Cold Noodles

Rumour had it, somewhere in Beijing, there is a North Korean restaurant. I did my research, and there are a few around. One does not see these in Western countries, or indeed in many places outside of North Korea. So, we decided it was worth a try, and went over to the Haitanghua Pyongyang Cold Noodle Restaurant.



This restaurant (there are at least two in Beijing) is tucked away in a corner of Chaoyang, between Chinese restuarants and diplomatic compounds. It seems quaint, a word rarely ascribed to products of Pyongyang. We entered, and were seated in what appeared to be an ordinary, simple restaurant, by a beautiful waitress. All the waitresses were very attractive and poised - from what I hear, selected from Pyongyang's finest. They were wearing strange black and white dresses, and all seemed very happy to be there serving us (whether or not they actually were is academic, I wasn't going to ask them).

We went over the menus, which offered a slight variation on the more common South Korean offerings. Prices were high, but that was expected (profits are sent back home). There was a lot of seafood on offer, some of which looked quite good, but was too expensive and small for us. We skipped the dog meat items (enough to fill a page), and ended up ordering some cold noodles, kimchi, grilled beef, bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables, meat and egg), and a plate of chicken wings. We asked if they had any North Korean beer, and they didn't, but they were able to offer us some interesting alcohol.


You can really taste the mushroom.

Service was good and fast, which even at these prices is uncommon in Beijing. The food, I thought, was a lot better than reviews had me believe, the kimchi in particular was quite good. The cold noodles, a North Korean specialty (but also served in South Korea) are just that - cold noodles, in sour soup (but not too sour). I've had these before, at other Korean restaurants and the food hall on campus, but these had the addition of some beef. I wasn't sure which part of the cow it was, I think it was tongue.

After enjoying our food, we asked for the bill, which was less than expected at Y68 per person (that gets us all-you-can-eat-and-drink, including beer and sake, at a Japanese restaurant near our campus). The waitresses obliged to take our photos with a smile, but weren't allowed to be in a photo with us - every time we asked, they just smiled and nodded and disappeared. They all smiled and waved as we left.