Jianbing, Shanghai-Inspired Street Food
The day I went to Smorgasburg the food choices were minimal. Due to the bad weather many vendors decided not to go and those who were there were having a hard time cooking and serving the food, because of the wind and rain that flew all over the place. From those few places one that caught my attention was jianbing which is original from China. The best way to describe it is as a savory crepe. The flour mixture is spread through a big circular pan where the pancake immediately starts to form, then he added eggs on top of the flour mixture and started to mix the egg with the flour cooking it simultaneously. Next, he added chopped scallions, coriander, mustard pickles, and chicken to the middle of the pancake. After, he folded one side of the pancake to add hoisin sauce, followed by baocui which is a thin and crisp deep-fried pancake. Finally, he folded the rest of the pancake multiply times, and finished by cutting it in half.
The taste of the jianbing was pretty interesting. The fluor of the pancake was thin and delicate as well as the crispy deep-fried pancake that they added. The flavor of the chicken was mild and felt almost unseasoned. What gave the overall taste in the jianbing was the hoisin sauce which had a sweet and salty taste, and the chopped mustard pickles with a bittersweet taste. You could taste the sweetness in every bite but it wasn’t very pungent. Is not something I would like to eat for breakfast, but it can be great for lunch or as a snack.
Due to the bad weather there were few people and almost no lines at all. From ordering to getting served it took about five minutes which was fast. The portion size was about a foot long in total. I payed $15 dollars which I do not think it was worth it since a jianbing is considered to be a “street” food which is sold at a low price due to the affordable cost of ingredients that requires to make it. My overall experience was not as pleasant as how I expect it. The location of the place was difficult to find, the cold-rainy weather made it worse, and the food sold was not as flavorful and tasty as it looked.
