Cheap, Healthy, Korean-Style Sushi Rolls at Xiaoxian in Sanlitun
Thinking of sushi, you might feel the pressure to cut off an arm and a leg to afford a meal at a flashy, well-decorated, and elegant Japanese restaurant. But Xiaoxian Kitchen might save us – I’m not talking about the luxury bar Xian on the ground floor of East Hotel, but a humble stall in the Topwin Center providing Korean-style sushi rolls.
It seems a rising trend: Small businesses are migrating from the hutongs to the basements of shopping malls. Despite its name, Xiaoxian is actually larger than other fast-food stalls in the basement, with plenty of seating available. Yes, it is fast-food in style, in that you just walk in, order, grab the food, take some free tea, and find a spot – perfect for solo diners. Having a short lunch break doesn’t mean you have to binge on junk food. You are master of your own destiny, right? There are seven varieties of kimbap, or Korean-style sushi rolls, featuring tuna, chicken, crab, fried pork, cheese, and beef, as well as other dishes, bibimbap (RMB 39), kimchi soup (RMB 42), fried chicken (RMB 13), and salad (RMB 29). You get the lunch set for RMB 35-48: sushi rolls, a salad, and soup.
The tuna sushi roll set (RMB 46) with sushi rolls, soup and a large salad
In Korean, kimbap means sushi rolls, kim literally translating to "dried seaweed," and bap meaning rice. We opted for the popular tuna sushi rolls set (RMB 46) (with eight pieces of sushi), a sizable salad, and a warm soup. This kimbap included egg, carrots, and tuna, and was seasoned with white sesame. They were quite fresh and filling. The salad features cherry tomatoes, a quail egg, broccoli, cauliflower, kidney beans, chickpeas, lettuce, corn, and some walnut. The set is good enough for lunch or (for the perpetually hungry) an afternoon snack. The sushi rolls at Xiaoxian Kitchen are affordable, and the spicy sushi rolls and soup will warm you up quickly in winter. The packaging is good to take away for a picnic or, for the indoor couch potatoes among us, for delivery through most food delivery portals.
Xiaoxian Kitchen
Daily 9.30am-9pm. B1-5, Topwin Center, 1 Nansanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District (5627 1768)
卷小仙·韩式休闲餐厅：朝阳区南三里屯1号三里屯通盈中心B1-5
Photos: Tracy Wang, dianping.com
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