Beijing’s Time-honored Brands: Eight Famous Lou 北京老字号：吃吃喝喝八大楼

老北京的餐饮业非常发达，有所谓“八大楼”的说法，这八大楼具体指哪家，各有各的说法，其中一种说法是指萃华楼、泰丰楼、致美楼、鸿兴楼、正阳楼、新丰楼、安福楼和春华楼。
Beijing has had a highly developed catering industry since ancient times. It has the so-called “eight famous lou (restaurants whose names end with the character ‘lou’)”, but no consensus has been reached on exactly which eight lou the saying refers to. Some hold that it refers to Cuihualou, Taifenglou, Zhimeilou, Hongxinglou, Zhengyanglou, Xinfenglou, Anfulou, and Chunhualou.
八大楼基本都是鲁菜，５家地处前门，是老北京商业最繁华的地区。由此可见，鲁菜在传统北京餐饮中的影响力，鲁菜是宫廷菜的主体，以功夫菜著称。
The eight famous lou mainly serve Shandong cuisine and five of them are located in Qianmen, the central business district of ancient Beijing. As such, it is clear that Shandong cuisine is influential in Beijing’s traditional catering industry. Most imperial dishes are Shandong cuisine, which is most noted for its many dishes that are very time-intensive to prepare.
泰丰楼，开业于清同治十三年，位于大栅栏煤市街，名菜有沙锅鱼翅、烩乌鱼蛋、葱烧海参、酱汁鱼、锅烧鸡等，尤以“一品锅”为著名。
Located on Meishi Street, Dashilanr, Taifenglou was opened in the thirteenth year of Emperor Tongzhi’s reign in Qing Dynasty. It is famous for Shark's Fin in Casserole, Stewed Cuttlefish Roe, Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallion, Fish in Soy Sauce, Fried Chicken, etc., Jade Pot in particular.
致美楼，开业于明末清初，位于前门外煤市街。菜肴讲究色、香、形、味。名菜有四吃活龟、云片熊掌、三丝鱼翅、寿比南山等。
Also located on Meishi Street, Dashilanr, Zhimeilou was established in late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. It is particular about the color, shape, aroma, and taste of its dishes. Its renowned dishes include Four Specialty Eating Live Turtles, White Fungus with Bear’s Paw, Shark’s Fin with Three Shredded Ingredients, Shoubinanshan (Steamed Mushroom and Egg Yolk), etc.
鸿兴楼，是一家以饺子出名的老字号。名菜有鸡茸鱼翅、锅塌鲍鱼、葱烧海参、酒蒸鸭子、醋椒鱼等。
Hongxinglou is an old restaurant famous for its dumplings. Its well-known dishes also include Chicken with Shark’s Fin, Sautéed Abalone, Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallion, Steamed Duck with Wine, Stewed Fish in Chili and Vinegar, etc.

正阳楼，开业于清咸丰三年，位于前门外肉市南口，其“涮羊肉”当时与清真东来顺的涮羊肉齐名，尤以螃蟹鲜肥、个大著称。名菜有小笼蒸蟹，酱汁鹌鹑、酱香鲜蟹等。
Located at the south end of the meat-selling market in Qianmen, Zhengyanglou was started in the third year of Emperor Xianfeng’s reign in Qing Dynasty. Its instant-boiled mutton is as famous as that of the Muslim Donglaishun. Other famous dishes are Crab Cooked in Small Bamboo Steamer, Fried Quail in Soy Sauce, and Soy Flavored Crab, etc. Its crabs are noted for being fresh, fat and big.
新丰楼，清光绪年间开业于虎坊桥香厂路口。尤以白菜烧紫鲍、油爆肚丝及素面、杏仁元宵等著名。
Xinfenglou, located at the end of Xiangchang Road, Hufangqiao, was set up during the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty. Its representative dishes are Braised Abalone with Chinese Cabbage, Stir-Fried Sliced Pork Tripe, Noodle with Vegetable, and Sweet Dumplings with Almond Filling, among others.
安福楼，是安蕴卿在王府井开的山东菜馆，系承父业。以糟熘鱼片、沙锅鱼唇、芫爆肚丝等为名肴。
Anfulou, run by An Yunqing in Wangfujing, was founded by his father. Stewed Sliced Fish in Wine Sauce, Fish Lip Casserole, and Sautéed Sliced Pork Tripe with Coriander are some of its celebrated dishes.
春华楼，位于和平门五道庙，规模相对小些，做菜讲究工料精细，其名菜有锅贴鸡、松鼠鳜鱼等。1934年，张大千在北平参加书画展后，到此用餐，曾传授一 道“张大千鱼”的做法，以后便成为此处名菜。
Chunhualou, located in Wudaomiao, Hepingmen, is comparatively smaller. Its dishes are well cooked with fine ingredients. Famous dishes include but are not limited to Fried Chicken and Sweet and Sour Fried Mandarin Fish. In 1934, after attending a calligraphy and painting exhibition, Zhang Daqian had a meal in this restaurant, and imparted the recipe of the dish “Zhang Daqian Fish”, wherupon the dish became a specialty of this restaurant.
萃华楼开业于1940年，位于王府井八面槽。以山东菜中的“清、鲜、脆、嫩”为特色，名气渐涨，名菜有油爆双脆、清汤燕菜、酱爆鸡丁、净扒鱼翅等。
Opened in 1940, Cuihualou is located at Bamiancao, Wangfujing. Featuring the “slightness, freshness, crispness and tenderness” of Shangdong cuisine, it became famous. Its well-known dishes include Fried Two Crispy Ingredients, Bird’s Nest consommé, Diced Chicken in Bean Sauce, Braised Shark’s Fin in Cream Sauce, etc.

