An Le Yuan

An Le Yuan is a halal Hui restaurant at 138 Wangfu Avenue in the Baixia District of Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, known for its morning tea and beef buns. Nanjing has an old Hui Muslim community, and its cooking is an established strand of the city's cuisine, using beef and mutton rather than pork and emphasising clean, savoury flavours. An Le Yuan is a traditional casual venue rather than a fine-dining room, so there is no Michelin listing or chef lineage to cite; its reputation comes from serving halal food that is accessible to both local and visiting diners. Signature dishes include beef steamed buns at about ¥18, in which a thick, fluffy dough encloses a seasoned beef filling; spicy soup (la tang) at about ¥20, a peppery, sour-and-hot broth that is a popular breakfast bowl in the region; and braised beef meatballs at about ¥38, a heartier dish for lunch or dinner. The menu is compact and built around breakfast and daytime snacks, with dishes ordered for sharing. The dining room is plain, practical and frequently busy in the morning, with a moderate to high noise level and a mixed crowd of locals and travellers; dress is informal. Tea is the main drink, and alcohol is not part of the offering given the halal setting. The restaurant does not take reservations and works on a walk-in basis, and it is halal, which makes it a dependable choice for Muslim travellers. Opening hours are 6AM to 8PM, so it can serve as an early breakfast stop before a day of sightseeing. Prices are at the lower end of $$, and a full meal usually costs about ¥50 to ¥90 per person. The Wangfu Avenue location in Baixia places it south-east of the central district, within reach of the Qinhuai River area by bus or taxi.