Xie Man Lou Crab Roes Noodles 蟹滿樓 蟹黄面 鼓樓東大街 (Beijing, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

We can breathe a collective sigh of relief cuz we finally agree on a place we all like for dinner tonight. Located on buzzy Gu Lou Dong Da Jie (鼓樓東大街) just east of the Drum Tower, Xie Man Lou Crab Roes Noodles (蟹滿樓 蟹黄面) is a restaurant specializing in crab noodles and Shanghainese dim sum. Looks like we are in for a treat.

The restaurant hails from Hangzhou and I am reading that this is their first branch in Beijing. Before we all dive into their food menu, the banner on the wall already caught our eyes instantly. Their signature crab roe noodles are all made with crab roes and meat from 12 crabs (12只蟹一碗的蟹黄面). So eating one bowl of noodles equals having 🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀!!!

Stirred noodles with crab roes and meat (純蟹黄金撈面) – A no-brainer for everyone except Tommy Boy who opted for rice instead of noodles. In case you are wondering how much it costs for an indulgence of 12 crabs, it's 106RMB only. Call it a bargain! 

The sauce made with crab roes and meat was served separately so we can choose our own way to enjoy this.

While some of us elected to eat it like Japanese dipping noodles (or tsukemen 沾麵), I decided to drop a few spoonful of this on top of the warm noodles and kind of mix them together. This was so damn good. The sauce was rich and full of crab roe flavors, and by adding a few droplets of vinegar on top, the umami-rich crab roes came through even stronger. 

Xiao Long Bao (小笼包) – Not surprisingly, these came with some crab roes too. Not bad though the wrapper could be a little thinner.

This was a very nice crab feast without breaking the bank. In fact, I was thinking about venturing over to Shanghai after this trip to Beijing but that doesn't look like it'll be needed anymore.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: 245 Gulou East Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, China

北京市 东城区 鼓樓东大街 245号

Closest Metro Station: Shichahai (什刹海)

Opening Hours: 10:30am - 10:00pm daily