No More Avocado Toast: Avocado Drum Offers a Guacamole-Filled Interpretation of Jianbing on Gulou Dongdajie
There are some foods that just take more easily to augmentation (we hesitate to say “fusion”) than others and jianbing is definitely one of them. Think about it: jianbing is already one of the world’s superior breakfast and drunk foods, and what goes better with either one of those than avocado? This is the inspiration behind Avocado Drum, a funky jianbing and taco stand on Gulou Dongdajie.
Avocado Drum is located just next to the entrance to the courtyard that holds Dada, among other bars, and on summer nights groups of hungry revelers can be found queueing for jianbing or shooting the breeze outside while they chow down on a burrito. However, don’t let that convince you that Avocado Drum only serves speedy drunken snacks; a lot of thought and care has gone into creating the menu, which features jianbing, tacos, burritos, and chips and salsa.
The star of the show is the guacamole-cheese jianbing (RMB 30); we thought we had seen every possible interpretation of the mashed avocado trend but we were wrong. The dish starts as a standard Tianjin-style jianbing, before being loaded with salsa, guacamole, red kidney beans, a crisp fritter, lettuce, and grated cheese. Together, the fillings create the perfect mixture of flavors and textures: smooth, crunchy, spicy, and savory. They also sell a plain jianbing (RMB 10) if you prefer to keep things classic.
The guacamole cheese jianbing might be the most outré item on the menu but the more standard tacos and burritos offer great value, too. Priced at RMB 30 – considerably cheaper than most venues around town – both can be filled with chicken, tuna or veggies. We particularly like the chicken tacos, which come filled with plenty of shredded chicken topped with a spicy and slightly sour homemade tomato salsa.
The aforementioned salsa is handmade every day by owner A Kang (pictured at top). A self-taught cook, A Kang previously owned a small restaurant further down Gulou Dongdajie before noticing the gap in the market for quick and easy take away Mexican food in the Gulou area. A DJ and former organizer of one of Beijing's biggest flea markets, A Kang is a fixture on the Gulou scene and you can often find him and his dog, Taco, hanging out in the area’s cafés. If you catch him at the store, he will be happy to explain the menu to you (and taco will be happy to help you eat it!).
Avocado Drum
Daily 5pm-1am. 206 Gulou Dongdajie, Dongcheng District (136 6126 3532)
牛油果子：东城区鼓楼东大街206号
This post was paid for by Avocado Drum
Photos: Uni You
