Published on July 23, 2008

Who'd have thought that it would take this long to get a decent hot dog in Beijing? China's glitzy capital now has every cuisine imaginable, including Ethiopian and Afghan. Nearly every major foreign chain has set up shop here and nearly every western amenity can be found. Except the hot dog. Until now.

QINGDAO - Who'd have thought that it would take this long to get a decent hot dog in Beijing? China's glitzy capital now has every cuisine imaginable, including Ethiopian and Afghan. Nearly every major foreign chain has set up shop here and nearly every western amenity can be found.

Except the hot dog. Until now.

Sure, Maggie's was the place where people stopped for a dog or two. And, with regards to "or two", I'll never forget how nightlife guru Beijing Boyce referred to hot dogs in a post about Maggie's several months ago:

By the way, next time you visit Maggies, take some time out from staring down tops and gaze skyward. This is a lovely building with a high stucco ceiling crossed by colorfully decorated beams normally associated with traditional Chinese architecture. A small bit of reflection on the past might trigger some on the future and prevent soon-to-be-regretted alcohol-fueled decisions you are about to make. Trust me, one hot dog, not two, is enough.

Sadly, I'm fairly certain I may have made one of those bad decisions (about the hot dogs, of course).

While I lived in Guangzhou, however, Maggie's did the unthinkable and changed its mustard. Perhaps this isn't a big deal for most, however as a hot dog purist this was blasphemy. Clearly what they were using wasn't French's, and, for me, wasn't edible. This is all moot now, thanks to the pre-Olympics closure of the seedy establishment.

So it is in this environment that No Bunz Hot Dogs entered the fray, having set up a tiny counter just south of the Canadian Embassy on Xindong Lu. There are no tables, no chairs, not even a counter to lean on. Just a small grill and a fridge where the dogs are kept prior to barbecuin'. And it's a welcome sight, especially as it's about a five minute walk from my home.

The restaurant, if you can call it that, was set up by two guys who work at the Canadian Embassy. One of them, Brent Shen, answered some of our questions below:

When did the store open?

May 23, 2008

Why did you open a hot dog place?

We actually rented the space without knowing what we were going to do, and decided on hot dogs cause there aren't any around and so we could have a place to go for lunch : )

Are you getting a lot of hungry hot-dog customers?

Pretty good so far, lots of repeat customers and people who can't believe they are eating such a good hot dog or sausage in Beijing.

How are Chinese people adapting to the 'dog?

The younger generation like students and returnee Chinese are definitly liking it, while most older generation people look at them a little puzzled but with interest cause first they look pretty good on the bbq and second when all the toppings are on it's huge. Some people look at wonder and then come back and pick up a big one and take home for dinner. It 's interesting to see how they adapt so fast. The locals are especially enjoying the 9 kuai regular hotdogs, because they are cheap and affordable and they get a taste of American flavor.

What kinds of dogs do you offer, and what are the differences between them?

Hotdogs large and small (small being the standard size from back home large being a footlong or so). We have Italian sausages which are great and people really love cause they are a bit spicy and they are in fact really good. The Germans which are awesome with saurkraut and mustard or anything else you might like on it. The Big Canucks, heck we are Canadian so we wanted a fun moniker for our dogs. This one is close to the normal wieners above but have a great garlic kolbassa type of flavour. Great with our Dijon! The last three also come in both large and normal.

So there you have it. In an honest review, I have to say the hot dogs aren't bad. They weren't the best I'd ever had (I'd like to see a Bavarian Smokie on the menu) but neither were they the worst. My one complaint was with the size of the bun for the large hot dogs... when toasted, they were a bit overpowering.

One of our former writers, who is likely well-known to ZNH readership*, had the following thoughts:

As an avid connoisseur of hot dogs, hearing the news of the opening of said hot dog stand pushed me into a state of near euphoria. And I must say I wasn’t disappointed. The German dog I had was grilled properly and, for 25 kuai, was large enough to justify paying more than I would for a three-dish meal at my local Chinese food outlet. The one and only complaint I have is that the size of the dog precipitated the purveyor of said gastro-intestinal delight to put it on a hoagie bun, which sort of took away from the whole ‘hot dog’ experience. Still, on a scale of one to ten, I would definitely rate the place an 8.

You can find No Bunz Hot Dogs just south of the Tibetan restaurant on the southwest corner of Xindong Lu and Dongzhimenwai. It's open from 9am-8:30pm Monday-Friday, and 11am to 6pm on weekends. Delivery is also available, 8602 1672 (Chinese) or 13501071114 (English).

*It is sad to announce we have lost this writer. He has been with ZNH since nearly the beginning, but his professional affiliations will prevent him for writing for us in the future. We wish him well, of course.