We stumbled upon Tie Fen (literal meaning: iron) restaurant while on our way to our regular late-night dining location in the heart of Dongsi.  A real hole-in-the-wall, we might have missed the whole place if it weren’t for the fact that we were hungry and searching for immediate gratification.  Turns out the porch, with statues of elephants and bodhisattvas, is home to a newly opened Vietnamese restaurant serving our beloved pho, spring rolls, and beef stews.

Since it’s a small restaurant with a relatively simple menu, we’ve managed to go often enough to have tried almost everything in just a few weeks.  Tie Fen’s short and sweet menu is divided into appetizers, side dishes, pho, rice dishes, a la carte, and desserts.

The appetizers include three salads: a shrimp salad, a beef salad (pictured above), and a mango beef salad (pictured below).  I’m not a fan of seafood, and our son’s too young for it, so we’ve only tried the beef salads so far.

The Mango beef salad is the tastiest, though after our first time ordering it we were smart enough to order it without spice (it normally comes with fresh red peppers to balance the sweetness of the mango).

They also have rice rolls with fish cake (pictured above) and fried spring rolls (pictured below), (non-fried).

Our son really likes the fried spring rolls, and I eat both types of spring rolls without the sweet and sour sauce (comes with the dish) and opt for hot sauce instead—yum!

We enjoy pho all year long, and our son enjoys soup, so we’ve ordered the beef pho (pictured), the raw beef pho, the chicken pho, and the spicy seafood pho (for the record, we didn’t feed our 2-year-old the last one).  Personally, I prefer the chicken strip pho because it has a milder taste (and is not raw), but our child likes beef.

We have tried two rice dishes, including the beef stew and the chicken curry.  The beef stew (pictured above) was well-made, but a little on the salty side for kids. The chicken curry was very spicy.  It’s a good thing they serve ice cold water.

We honestly have not been ordering much of the a la carte because we simply don’t need that much food with the three of us, but we did order the fried fish. Our friends ordered the fish this one time we dined there with others and I hear it was good. It was during this dinner that we had also ordered the chicken skewers (they have beef as well), which had a refreshing tangy taste (pictured above).

For dessert, we’ve ordered the mango tapioca (pictured above) and the fruit cup (pictured below).  The fruit assortment was perfect, and didn’t taste like canned fruit at all. However, the mango tapioca tasted more like passion fruit (perhaps they got the name wrong?), and was far too sweet.  The tapioca was also too hard, lacking the chewy consistency that makes tapioca great.

We have also ordered their home-made drinks: Vietnamese coffee (both iced and hot) and Thai tea.  The coffee was excellent, strong as should be, but the Thai tea wasn’t sweet enough.

Currently, for their grand opening, Tie Fen reimburses 20% in the form of a voucher (RMB 10 for RMB 50 spent, RMB 20 for every RMB 100 spent, etc.).  In the future, Tie Fen also has a WeChat point system that allows subscribers to collect points for discounts.

Finally, Tie Fen has daily set combo deals where one can opt for a slightly smaller portion of pho or other main dish with an appetizer and dessert for a discount of over 25%.  They will claim that the combo deal portions are not smaller, but they are.

Tie Fen, 北京市东城区东四北大街373号
Photos: courtesy of Jessica Suotmaa

Rather than staying indoors and hibernating, we decided to make the most of the freezing temperatures and head for the city’s central lakes for some ice fun. On a clear day, the bitter wind can whip across frozen lakes such as Houhai, so wrap up warm. Time your visit well too, after lunch time and the queues remember we’re in Beijing can be very long. There’s a whole range of ice contraptions to enjoy. There are bumper cars, which are basically electric powered dodgems. The ice bikes require a bit of effort, to propel them across the ice. Ice skates are popular, but don’t expect a smooth ride, the surface is pretty bumpy. We opted for chair sleds; basically two wooden chairs bolted onto metal runners, and propelled using metal poles. Be warned, the steering wheel is for decorative purposes only. After a few hours of winter fun, what better way to warm up than over a bowl of Vietnamese pho at Nuage.

Nuage, “cloud” in French, opened in 2002 and remains one of the best dining venues in Beijing for Vietnamese cuisine. This long running Houhai restaurant is housed in a historic Qing Dynasty building, on the shores of Qianhai Lake. Spread out over several floors, the décor throughout is fabulous, with open sofas at the bar, traditional Chinese four poster beds with cushions, bright paper lanterns, and French colonial style drapes. Nuage boasts one of the nicest rooftop dining spots in town, with fantastic views of the lake and the Drum and Bell Towers. To enjoy the views you have to pay a 15 per cent service charge, but on a clear day it’s absolutely worth it.  In the basement there is a large dance floor and stage area for live music, mainly jazz.

We ate pineapple shrimp rice RMB 68, Vietnamese chicken curry RMB 48, grilled lemon grass chicken in tin foil RMB 58, and pumpkin soup RMB 38. Soft drinks were RMB 25 each. The rice was served in a scooped out pineapple, which the kids thought was great, especially as their soups were served in scooped out pumpkins. The rice was sticky, and not too sweet, the shrimps a nice firm texture with good flavor. The pumpkin soup was thick, and well-seasoned, and the kids lapped it up. The grilled chicken consisted of six large pieces of tender chicken, perfectly flavored with lemongrass, and wrapped in tin foil parcels leaving it meltingly soft.

The highlight was the chicken curry, plentiful pieces of tender chicken and soft potato, in a thick and coconut creamy sauce. The portion size was generous, and thankfully no bones or bits of tendon to put the kids off. Nuage is a great spot for dining with kids, with plenty of menu dishes that would perfectly suit a younger palate. The novelty of sitting in a rickshaw chair only adds to the fun for younger diners. The staff was polite, although service was a little slow. The toilets are western style, clean, and with wash basins with soap.

When we first arrived in Beijing, we dined at Nuage a few times, and always had a great meal. I have no idea why we haven’t been back more often. Perhaps it’s because we like trying out new places, we then forget about the fabulous mainstays. So it’s on our list for an evening return without the kids, so we can sample more of their enticing menu, including their popular spring rolls assorted platter, beef pho, sweet and sour tilapia, and honey ginger prawns. The drinks include a range of local and imported beers, good wine selection, and some great sounding cocktails. Best save those for after the skating.

Nuage 庆云楼
22 Qianhai Dongyan, Xicheng District
西城区前海东沿22号
Daily 11am-11pm
6401 9581 / 6402 1663
www.nuage.com.cn

beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent Sally Wilson moved to Beijing in 2010 from the UK with her husband and son. Her daughter was born here in 2011 and both her kids keep her happily busy. In her spare time, Sally loves to stroll through Beijing’s hutongs and parks. She is a (most of the time) keen runner and loves reading: books, magazines, news, and celeb websites – anything really. Sally is also a bit of a foodie and loves trying out new restaurants.

Photos: Maurits van Heusden, Rebecca Hanlin (Flickr), Sally Wilson