Man Heng Ji (Niujie)

Man Heng Ji is a halal hotpot restaurant whose brand began on Niujie, Beijing's best-known strip of halal restaurants, in Xicheng. Its branch at 14 Ping'anli West Street holds a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide Beijing 2026, the guide's award for good quality, good value cooking.

The speciality is instant-boiled mutton cooked in the traditional Beijing way, in copper hotpots heated with charcoal. According to the Michelin Guide, the restaurant uses lean lamb from the Mongolian grasslands, which it describes as free of any gamey taste, along with beef from around the world. Small pieces of flatbread are served alongside the hotpot, and the meal ends with a sweet flatbread topped with sesame sugar. Rows of copper steamboats fill the dining room.

The style is simple and social. Thin slices of meat are cooked for a few seconds in the simmering pot and then dipped in sauce, and the table shares everything. The Michelin Guide lists Man Heng Ji as family-friendly and places it in its eat-like-a-local category, which makes it a good introduction to everyday Beijing hotpot.

Prices are moderate, at the second level of the Michelin Guide's price scale. Credit cards are accepted but, according to the guide, foreign cards are not, so bring another way to pay. Bookings are handled directly by the restaurant on +86 10 6612 6825, and it is worth calling ahead for dinner.

Niujie itself is worth a visit if you are interested in Beijing's Hui Muslim community. The street is home to several halal time-honoured brands. The Beijing government's 2025 food walk ends on Niujie at Nailao Wei, the milk curd specialist on Guang'anmen Inner Street, so you could combine a hotpot lunch here with a traditional dessert. Jubaoyuan, at 5-2 Niujie Street, shows how the street's businesses have grown: according to the Beijing government it started as a halal beef and mutton shop in 1937 and only added lamb hotpot to its menu in 2003.

The restaurant suits families, groups of friends and anyone curious about Beijing's halal food culture. Compared with Donglaishun on Wangfujing, the charcoal-heated copper pots give the meal a more traditional feel.