信遠齋（北平逸華齋）燻雞滷味

Formerly “Beiping Yihuazhai,” founded by the late Mr. Lu, once a physician at Beijing's Tongrentang, who used his knowledge of Chinese medicine to develop the smoking and braising recipes. After Mr. Lu passed away, his goddaughter Grandma Zhou and longtime staff took over under a new name, “Xinyuanzhai” — now over half a century old.

The smoked chicken thigh is fragrant to the bone, its skin carrying a faint medicinal-herb note; the jiang-zhou-zi (braised pork knuckle) and smoked braised eggs are regulars' staples. The shop is small and not inside the main market, but it's a five-minute walk from the Dongmen area, and the crowds swell around the holidays.