The Food Gallery of Bingzhou (并州食话)

The Food Gallery of Bingzhou (Bingzhou Shihua) is a regional Shanxi restaurant at 35 Bingzhou North Road, on the street level of the Jingang International Business Center in Yingze District, Taiyuan. Bingzhou is an ancient name for the Taiyuan area, and the restaurant's concept is to gather dishes from across Shanxi's regions on a single menu, so that a table can sample the province's cooking without travelling from Daixian in the north to Shangdang in the south.

The signature dishes reflect that range. Old Taiyuan assorted copper hotpot is a charcoal-heated pot layered with meats and vegetables in the traditional northern style. Oat-flour noodles, known as youmian, represent the province's grain-based staples and are served in the way common in rural Shanxi. Wild Yellow River carp is a prized freshwater dish in the region, and Shangdang donkey meat comes from the southeastern Changzhi area where braised donkey is a local speciality. The menu also includes Daixian boiled fish, which is cited as a regional highlight.

As a business-district restaurant on a main road, the dining room is more modern and spacious than a traditional old-town eatery, suiting family meals and group dinners. Noise is moderate and the room fills at lunch with office workers and in the evening with groups. The beverage list is typical of a mid-range Chinese restaurant, with tea, soft drinks and beer.

Prices fall in the budget bracket, and the restaurant is well rated by local diners. It is open 11:30 to 14:30 and 18:00 to 21:30. Reservations are recommended for dinner groups, particularly for larger parties wanting the copper hotpot, while walk-ins are usually seated at lunch. The location in Yingze District puts it a short ride from the Liuxiang and Yingze Street shopping areas.