“Salad?” Disgust drips from Joseph’s voice, and his lip curls. “You’re giving us salad for dinner?”

I have some sympathy for his position. Even during an English childhood, in the dark ages before the nation discovered that food should taste of things, salad was the most depressing meal: limp lettuce, huge flavorless tomatoes, wafer-thin slices of cucumber and for dressing, nothing but Heinz Salad Cream. Mixing oil and vinegar to make salad dressing was viewed as akin to witchcraft.

“This is going to be a nice salad,” I insist. “It’s a pasta salad with pesto.”

In previous Shunyi Family Foodie posts, we’ve tried out whole ranges, but today we’re looking at a single product: fresh pesto from the makers of Bonne Nani jams. We talked to founder Caroline Nath about how she got into the food business.

“I was a documentary filmmaker for many years,” she told us. “But documentaries became something you filmed on your mobile phone, so I had to reinvent myself in this transition period. Since I always loved cooking i decided to try something small scale, so I started making very low sugar jams. My mom told me it wouldn’t be possible: not putting 1 kilogram of fruit to 1 kilogram of sugar, and no pectin either. But after many trials it worked. Then I shifted to making more and spice-inspired jams, pestos, and sauces.

“It’s a small side business,” she said, “and we enjoy (my partner and I) meeting all sorts of people in the markets. Using our hands as artists makes our hearts smile, and enjoy the amazing people in this community.”

I added the pesto sauce to a pasta salad, with panfried chicken fillets, spinach, cherry tomatoes, spring onions and cucumber. Only half a jar was needed, even for a big family-sized salad.

Noah enjoys his pesto salad

And the verdict? All complaints were forgotten as the salad was scoffed in reverent silence. Then, later in the evening, the boys went and made toast, on which they slathered the pesto thickly, and wolfed that down too. The jar was empty before I could even take a picture; but that, I think, tells a story of its own.

Photos: Andrew Killeen

The name Carlin is synonymous with pies for many Beijingers, so we were delighted to have an opportunity to sample his wares for this week’s Shunyi Family Foodie.

“I’ve been a chef and restaurant owner, originally in Melbourne, for 36 years,” Chris Carlin told us. “I came to Beijing just over three years ago, and started a restaurant serving western food, in Changying, east Beijing. We kept trying to find things that worked with Chinese clients, and finally found the pie niche. We started selling them to expats, now we also send our pies to Shanghai, Wuxi, Shandong, and lots of other areas in China, to expats and to Chinese customers.”

Chris Carlin is as handy with a pool cue as he is with a pie crust

My family all picked a pie to try. Joseph (age 9) went for the Chunky Beef and Cheese, while older brother Noah (12) braved the Mexican Chili. My wife opted for Italian Saged Lamb, and I decided I had to road test the classic Aussie Meat Pie. I also couldn’t resist finding out what a Bacon & Egg Pie might be, and finally we couldn’t miss out on his hugely popular Ham & Cheese Pasty.

Beef and cheese pie with mash and veg

I had hoped to serve them with chips; not french fries, but proper English chips, big, fat, and seasoned with salt and vinegar. As is so often the case though, the potatoes from our local supermarket weren’t up to chipping, so we went for the traditional mash instead, with stir-fried leeks, beans, and asparagus. An Aussie wine seemed the only appropriate choice, so we plumped for a Merlot, not wanting to overwhelm the more subtle flavor of lamb.

The lamb was indeed flavorsome, the chunks tender and the herbs well judged. Noah pronounced the Mexican Chili not too hot – I tried a bit, and the spices were warming rather than mouth-numbing. Joseph scoffed his beef and cheese pie with great enthusiasm.

Joseph enjoys his pie

The meat pie, meanwhile, gave me a Proustian moment, where I flashed back to the pies of my childhood. The pastry is firmer than that of 2 Guys and a Pie, crumbly rather than soft; which style you prefer is a matter of taste. It was the filling though, rich and utterly satisfying, which brought a nostalgic mist to my eyes.

