In Beijing, the Best Baozi Come From Queuing Outside the Park

A writer sent to cover Chinese breakfasts in Beijing learned that the best baozi require patience. The lesson came from a bun shop outside a Beijing park, where she queued for a morning meal and emerged with three flavors of stuffed bun, each stained with juice from its filling.

The writer, who admits she hates waiting, was assigned a story about Chinese breakfasts. Her usual Shanghai breakfast is dried tofu and vegetable stuffed baozi, which she avoids because of the queue. But this assignment demanded a visit to the park shop, where she queued for a bun stuffed with soy sauce pork, an eggplant and green pepper variety, and a pickled vegetable version.

Beijing resident Samantha Zhao, taking part in a baozi-making workshop at a trendy shop called Bao Er Jiu, explained the stain. Juice from the fillings staining the buns is a sign of a good bun, she told the writer. Zhao was making the Beijing classic, a juicy fennel pork bun.

Bao Er Jiu also serves pineapple-shaped buns, though its signature flavor is chocolate red bean. The chocolate red bean bun is tasty and not too sweet, the writer noted.

The Park Bun Shop

The shop sits outside a Beijing park, and its queue forms. The writer snagged that bun along with the other two flavors, each stuffed with a different filling.

Here are the three flavors she tried:

• Soy sauce pork, the bestseller among the flavors she tried
• Eggplant and green pepper
• Pickled vegetable

Zhao’s Workshop

Samantha Zhao participated in a baozi-making workshop at Bao Er Jiu, a trendy shop known for its creative bun shapes. The workshop focused on the Beijing classic, the juicy fennel pork bun.

Zhao explained that the juice staining the buns is a sign of quality.

Bao Er Jiu’s Menu

Bao Er Jiu offers a range of bun shapes beyond the standard round. The pineapple-shaped buns are eye-catching, though the shop’s signature flavor is the chocolate red bean.

The chocolate red bean bun is described as tasty and not too sweet.

The Queue Trade-Off

The writer’s admission that she hates waiting is the heart of the story. She queued despite her aversion, and the result was three flavors of bun that met her expectations.

The stained buns were a clear indicator of quality, according to Zhao.

Waiting Again

The writer closes with a promise. If she passes Bao Er Jiu again, and if the line moves fast, she will wait for baozi.

The story is a small one, but it captures a larger truth about Chinese breakfast culture. The best food often requires a queue, and the queue is part of the experience.

See the a run of 17 images at Npr.

baozi · Beijing food · Chinese breakfast · street food · travel food