Beijing Boyce

Last Thursday, Meister Brau and I went in search of No Bunz, a new hot dog spot located north of Workers Stadium, but after a long and futile search we instead discovered the African restaurant Turay’s Place.

Turay hails from Sierra Leone, has lived in Beijing more than a decade, and recommended two dishes. First, liver with a blend of spices and onions, which nicely mixed with our mound of rice and left a tingly aftertaste. (MB couldn’t get enough of this stuff.) Second, oxtail in tomato stew, which came with a more subtle sauce and tender meat. Given these tasty eats and the spot’s non-pretentious diner-like feel, I’ll return to sample more dishes, particularly the peanut soup.

We then stopped at Simple Red, which lies on the road that funnels south from the Nanjie, Salsa Caribe, Rock ‘n Roll et al area (go due east from Tun and turn right). I have passed this place many times and hoped it would be one of those unexpected earthy spots where you find good cheap food and beer.

The decor highlights include concrete walls, orange brick booths with faux black leather seat covers and red tabletops, exposed painted plumbing, and walls bedecked with a smattering of Chinese New Year decorations and chalk drawings of a snowman and a witch on a broom. Call it down and dirty urban chic, or even down and dirty, or reminiscent of a back alley converted to a restaurant (I mean that in a good way, though I’m unsure if the coil of wire spread across the floor is part of the look or an unnecessary hazard).

MB figured we could at least get some kebabs here. Alas, we learned they not only have no chuan, but also our presence seemed less than appreciated. Undaunted, he tried his hands at Mandarin, and had both of them full as the waitress mercilessly machine-gunned answers. He stuck to repeating “beef” while she rat-a-tatted replies and I figured we might end up getting any part of the cow.

As we sipped a beer, we saw her approach with a huge metal serving platform that featured - you guessed it! - a fish. Hmmm. It was covered in chili, garlic, and leek slices. Even better, a few minutes later she returned with a second dish, a hot pot full of - you guessed it again! - frogs. Hmmm.

Fortunately, not all was lost in translation as MB’s request to make things “spicy” was carried out in full tongue-numbing force. I had a few coughing fits while he got a fish bone caught in his throat, but other than that, we enjoyed it. I found the food far better than expected, with the portions ample and the fish particularly tender, though also far pricier, with our bill coming to RMB120, including two large beers.