The Bacon and Egg Pie turned out to be nothing more exotic than a quiche Lorraine – which at least explained the comment on the menu that “real men would eat this.” It was certainly a robust and manly take on the recipe. And it was easy to see why kids would wolf down the Ham and Cheese Pasties, which deliver their favorite flavors in a handy package without all the additives a shop-bought equivalent would contain.

A bacon and egg pie – or quiche, if you’re fancy – and ham and cheese pasty

To sample Carlin’s tasty, affordable teatime treats, scan the QR code below.

Photos: Karen Killeen

It’s noticeable how many of the products featured in Shunyi Family Foodie have been “comfort food”; that authentic taste of home so hard to recreate in foreign lands. And no food is more comforting than versatile and satisfying pasta.

Of course it’s easy to get pasta in Chinese supermarkets, and even jars of sauce. But the pasta is dried, and the sauces mass produced, packed with sugar and preservatives.

So it’s no surprise to find that someone has filled that niche, producing pasta and sauces like mamma used to make. It may come as more of a surprise that that person is not Italian but Spanish. We asked Jorge Cordero to tell us more.

“My passion for making pasta started long ago,” he said, “when I was living on a small island in Spain, called Fuerteventura. At that time there was a large number of people coming from Italy, Uruguay and Argentina, where there is a great tradition in making fresh pasta. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work for several years in a restaurant-pasta factory, run by an Uruguayan family with Italian roots, the Cabbanos, where I learned all the basic skills to make fresh homemade pasta and pizza.”

In 2011 he and his wife set off to explore the world.

“After a year of adventures, we ended up coming to Beijing, where my wife found a job as a teacher. After working different jobs, I decided that I wanted to start my small business of making fresh homemade pasta, La Factoria. I started selling pasta twice a week to the teachers of Beijing City International School (BCIS), and many people have encouraged me to expand it, to reach out to more people. So far the support has been amazing and I am very appreciative of the overwhelmingly positive feedback I have received, in only a short time.”

Spag bol and macaroni cheese are staples for my family, with the occasional venture into seafood linguine at weekends. So my kids were enthusiastic about the arrival of Jorge’s ravioli and sauces. They come in little boxes, like cream cakes – this is to protect the delicate fresh pasta, but does make them feel more exciting, like you’re unwrapping a present.

With three pastas and four sauces, we held back the bolognese, to try with some spaghetti. Seven pieces of ravioli was a little awkward for a family of four, but we worked out a rotation system so everyone got to sample each combination.

Noah (12) looking forward to his pasta

First up was spinach and mozzarella. I have attempted pasta making myself, in the UK where I had a kitchen full of gadgets, and the process involved a lot of cursing, followed by fairly stodgy, clumpy results. I therefore have the greatest admiration for Jorge’s fine, light ravioli. I quickly realized they’re best cooked the right way up; they float in the boiling water, and the thicker base pasta cooks through without overcooking the filling.

Spinach and mozzarella ravioli with tomato sauce

“They’re like dumplings, but tastier,” Noah observed. “And Italian.”

My wife noted that they were packed with filling, and no water squirted out as it does with cheaper pasta. The rich tomato sauce was noticeably fresher than the shop-bought equivalent.

Next came something a bit different, ricotta and walnut ravioli, which we paired with red pesto. This was an instant hit, nutty and delicious.

Ricotta and walnut mozarella with red pesto

The final combination was ham and mozzarella with funghi sauce.

Ham and mozarella ravioli with funghi sauce

“Carnivores would love this,” Noah said, and it was certainly a meaty treat.

Because they’re fresh, Cordero recommends cooking his products the next day at latest, or freezing them immediately. However we risked holding onto the bolognese until the following evening, when I boiled up some dried spaghetti to have with it. Cordero’s sauce was sweet, with finely ground beef, and surprisingly delicate compared the sort of big pot I cook up for a weekday supper.

Cordero’s attention to detail extends to delivering his products personally, as his business gradually grows.

“My passion for cooking motivates me to always experiment with new flavors and recipes to create new types of pasta,” he said. “I am hoping that more people will enjoy my food as I expand little by little.”

