Beijing Street Eats: Grilled Cold Noodles? Not Really.

Following its rise to popularity during the winter, we finally had a chance try a snack, the name of which didn't make any sense — grilled cold noodles (烤冷面, kaolengmian).

The stool that only comes out at night.

We pictured this as some kind of stir-fry of Korean cold noodles (naengmyeon) on a portable barbecue grill. Why take a delicious cold dish and heat it? That's like asking a sushi chef to heat up the fish.

What's the round thing next to it? We have no clue.

However, this is a different animal altogether. A thin, pre-made sheet of dough (it's dough, not a noodle, despite the name) is placed on the same kind of flat skillet that is used to make jianbing (many vendors sell both). The cooking process is also jianbing-like: an egg is cracked upon it, then spread over the dough. It is then sprinkled with some scallions, chopped onions, and cilantro, then flipped over. As the egg and the other side heat up, the cook slathers on a bit of hoisin sauce, and if you like, hot sauce (lajiaojiang).The now cooked dough and egg entity is then rolled up and the dough is cut into slices, looking very much like grilled squid at this point. It's served in a paper bowl with two glorified toothpicks that can either be used to stab the noodle rings, or as makeshift chopsticks. Ta-dah! Fresh grilled cold noodles.

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