Xichunfa (西春发)

Xichunfa (西春发) is a heritage restaurant at No. 181 Jilin Street in Changyi District, Jilin City, Jilin province, China, with a history that dates to 1920. It is a bun and snack house known above all for guantangbao (灌汤包), soup-filled buns whose broth runs out when the skin is bitten, and for bairou xuechang (白肉血肠), white-boiled pork served with blood sausage, a pairing at the heart of Manchu and northeastern home cooking. Pickled-cabbage dishes appear on the menu too, reflecting the region's long tradition of fermenting cabbage for winter. Because the restaurant has operated for over a century, it is treated by many locals as an institution rather than simply a place to eat. The dining room is functional and busy, with plain tables, quick turnover and a mix of older regulars and visitors; there is no dress code and the noise level is lively at lunch. The beverage list is basic, with tea, soft drinks and local beer, and there is no wine programme. Prices are low: roughly CNY 30-50 (USD 4-7) per person, one of the cheaper heritage meals in the city. Visitors sampling the old names of Jilin City can pair Xichunfa with the Henan Street houses, Xinxingyuan and Fuyuanguan, to compare dumplings, buns and pastries in a single afternoon. Reservations are not taken in the usual sense; the restaurant works on a walk-in basis, and queues form at weekend lunch and during holiday periods. Opening hours are listed as roughly 9:00AM-8:00PM daily, and current hours should be checked on Dianping. Soup-filled buns should be eaten carefully, with a small bite to release the broth before consuming the rest.