’Malley is Propaganda Secretary at Bespoke Beijing. A lifestyle journalist, guidebook author, glutton and bon vivant, Tom is a tireless crusader for fine food, hospitality and tourist experiences in China’s capital.