Shaguoju, formerly Heshunju, is one of Beijing's old established restaurants, founded in the sixth year of the Qianlong reign — 1741 — and therefore close to three hundred years old. It made its name cooking and selling white-boiled pork from one very large sand pot, and the city still quotes the old saying about its sign: after noon, no service. Today its whole-pig banquet technique is on Beijing's intangible cultural heritage list.
What to order
- White-boiled pork in the pot
- The dish the place exists for. Black-pig belly, boiled and sliced thin as paper, skin off, rich without heaviness and lean without dryness. It comes with house pickled cabbage and glass noodles, and a dip of chive flower, fermented bean curd and chilli oil.
- Meatballs in the pot
- Meatballs crisp outside and tender within, simmered until they have taken up the broth, with dried shrimp and winter melon. The noodles hold together however long it cooks.
- Nine-turn intestines
- Very thoroughly cleaned, sweet and soft, neither greasy nor dry. One of the serious dishes people order here.
- Salt-blasted tripe
- An old Beijing dish made from beef tripe, done the traditional way: crisp and tender at once.
- Mustard cabbage rolls
- A cold old-Beijing dish: sour, sweet, a little sharp, and the best thing against the pork.
The shop, and what it costs
- The main branch
- The Xisi branch at 60 Xisi Nandajie in Xicheng is the original and the oldest. It stands about a hundred metres from Gangwashi church, in an old building whose private rooms keep the period feel.
- Cost per person
- Around 80 to 110 yuan. Portions are large, which makes it better value than most of the old names.
- Hours
- Generally 6:30 to 9:00 for breakfast and 11:00 to 21:00 for lunch and dinner.
Practical notes
- Go off-peak
- The old no-service-after-noon rule is history, but at weekends and on public holidays there is still a queue at mealtimes. Go on a weekday, or telephone ahead; the wait runs 30 to 60 minutes.
- Eat it hot
- The pots arrive still bubbling. Eat them while they are hot, which is when the texture and the taste are what they should be.
- Order something against the fat
- The pork is not heavy for what it is, but it is still pork. A vegetable dish or the mustard rolls will settle it.