When US Vice-President Joe Biden visited Beijing, he took his granddaughter to lunch at Yao Ji Chao Gan and ordered five bowls of zhajiang noodles.

Biden had just happened to order one of Beijing's favorite snack, a colorful bowl of boiled noodles that is eaten tossed with a dollop of deep brown bean paste and meat sauce and shredded radishes, cucumbers and sprouts. The dish is to Beijingers what the hamburgers are to Americans.

Literally, zhajiang mian means noodles with fried sauce. The secret is definitely in the sauce and the quality of the dish hinges on how well-made it is.

The pork must also be properly fatty as the rendered lard is what makes the sauce tasty. For those who avoid meat, there are versions that use scrambled eggs or diced aubergines.

One other element contributes to the success of a delicious bowl of zhajiang mian. And that is the collection of mianma, the little saucers of shredded vegetables that are to be tossed into the noodles.

At some Beijing noodle restaurants, there may be as many as eight little plates of cucumber slices, watermelon radish, celery hearts, green bean, sliced cabbage, sliced garlic, green garlic and bean sprouts.

The noodles must be hand-made, and stretched to maximum elasticity. Customers may also ask for a bowl of the water the noodles are cooked in, as they believe this "noodle soup" aids digestion. The first people to eat zhajiang mian were the people from Shangdong and Beijing, but now, the dish is popular all over China, with variations on the sauce.

A typical zhajiang mian restaurant is a good place to get to know the locals. At the door, customers are greeted enthusiastically by waiters dressed in dark blue gowns from the days of old Beijing. They shout loudly to announce your arrival, alerting the rest of the serving staff.

And once you are settled onto the long wooden benches that frame each table, you can relax and start ordering. And it is more than a bowl of noodles you will be sampling, it is a way of life from the past.

You can contact the writer at yejun@chinadaily.com.cn.

China Daily

(China Daily 10/04/2011 page9)