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A taste of Inner Mongolia

Lao Suiyuan

老绥元

A shaomai house on the Dashengkui commercial street in Yuquan District, trading from early morning to a crowd who eat dumplings with strong brick tea the way other cities eat congee. Shaomai is Hohhot's own invention — the old name for the city was Suiyuan, which is where this restaurant's name comes from and, by one account, where the dish was created in the Qing dynasty.

¥30–60≈ US$4.47Named as a national landmark food (中国地标美食) in Chinese coverageYuquan District, Dashengkui commercial street (玉泉区大盛魁商业街)
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Why come here

A place worth making time for

A well-known Hohhot shaomai house on the Dashengkui street, named for the city's historic name Suiyuan; no verifiable award.

The house favourites

What to order

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

  • Mutton and spring onion shaomai (羊肉大葱烧麦)
  • Brick tea (砖茶)
  • Mutton offal soup (羊杂碎)
  • Fried sweet millet cake (油炸糕)

What it actually tastes like

Very fatty mutton filling with a lot of raw spring onion. A dish of vinegar comes with it and is there to cut the fat; use it.

Allergens in this kitchen

gluten/wheatsoy

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

Lamb offal soup 羊杂碎Salty, peppery and deeply savoury with a strong organ-meat edge; the red chilli oil on top is what locals judge a bowl by.Fried yellow rice cake 油炸糕Crisp shell, very chewy sweet interior; the millet gives a faint sourness under the sugar.