Bambi Hao Chi! Deer Season Arrives in Beijing

Fall marks the start of hunting season in the United States, where badly dressed men in camouflage and orange go out in the forests to "commune" with nature. Deer is often one of the big prizes as it makes for some good eats.

Living in Beijing, expats often adjust to eating a number of "strange" things that they'd rarely eat back home – deer is probably one of the tamer items. Dear meat is much leaner than beef, containing far fewer calories and far less fat, making it a very healthy alternative. It only has a slight gamey flavor, and in Chinese dishes the other ingredients often mask the gaminess.

China's northeast is fertile ground for deer, and it’s also where you'll most often find deer on the menu. Like many other things, the Manchu brought their love of deer meat into the Forbidden City and even spread it south to their summer hunting grounds in Chengde, where eating deer is a must if you're looking for a real local experience.

If you’re looking for deer in Beijing, you’ll often find it in the form of the Siberian roe deer (typically 狍子肉 paozi rou, not 鹿肉 lu rou, on menus). Northeastern restaurants like Da Qinghua and the very popular Dongbeiren serve it up as congbao paozi rou (葱暴狍子肉). Most of us are used to this dish with beef or lamb, but this is a great, healthier substitution, without losing any of the flavor.

Deer is also on the menu at a number of imperial restaurants around town. At Bai Family Restaurant (白家大院), it’s served with peppers and cashews, or on an iron plate. Najia Xiaoguan (那家小馆) also serves it up in a variety of ways, including an excellent stew and as a roasted leg of deer. Najia also has the most welcoming version of deer for expats; their lu rou sui (鹿肉碎) is diced deer in a brown sauce served with mantou like buns (that look almost like brioche) with a piece of lettuce on them. It’s served with a paste and pepper mix that can be added to the buns and then you make yourself a little burger.

For those who want a true Western burger, the newest version of The Stumble Inn, recently opened at Sanlitun Village, has a deer burger on the menu, appropriately called the “bambi burger.”

Da Qinghua 大青花
South Third Ring Road 南三环路; 1 Pufang Lu, Fangzhuang, Fengtai District; 丰台区方庄蒲芳路1号
Niu Jie 牛街; 1-2/F, 8 Baizhifang Xijie, Xuanwu District; 宣武区白纸坊西街8号1-2楼

Dongbeiren 东北人; A1 Xinzhong Jie, Dongzhimenwai, Dongcheng District; 东城区东直门外新中街甲1号

Bai Family Mansion 白家大院; 15 Suzhou Jie (next to Ba Yi Middle School), Haidian District, 海淀区苏州街15号(八一中学旁边)

Najia Xiaoguan 那家小馆
West of 119 Middle School, South of the LG Twin Towers, Yonganli, Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District 朝阳区建国门外大街永安西里双子座大厦南侧, 119中学西侧
South of the Fragrant Hills Botanical Garden crossroad, Haidian District, 海淀区香山植物园十字路口南100米路西

The Stumble Inn; Sanlitun 三里屯; S3-31, 3/F, Sanlitun Village South, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District; 朝阳区三里屯路19号三里屯Village南区3号楼3层S3-31