Sometimes Dad creates his own problems.
We were staying at our little hutong hotel in Beijing (北京, Běijīng).
One morning, instead of eating the hotel breakfast, Dad deliberately walked into a small neighborhood breakfast shop nearby.
The request was simple:
“What do Beijing locals eat for breakfast? Give me something local.”
The answer arrived.
And Dad began to reconsider the question. 😂
Meet Dòuzhīr (豆汁儿)
The greyish bowl is dòuzhīr (豆汁儿, dòuzhīr) — one of Beijing’s most distinctive traditional breakfast drinks.
It is made from the fermented liquid left from processing mung beans.
And fermented is the important word here.
Dòuzhīr has a sour, funky aroma and taste that can be startling if you’ve never encountered it before.
Beside it is jiāoquān (焦圈, jiāoquān) — a crisp, deep-fried ring commonly eaten with dòuzhīr.
One is sour and fermented.
The other is hot, crisp and fried.
Together, they’re a very old-school Beijing breakfast combination.
Did Dad Finish It?
Well…
Look at Dad’s face in the first photo. 😂
But this was exactly why Dad had walked into the shop.
Not to find the safest breakfast.
Not to find something designed for tourists.
Dad had asked:
What do locals eat?
And Beijing answered.
☕ ChinaTravelBUG’s Take
Travel food doesn’t always have to be delicious to you to be interesting.
Sometimes the interesting part is discovering that something completely unfamiliar to your palate can carry familiarity, habit and memory for the people who grew up with it.
Dad wouldn’t tell every first-time traveler:
“You MUST drink dòuzhīr!”
But if you’re curious?
Try a little.
Because sometimes understanding a city begins with ordering breakfast…
and wondering what on earth you’ve just ordered. 😂
