Sate Your Hunger and Your Nostalgia for Old-School Malatang at Hope Tree in CBD

Are there any cheap eats left for us thrifty Beijingers? Recent gentrification and crackdowns have caused many a jianbing stand to vanish. Fewer late night chuan’r vendors line the streets than ever before. And, of course, many of our local greasy malatang pit stops have been bricked up. But as the citywide dominance of malls presses ever onward, at least one shopping center newbie aims to quell our hunger pains and nostalgia. Dubbed Hope Tree, and tucked in the ultra-busy basement of China Central Place, this quick bite option has all the fixings of your favorite old malatang hole in the wall of yore.

It's hard to miss Hope Tree due to – you guessed it! – the long queue in front of the eatery. Ingredients are displayed neatly on the shelves. And like any malatang spot worth its salt, after you pick up the ingredients you want and place them in a handy box, you then pass your little bundle to the staff to weigh, charge, and ready your bowl of malatang in about 15 minutes total. To cater to all appetites, they offer spicy broth, tomato broth, and peppercorn broth. The ingredients run the gamut from lotus root, potato, sweet potato, mu’er, seaweed, tofu, mushroom, duck blood, a dozen kinds of leafy greens, assorted meatballs, spam, and sausages.

Our order arrived in a bowl that was generously large. The tomato broth we chose had a heavy and acidic tomato flavor, as well as a subtle spicy kick. The venue has a café atmosphere, with clean wooden tables, high stools, white walls, and bright lighting.

It all amounts to an inviting, satisfying malatang experience, albeit in a mall instead of our typical round-the-corner option. That means the area's bankers, salespeople, cleaners, and office workers are likely to continue to descend on Hope Tree in droves and prove that malatang is truly the food of the Chinese masses.

Hope Tree
Daily 11am-9pm. B1, China Central Place (Huamao Center), 81 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District (8588 8521)
许小树：朝阳区建国路81号华贸中心写字楼B1层

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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photo: Tracy Wang