THE NANJINGER | VOLUME 13 ISSUE 01 | OCTOBER 2022
NANKINISH By Wu Zeyuan
Y
ou know there is a sort of restaurant in every city. They often look small and unpretentious from the outside, despite their long-standing reputation in the community. They specialise in local favourites; nothing too fancy, but simply tasty and comforting. The prices are affordable, the vibe casual and friendly. Inside, surrounded by glasses clinking, people chatting and perhaps kids crying, you peek into the everyday life of locals and as the night goes on, eventually find yourself becoming part of them. It might get too loud sometimes, but having been through all that we have in the past 2 years, we begin to better appreciate the liveliness and vitality of small businesses which we used to take for granted. One of these very restaurants in Nanjing is Fulinxuan. Tucked away on a backstreet off Jiqingmen Da Jie, it is surrounded by a few residential compounds which were built well before the rapid rise of the Heixi area. In contrast to the iconic LED lights of Golden Eagle World which is within walking distance, the street where Fulinxuan is located was a bit dark on the rainy autumn night when we arrived. The breeze was cool and humid. The dim street lights were reflected on the wet pavement. What we needed at that moment was exactly the scene of bustle and warmth inside Fulinxuan, along with the aroma of food. Luckily, we had a reservation, as all the tables quickly became occupied by 6 pm on that workday. The interior decor looked quite decent, albeit moderately timeworn. With only seven tables (and three banquet rooms upstairs), the limited space was nevertheless packed with energy. The servers hurrying between tables were efficient and loud. A group of young lads sitting next to us sounded particularly excited, with beer bottles everywhere around them. However, the most distinguishable sounds came from the kitchen; from the other side of the restaurant we could clearly hear someone calling out the tickets. It was quite impressive,
considering how loud the dining area already was. Then I learned that was the chef and co-owner. He apparently has the bigger voice. The menu is quite focused by Chinese standards, but enough to cover everything you would need for a meal. I like the fact that every dish on the menu is visualised in photographs, which is particularly helpful if you don’t read Chinese. Their signature dishes even have names in English, although they seem to be poorly translated by some basic software and can be completely off sometimes. The restaurant specialises in Nanjing cuisine. Many of the items on the menu would seem familiar to any local resident. I am convinced that everything here should be promising based on the seven dishes we ordered, but if you would like some recommendations to get the ball rolling, here they are.
Liangfen Noodles for Everyone I was excited to see this on the menu, and I would be disappointed if you went there without ordering this. Not just me, but everyone else in the restaurant would be disappointed if you didn’t. Just take a look around, and you would find this dish on every single table. In fact, as a group of three, we finished two plates of them, and we could finish three had we ordered another. So, what exactly are “liangfen” (凉粉) noodles? Well, in fact, the word is defined differently in different parts of China. Although it always involves some cold, transparent noodles, as the Chinese term suggests, the making of the noodles and the flavours vary considerably from region to region. In Nanjing, liangfen is a widely loved street food made from pea starch. Over 20 years ago, you could easily find a Liangfen stand anywhere around you. On warmer afternoons, a portable table or two would be set up by the roadside, where passersby would sit down for a quick snack. 24
