Having five outlets in Shanghai, Taiwanese canteen-style restaurant Taoyuan Village now expands its service to Beijing, having opened its hustling Taikooli venue on March 5. This is a place that you can rely on to be open for a quick bite, from an early snack at 7am to a late night canteen amosphere till 2.30am; people come here to tuck in, zone out, and take a break from their hectic lives elsewhere.

There was already a line outside the restaurant when we arrived at high noon, utlizing a system whereby you order at the cashier, grab a number, find a seat, and wait patiently for a fuwuyuan to bring you your food.

The service was fast, even at capacity, taking only five minutes to arrive. It might be a little hard to order without any Chinese but they do have a tablet to show you dishes if you’re at a loss.

Taoyuan Village has five main food categories in total: warm soy-based drinks (RMB 8-10); deep-fried dough (油条 youtiao, RMB 6) and cakes (烧饼 shaobing, RMB 22-32); three rice rolls (饭团 fantuan, RMB 16-28), steamed buns (包子 baozi, RMB 26), and iced desserts for the warmer months. 

We ordered salty soy milk, rice rolls, and baked cheese wheat cake. The salty soy milk (咸豆浆, RMB 12), a popular drink in the south, especially in and around Shanghai, is drunk with soy sauce, red pepper oil, sliced seaweed, scallions and preserved vegetables, making it more like a soup than its sweetened counterpart (甜豆浆, RMB 10). This place might serve the most traditional salty soy milk in Beijing and is highly recommended for those who want to try something different.

The rice rolls were pretty good, tasting like a Japanese sushi roll without the seaweed, and wrapped with sticky rice, deep-fried batter, egg, braised pork, and preserved radish. The end result provides a substantial snack rich with texture: soft from the rice, crispy from the radish, and chewy from the deep-fried batter.

The baked cheese wheat cake (芝士蛋烧饼, RMB 25), comes made from a type of crispy cake, several slices of cheese, and lettuce. This version, as well as the tuna, bacon, and pork variations, are a much-loved Taiwanese breakfast staple.

There are no big dishes on offer, all options are designed as single portions, to be eaten by one person. It’s unlikely to become my favorite Taiwanese restaurant, but I will certainly be back to try the sweet soy milk and a steamed bun to quell late night hunger pangs, for sure.

Taoyuan Village 桃园眷村
S9-10 Taikooli South, Sanlitun, next to Queen’s Café (6416 5117)
朝阳区三里屯太古里南区S9-10

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Photos: Taoyuan Village, Tracy Wang