Ranajit Dam
THERE is no time of the year that barbecued food is ever shunned in Shenzhen -- even the steamiest summer nights see people sitting on plastic stools on sidewalks, eating grilled eggplant and lamb skewers until late into the night -- but with the weather having turned simply spectacular in the last few days, you can now gorge on some barbecued meat and not feel the accompanying guilt either.
And while establishments serving barbecued food in Shenzhen are plentiful, with some appearing literally out of nowhere in front of housing estates in the form of mobile grills, some restaurants do stand out from the masses. One of these is Xiaobaidu, which is certainly worth a visit because not only is the food of high quality, but also because it mixes in some Korean elements to provide a unique culinary experience.
When we first heard of Xiaobaidu, courtesy a friend who lives near the Bagualing food street, we had assumed it was a standalone restaurant, not unlike several in the general area that stay open until very late. However, after a conversation with the restaurant's owner, a genial man surnamed Yue who is always game for a chat, we found that Xiaobaidu is part of a restaurant chain from Shenyang called Baidu. Baidu has 32 outlets in that city, and the name of this restaurant carries the prefix "Xiao" (which means small or little in Chinese) to imply this is a smaller version of the franchises in that chain.
Xiabaidu is not really that small -- with two floors it could easily seat upwards of 60 -- it is rather inconspicuous. While approaching the restaurant, you are likely to be waylaid by employees of the neighboring outdoor restaurant, and if you're not careful, you might find yourself eating in some other place. Once inside Xiaobaidu, make yourself at home in the comfortable four-seater booths which have individual grills to cook the meat on, a la Korean style.
The grill is but only one of a number of Korean touches that help to infuse something different into what would have have otherwise been an average Chinese barbecue restaurant. Yue, while himself Han Chinese, hails from a part of Liaoning Province that has a number of ethnic Koreans; perhaps that is the reason behind Xiaobaidu's fusion of culinary cultures. Other signs are evident in the sale of Korean soju liquor along with the more traditional Chinese baijiu, the and the availability of polythene aprons to prevent your clothes from getting sprayed with oil. You can even order kimchee to go with your dinner, and diners get complimentary lettuce (at least the first bowl anyway) to wrap the meat in.
Perhaps the most ingenious cooking method that Xiaobaidu employs is the use of a kind of wax paper on the grill to make sure the meat doesn't become sticky. This maintains the flavor of the meat and allows it to stay on the grill for a longer period of time without losing its tenderness. The result is succulent, juicy meat that manages to preserve the taste even as it stayed on the grill for a while. We ordered a plate of pork (22 yuan, US$), a small plate of lamb (14 yuan), a plate of sweet potato (6 yuan) and a small plate of chicken gristle (15 yuan), which, after being cooked properly, tasted several notches above the far offered by most barbecue restaurants in Shenzhen. Condiments in the form of chili powder, cumin powder, a hot sauce and sliced chili added to the taste, and the effect created when all this was downed along with cold Tsingtao beer was simply delectable.
Perhaps the only grouse that we had was the restaurant closed a tad too early for our liking -- at 1 a.m., when the rest of Bagualing was humming outside. But if you're in the mood to try barbecue that's a little different, and a fair bit better, than the usual, then Xiaobaidu is the place for you.
