Beijing’s cross-oceanic charcoal-grilled lamb leg — you need to book in advance and then grill and slice it yourself on the spot!

Text and photos by /San Gao Eats China

I’d heard that a grilled lamb leg restaurant had opened in Taichung and thought it sounded pretty interesting. Before heading out in the morning, I left a message on the shop’s Facebook page to reserve a table and asked to pre-order a whole lamb leg. The Beijing-accented owner called back and said he could pre-cook it to medium rare for me. That evening in Taichung, our dinner was set. I’d recommend making a reservation if you want to try the lamb leg — if you just walk in, you might end up waiting a long time...

The interior of the place is rather simple and solid, with an old-school Chinese vibe — nothing too fancy, just a few tables with built-in grills and exhaust pipes overhead. Actually, after the whole meal... I felt it was more suited for two or three people to sit back, relax, slowly slice the meat, and chat over the meal. If a big, hungry family comes here looking to feast, they might lose patience~

They started us off with the pre-ordered grilled lamb leg, which looked a bit lonely on its own at first, so we ordered some side dishes to go with it. There were several cold dishes that looked pretty good and would probably pair nicely with the grilled meat.

The skewers and other grilling tools used for the lamb legs are shipped in from Beijing. A trident skewer holds the lamb leg over the charcoal, ready for you to carve as you please. The shop’s Facebook mentions that they’ve recently been using 6-month-old lamb legs with more tender meat — these are pricier. Previously, they used 1–2-year-old adult lamb legs, which were bigger and cheaper but had coarser meat. This lamb leg really isn’t very big — enough for two or three people.


You can move the trident closer to the fire source if it’s taking too long — otherwise, you might be waiting forever. Since the outer layer is already pre-cooked close to well-done, you can slowly slice it off and eat it. The outer part has a relatively drier texture at first — tender with a slight chew, due to the higher level of doneness.

It’s coated with cumin and fennel — the flavor isn’t strong. Slice a bit deeper in, and you’ll find moist meat juice with a lovely pink color — that’s the perfect level of doneness. It’s really comfortable to eat — subtly sweet with a tender, juicy feel. If you’re worried it’s too raw, you can slice it off and grill it a bit more on the rack.

There are two jars of homemade seasonings on the table — one is cumin chili (not very spicy), and the other is Sichuan pepper salt. Although the lamb leg is already seasoned, I still like to sprinkle on some Sichuan pepper salt — I think it makes it even tastier~

After a while of grilling and waiting, the other dishes finally started to arrive. I really liked this shredded eggplant dish — torn into strips, it has both a crispy and soft texture, with a touch of sweetness. The dressing is fragrant, especially the aroma of the dried chilies.

Another dish was spicy lamb tripe strips — refreshing and smooth, with just a mild spiciness, which was okay. The grilled bread slices were also a hit — roasted with lamb fat to give them a crispy exterior, brushed with a slightly sweet sauce. These go well with lamb or just about anything else, and they disappeared in no time~ (Should’ve ordered two portions.)

The osmanthus dark plum soup is on the less sweet side, with a tangy flavor that stimulates the appetite and cuts through the richness. When we checked out, I asked the owner and she confirmed they make the dark plums themselves.

Then it was time to get back to grilling the lamb leg. Since spinning it around on the top wasn’t really getting it to the desired level of doneness, I picked up scissors and started “butchering” it. It’s actually faster to just grill it directly on the rack.

Eating it this way is really satisfying — a single lamb leg offers a variety of textures: some parts are tender and juicy, others have sinew or a bit of chew. Though lamb has a milder flavor, the meat near the bone is quite rich. It’s actually quite fun to eat this way. In the end, we finished every last bit, even remembering to dig out the lamb marrow to eat.

The items we ordered at the beginning — grilled garlic, grilled chicken gizzard, and grilled chicken heart — didn’t arrive until we were almost done with the meal. I truly felt like we waited too long... "Not quite my tempo." The grilled garlic you just bite into and suck out the flesh — soft, sticky, and delicious. The chicken heart and gizzard were perfectly juicy and crispy, with no gaminess. The sweet sauce used is probably the same as what was on the grilled bread earlier.

This meal was really tasty, but you do need to have the patience to slowly grill the lamb leg. It’s probably a good choice if you’re just here for grilled food, but you might have to wait a while.

Beijing flavor — Beijing charcoal-grilled lamb leg
No. 241, Meide Street, North District, Taichung City
Business hours: 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Phone: 0963 612 293
 

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