除了八大楼外，北京还有八大居、八大春、八大坊。
Apart from eight famous lou, there are eight famous ju (similarly, restaurants whose names end with the character “ju”), eight famous chun (restaurants with the character “chun” in their names), and eight famous fang (restaurants whose names end with the character “fang”).
所谓“居”，只办宴席，不办堂会，因此相对规模较小，是一般官员或进京赶考秀才落脚之地。八大居指福兴居、万兴居、同兴居、东兴居、万福居、广和居、同和居和砂锅居。砂锅居影响力颇大，老北京有句俗语：砂锅居的幌子，过午不候，说的就是它的兴隆，一过中午就没座位了。
“Ju” is intended only for dinners, not for parties, so they are relatively small. Common officials and scholars attending civil service exams are always lodged in “ju”. The eight famous ju refers to Fuxingju, Wanxingju, Tongxingju, Dongxingju, Wanfuju, Guangheju, Tongheju, and Shaguoju. Shaguoju is very popular, and there is an old saying in Beijing: Shaguoju is not available after noon, which means that Shaguoju is so popular that one can not find an unoccupied seat in Shaguoju immediately after the clock strikes noon.
“春”多是南方口味的饭馆，八大春指芳湖春、东亚春、庆林春、淮阳春、新陆春、大陆春、春园、同春园。这八家大饭店均设在西长安街一带。其中，东亚春为广东风味；新陆春、大陆春、庆林春为四川风味；淮阳春为淮阳风味；春园、芳湖春、同春园为江苏风味。
“Chun” mostly serves southern cuisines. The eight famous chun refers to Fanghuchun, Dongyachun, Qinglinchun, Huaiyangchun, Xinluchun, Daluchun, Chunyuan, and Tongchunyuan. All the eight restaurants are on or near West Chang’an Street. Dongyachun serves Guangdong cuisine; Xinluchun, Daluchun, and Qinglinchun serve Sichuan cuisine; Huaiyangchun serves Huaiyang cuisine; Chunyuan, Fanghuchun, Tongchunyuan all serve Jiangsu cuisine.
而八大坊最为神奇，是指泰合坊、六合坊、均宜坊、明宜坊、便宜坊，因便宜坊有四家分号，所以每家分号都算成是八大坊之一，可见便宜坊在老北京食客们心中的地位。
The eight famous fang are different from the eight famous lou, eight famous ju, and eight famous chun in that it refers to Taihefang, Liuhefang, Junyifang, Mingyifang, and Bianyifang, which has four restaurants, with each being counted as one of the eight famous fang. It is thus clear how popular Bianyifang is with people in ancient Beijing.
八大楼、八大居、八大坊和八大春只是老北京餐饮文化的一个缩影，实际上挂一漏万，比如柳泉居，也是老字号的饭店，在一些版本中，没有被列入八大居之中。
The eight famous lou, eight famous ju, eight famous fang, and eight famous chun are only a slice of ancient Beijing’s catering culture. They are far from being exhaustive, for example, Liuquanju, also a time-honored restaurant in Beijing, is not included in the eight famous ju in some versions.