Photos: Karen Killeen

The word “pie” has different meanings in different cultures. If you’re from North America, you probably picture a sweet fruit pie, or perhaps even a pizza. If you’re Chinese, the filling is wrapped in something like a bun and fried.

But to Brits and Australians alike, a pie is pastry filled with meat in gravy and baked. For me, it’s comfort food for a cold winter’s night at a football match. And for Matthew Wong and Andrew Papas, aka Two Guys and a Pie, it’s an exciting business venture.

Matthew Wong

The two Australians met through work in 2011.

“We were both talking about how it was impossible to find an Australian-style pie in Beijing,” Wong told us, “and that was the number one thing we both craved from home. Then we thought as Australians it would be a great idea (and our duty) to introduce this parcel of enjoyment to Chinese and expats.”

Neither had a culinary background, so the process of producing the pies emerged through trial and error.

“After a few months of mucking around in the kitchen, we decided to see what the public thought about it and did a pop up at the xiao mai bu at the corner of Dirty Bar Street. People seemed to enjoy them and no one said they tasted terrible so we considered that a success!”

Our sister publication played a part in their story too.

“Shortly after,” Wong said, “someone posted on The Beijinger asking where to get pies and so we responded and sent them some samples. The poster then put up a glowing review and the expat mags soon featured us. From there we wanted to open the first pie shop in Beijing and what better place than in Sanlitun, strategically located across from Heaven Supermarket’s original location? Serving punters hot pies with mash, mushy peas, and gravy whilst blasting Aussie tunes at 4 am was a blast!

“We did this for a couple more years but with the gentrification of Sanlitun, tighter regulations and family commitments, we made the decision to close the store and focus on events, wholesale and frozen delivery.”

My family sampled a range of their pies, which we served with buttered beans and asparagus, raw carrot sticks and mashed potatoes. (My tip for extra creamy mash- break an egg into the potatoes as you mash them. If the potatoes are still hot the egg will cook, so there’s no concerns about food safety, and it enriches the texture.) And of course we added onion gravy.

The pastry for the pies is a satisfying shortcrust, nicely balanced with the filling. Take care when heating them; as you can see from the pictures, I set the oven to too high a temperature for the first batch, and burned them slightly. I’d recommend about 20-25 minutes at 320 Fahrenheit (160 Celsius).

Our favorite was the beef and cheese, which we were fighting over, though all the flavors went down well. The fillings were a mixture of the traditional and the locally influenced: Guinness and mushroom was a rich taste of home, while the Thai chicken curry was not too spicy for my offspring, who wolfed it down.

Finally, as a treat for dessert, we had warm apple pie, because even for Aussies and Brits, pie can be sweet and fruity too. We added a scoop of vanilla ice cream. And the kids’ verdict?

“Scrumptious to the last morsel,” said Noah, who’s getting the hang of this.

Photos: Andrew Killeen, courtesy of Matthew Wong

Elvira’s Nuts – it’s not a comment on the sanity of Elvira Zaera Tamargo, though the Spanish momtrepreneur is certainly a big personality. Rather it’s the brand name under which she sells her popular homemade breakfast cereals and sauces.

“When I arrived here,” she told us, “I noticed that cereals were of high price and low quality and, at the same time, I noticed that I could get the ingredients from the local supermarkets to make my own. So I started producing for my family. Some friends were complaining too of the same problem, and they wanted to try mine. When they did, they thought that it was fantastic, and encouraged me to sell it.

Elvira Zaera Tamargo with her products

“At the same time someone asked me to do some onion chutney. I tried and it worked, they loved it, so i started producing the chutney, beetroot relish and tomato sauce, and they became a success too. Now due to time restrictions in my schedule I can only produce one of the sauces, the beetroot relish.”

We sampled the relish with a mature cheddar and some crackers. It was noticeably fresher than shop-bought sauce, with a subtle chili tang. The sweetness worked well with the bite of the cheddar; so much so that the tasting session turned into an unseemly scramble to scoff down as much as possible before it all disappeared.

