I would like to mention one thing up front first – I love Chinese food. I love its depth and complexity, something difficult to find in the typical Americanized take-out joints so ubiquitous in every town in the States. Chinese food, with its eight major cuisines and many smaller ones, has been one of the great joys of my life. When in the US, I completely miss it. In China, however, I start to miss other things. There are some great restaurants in Beijing catering to many of those needs. This review is of one of them – Baba Khan, a small Pakistani restaurant in Wudaokou. In fact, there are two locations, the main one in Chaoyang and the smaller, newer branch in Wudaokou. If you go to the U-Center on Chengfu Lu, travel south for about 5 minutes, it is on your right in a small strip mall next to a motel and a massage place.

When I first started to live in Wudaokou, I would often get my South Asian food fix at Ganges Restaurant on the 6th floor of the U-Center. Now, Ganges is a good restaurant, with the food being good. Baba Khan opened about a year and a half ago and it quickly blew Ganges out of the water in two of my favorite categories – price and taste. It tastes better and is cheaper, which, in truth, might also have an effect on the taste. Baba Khan’s dishes on their dinner menu generally run anywhere between 10-20 RMB cheaper than the competition. Plus, they have hummus, that gift to man straight from deity. To make matters even better, they run a 55 RMB all you can eat lunch buffet. Every single person I have taken there (less 2 Chinese friends – weird, right) has loved the food. Here is a picture of my lunch from last week, with naan bread, tandoori chicken, rice, and three kinds of curry: