Skip to content
A little preparation. A much better adventure.Independent travel advice · Made for China
Save your trip
Menu
Book your trip

A taste of Beijing

No. 69 Fangzhuanchang Zhajiangmian

方砖厂69号炸酱面

A tiny hutong shop that sells essentially one thing: zhajiangmian, Beijing's defining noodle dish. Chewy hand-made noodles come with a fermented soybean sauce slow-cooked for hours with minced pork, and you mix in shredded cucumber, radish and greens yourself. Pickled garlic cloves and chilli sauce sit on the table. It is packed from opening to closing and costs less than a coffee in most capital cities.

¥20–50 per person≈ US$2.98Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026Dongcheng, 1 Fangzhuanchang Hutong
Plan your meal Open map

Why come here

A place worth making time for

Michelin Bib Gourmand, 2026 MICHELIN Guide Beijing.

The house favourites

What to order

Point at the Chinese. Staff will understand it even where the menu has no English at all.

  • Noodles with fermented soybean paste (炸酱面)
  • Pickled garlic (糖蒜)
  • Cold noodles with sesame sauce (麻酱面)

What it actually tastes like

The sauce is salty and deeply fermented rather than sweet, closer to miso than to anything resembling bolognese, and it is meant to be diluted by the raw vegetables. Pickled garlic is eaten whole, raw, between mouthfuls.

Allergens in this kitchen

gluten/wheatsoysesame

This is the kitchen, not one dish. Woks, fryers, blanching water and utensils are shared in almost every Chinese restaurant, so for a serious allergy treat the whole premises as the unit rather than ordering around it.

Get to know the menu

Local specialities to try here

Fried sauce noodles 炸酱面Deeply salty and savoury, slightly oily, cut by crunchy raw cucumber and radish