Note the anxiety at the idea that we might snatch a cracker under the pretext of taking a picture…

Breakfast cereal is the bane of many a parent’s life. On the one hand, it’s quick, convenient, and kids love it. When you’re struggling to get them ready for school and out of the door in the morning, it can be a godsend. On the other hand, though the packaging boasts of vitamins and minerals, cereal is loaded with sugar. A bowlful of even an apparently plain cereal like cornflakes provides half of a child’s recommended daily sugar intake, and Frosties contain four times as much.

Zaera’s “Rocket Fuel” range includes not only healthy granola and muesli, but also homemade Cocoa Pops. These use natural maple syrup and stevia instead of processed sugar, and are noticeably less tooth-rottingly sweet. Without the sugar attack, the delicate flavor of the puffed rice comes through, giving the cereal an appealingly nutty feel.

Granola with added strawberries

We also tried the granola, which is deliciously munchable, the oat clusters mixed with a copious selection of nuts, seeds and berries. We added a few strawberries, just to top it off with a sweet treat. If you need something quick to feed the tribe in the morning, but don’t want to fill them up with additives, preservatives, and sugar, then Elvira’s Nuts Rocket Fuel offers a tasty and nutritious alternative.

Photos: Karen Killeen, Andrew Killeen

I have written before about how food can provide a deep sensory and emotional connection to a distant home. For me, nothing (except perhaps a Gregg’s sausage roll) tastes as much of my British home as a traditional fried breakfast: the “full English”. This plate of fatty, salty joy, a mid-morning boost to the working man, a weekend brunch restorative for the partygoer, is usually contrasted with what used to be called a “continental” breakfast, to the detriment of the latter. Croissants and hot chocolate might be all right for the fancy French, the thought runs, but only a pile of fried pork fuels up a Brit in the morning.

My attempts to recreate this experience in Beijing have met with mixed success. Chinese sausages bear little resemblance to the British foodstuff of the same name, and even German and American sausages are a disappointment.

“The British are my number one customers,” said Andy Horowitz when we met him at his new venture, a bar called Three Little Pigs on Xiezuo Hutong, Dongcheng District. “Then Americans, then Europeans.”

Andy Horowitz with some of his products

Perhaps no brand in Beijing is as synonymous with British bangers as “Andy’s Craft Sausages,” so it’s something of a surprise to discover that Horowitz is American. Originally he was in the jewelry business, but the sausages he made as a sideline became hugely popular.

“People went nuts,” he told us. “It quickly went from a hobby to a business that pays the bills.”

His bar sells beer and other beverages alongside his famous bangers, burgers, and bacon.

3 Little Pigs Bar

“It’s not an extensive menu, but it represents what the brand is supposed to be about,” he said. “I had a space near Yashow, but it got bricked. When this opportunity came up, I jumped on it, as a home base for the business.”

Horowitz also produces pork rind, or pork scratchings as they’re known in the UK. The Cajun flavor are perhaps a little too spicy for most kids, but my wife and I enjoyed as a Friday night treat, along with a cheeky Bloody Mary enlivened by Andy’s Ghost Chili Sauce.

A Friday night treat for the grown-ups

We sampled two styles of bacon, English back bacon and streaky, and two styles of sausage, the Lincolnshire which was his very first product, and Cumberland. I grew up on our local butcher’s award-winning Cumberlands, so I kept those for the fried breakfast test. The Lincolnshire sausages I put into a “Toad in the Hole”. When we lived in England we often hosted French schoolkids, and this traditional dish was my secret weapon to convince them that British food is not entirely without merit. Sausages are roasted in a Yorkshire-pudding style batter and served with onion gravy, and not one of our visitors ever turned their nose up at it. Andy’s meaty Lincolnshire sausages would have pleased the fussiest French teen (see main picture above).

No English gentleman would use streaky bacon as part of his breakfast. Instead, I added it to a spinach and avocado salad, with spring onions and cherry tomatoes. Andy’s bacon crisped up beautifully, becoming salty and crunchy without shriveling to nothing. As an extra treat, I topped the salad with quail eggs; in the UK, an expensive indulgence, but here quite affordable at RMB 15 for a big bag. (Be careful bringing them back from the shop though – I managed to break a few on the journey.) The final result proved that fried bacon doesn’t have to be part of an artery-clogging fat fest.

