Halal food: Preserving quality over generations
“My father said we must not cut corners and we must keep our integrity.”
Hong Yuchun, 61, manager of Hongji Snack in Niujie, says she has thought about opening new restaurants because there are always long lines outside the current one. But all her restaurant’s food is homemade, she says, and before she can consider expanding needs to figure out how to keep consistency of flavor.
In contrast to other brands in Niujie that may go as far back as 200 years, Hongji Snack is relatively new, having been established in 1991, when it sold only three different snacks.
“We don’t have a special recipe or a long history, and most Hui people can make snacks at home, so we just try to give each snack the best flavor we can with the best ingredients available,” Hong says.
Her parents and all her eight siblings worked together to run the res-
Niujie, Beijing
taurant and learn from others how to make different Hui snacks, of which they now have 50 different kinds, she says.
“My father reckoned that before we sold food to others we must enjoy it ourselves.”
Hong, born in Niujie, moved out when she married, but each time she returned for a visit “I would take this really deep breath when I was in the neighborhood.”
She then decided to move back into the area.
There is always a long line outside Hongji Snack, and as it has relocated, so have those lines. Hong says that most customers are from outside Niujie, its reputation having grown thanks to word-of-mouth recommendations.
These days, too, young people are ordering takeaway from Hongji Snack on their smartphones. Hong’s nephew, who helps in the restaurant, has advised Hong to open an online shop.
“Our generation is old-fashioned, so we may be a little slow on the uptake with these new sales methods,” Hong says.
The three long lines on the other side of Niujie are outside Jubaoyuan, which gained a reputation over many years for its raw beef and mutton and cooked beef, but whose signature product is now mutton hotpot.
Ma Gang, the general manager, is a Niujie resident whose family is nicknamed Brick Ma, his father being a builder. He took over managing Jubaoyuan, which then had 12 staff, 25 years ago.
“We’re known for our beef and mutton, so I go to the slaughterhouse each day and wait for the fresh meat and bring it back to the shop,” Ma says.
When Niujie was upgraded in 1997, Ma took the sign that had hung outside Jubaoyuan’s shop and reopened the business elsewhere. In 2003 he moved back to Niujie and, with much more space, decided to start offering mutton hotpot. That has been a resounding success.
The long lines outside seem to be a constant, and even at 10 pm people are still waiting for a table.
“The high quality of our beef and mutton is the key, and we need to keep that into the future,” Ma says.