Xianlaoman — Restaurant in Beijing

After reading some good reviews we went to try it out. My partner and I eat dumplings in Melbourne on a regular basis. So while we were in China we thought we should check it out and see if our Melbourne dumpling restaurants were authentic.

It should be noted that I don't speak Mandarin. Although my partner does.

On arrival we were pointed upstairs and then subsequently to the entrance to the toilet were two small tables were setup. We quickly refused and went back downstairs and waited for a table to become free. We didn't have to wait for long before a couple of tables became free. We had to guard them like gridiron players as there were other people waiting and there's no such thing as a line in China. People will commonly push in without even so much as a sheepish look. Jumping queues is something of a sport here.

After we secured our table we got it cleaned. A waiter asked if we needed an English menu to which I nodded. My partner explained that she can understand Mandarin but I couldn't. So he brought back a picture menu. Although there wasn't a word of English in it. It wasn't too hard to order.

Dumplings are ordered by weight here. The minimum is to order 2 batches of 5 dumplings.

We ordered: 10 x standard dumplings (pork, cabbage, mushroom) Cabbage and mushrooms Liver soup

The liver soup was very salty for us. But it seems to be the norm in Beijing. Most of the food we've tried in Beijing has been quite salty. We only had a spoonful each and couldn't finish the rest.

The cabbage and mushrooms were also quite salty but was doable.

The dumplings were quite good. Although it took approximately 40 minutes between the other two dishes and the dumplings. Which meant the other dishes were cold by the time the dumplings came out.

As good as the dumplings were the customer service was appalling. Although this was probably about average by Chinese standards.

Although a no smoking sign was displayed in the resturant. A couple of customers were smoking. We asked the head waitress if this was a smoking restaurant to which she replied it was. I'm used to cigarette smoke as I used to work in a fast food chain. But my partner took real offence to it. I think it is a minor thing to most but some might be less than happy with it. Again I think this is the norm in China. I've experienced the same thing in a decent hotel which had no smoking signs next to an ashtray.

If you can tolerate the smoking and the bad customer service. Maybe try to see it as entertainment. The dumplings are worth a try.

As for comparisons between this restaurant and the Melbourne equivalent. I would say the Melbourne restaurant is quite authentic. As the customer service is...

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So much variety in different kinds of dumplings! The most delicious pot stickers (pan fried dumplings) ever. All vegetable fillings are meticulously cut in mini cubes. This texture makes a huge difference for the mouth feel and tasting experience. It shows devotion and attention to detail from a skilled chef. 👏

Very attentive staff despite the language barrier. Also nice relaxed atmosphere and clean environment. Worthly for revisit, Xianlaoman is a...