Streaky bacon adds buzz to a healthy green salad

The proper bacon for the full English is “back bacon”, a “rasher” of which is a slice of both loin and belly, providing the perfect combination of juicy and crunchy. Andy’s back bacon did the job admirably, served with his Cumberland sausages, fried egg, mushrooms, sliced tomato, buttered toast, and of course “brown sauce”. This came from a bottle I salvaged from the much-missed Beijing Marks and Spencer, though you can buy the expensive but sumptuously fruity Wilkin and Sons version at Jenny Wang’s.

Joseph (9) tucks into a “full English”

“So how are the sausages, boys?” I asked my resident food critics. There was no answer except the sounds of guzzling and some curt nods. “That’s no good for the article,” I protested. “I need words. Give me words!”

“Binoculars! Obsequious!” yelled my hilarious offspring. “Zebra! Floccinaucinihilipilification!”

When they’d finished falling off their chairs in glee at their own wit, I explained through gritted teeth that I wanted words describing the sausages.

“It did taste a bit like zebra,” said Joseph (9), who has never eaten zebra in his life.

“When I came to the end of my sausages, I was disappointed,” said Noah (12). Really? Why? “Because I wanted another one, and there wasn’t one.”

Perhaps his rapidly cleared plate was the best tribute to Andy’s Craft Sausages. Whether they are really as good as the fondly remembered Cumberland bangers of my childhood is impossible to say. But they’re the closest to Bowness you’ll get in Beijing.

Andy’s Craft Sausages deliver to various locations in Beijing, including several schools in Shunyi. Scan the QR code for more information:

Photos: Andrew Killeen, except (3) courtesy of Andy Horowitz

In this new feature, we discover some of the many independent businesses and small providers which make up Shunyi’s lively artisan food scene.

Balmain Gourmet has been an established name in Shunyi since 2010, but fell victim to the wave of building closures in late 2017. Ordered out of his premises at three days’ notice, owner Drew Howard contemplated giving up, but we’re delighted to see that in true Aussie spirit, he’s bounced back. His new premises are at Building B Central Park, near to Shine Hills and upstairs from another local favorite, Shalimar Indian Restaurant. You’ll need to look for this door:

The cafe will be opening in May, when the license comes through. But until then you can buy from Balmain Gourmet’s extensive menu of high-quality meat products.

“The menu changes every week,” Howard told me. “We do over 50 kinds of sausage, so we can only make six or seven each week.”

Balmain Gourmet also make ham, bacon, burgers, and pulled pork.

Drew Howard

“We only use fresh beef and lamb from Inner Mongolia,” Howard said. “Chinese beef is full of water, and I can’t work with frozen meat – defrosting it then freezing it again.”

We tried his lamb burgers, topped with grilled cheese and accompanied by British-style chips and salad (and a glass of Merlot for the grown-ups). They were delicious, with balanced hints of mint and chili complementing but not overpowering the delicate flavor of the lamb.

Joseph with his lamb burger

We also sampled his sausages and bacon, as part of a traditional British fried breakfast. The bacon was a stark contrast to our usual supermarket bacon, which is so loaded with water that it shrivels to virtually nothing when cooked. The Balmain Gourmet bacon (both traditional and subtly smoked) was still fat and juicy when transferred from grill to plate.

Noah enjoys the bacon and sausage, with scrambled egg and home-baked bread

What do you think, boys?

“Luscious,” Joseph said.
“I’ve not had any better sausages in Beijing,” Noah added.

If you’d like to try Balmain Gourmet’s “luscious” meat, you can visit their cafe at Shop 204, Building 8, Central Park, Shunyi, from 10am to 7pm, seven days a week, or find them on WeChat to see their weekly menus (ID BalmainGourmet or search 186 0003 9708).

Photos: Andrew Killeen