Breakfast is the perfect time to experience Beijing’s xiaochi. You can often find xiaochi street vendors in little shops carved out of the side of a building. My friends reminisce about summers past when they could walk a couple minutes from their apartment to get a just-fried youtiao (油条, a long stick of fried dough, like a cruller or churro) and a cup of freshly-pressed soymilk (doujiang, 豆浆). The Olympics, unfortunately, has swept out many of these neighborhood essentials.

Instead, you can head to places such as Huguosi Xiaochi, Jiumen Xiaochi (九门小吃) and Longfusi Xiaochi, canteen-like eateries that sell snacks by the serving or the plate. At Jiumen Xiaochi, a well-known tourist spot because of its quaint (or annoying) location in an obscure hutong north of Houhai, around ten of Beijing’s time-honored brands have set up shop in individual booths to sell their specialties, whether it’s Beijing yoghurt, wandouhuang (cake made from garden pea paste), or quick-fried tripe. The décor is a bit classier here, with a courtyard at the entrance and a decorating scheme that tries to evoke the hawkers’ markets of imperial times past. The taste? Not bad, since it’s hard to go wrong with simple fare like xiaochi.

Huguosi Xiaochi (护国寺小吃) and Longfusi Xiaochi (隆福寺小吃) are more utilitarian, have wider selections, and, I think, are more delicious. Both of these eateries are named after Buddhist temples (si, 寺) in Beijing. Huguosi, for example, dates back to the Yuan dynasty. In the past, the temples had certain days for people to gather and sell religious wares such as incense and candles. Gradually, these gatherings expanded to allow other products like minority handicrafts and toys and eventually became all-purpose markets. Performers entertained the crowds with acrobatics, dance, and wushu. Where there are people, there has to be food. So vendors would set up a tent and stools and sell little cakes and tea, all prepared according to Muslim dietary standards. In 1956, the various xiaochi vendors in Huguosi banded together and established a permanent store right next to the temple. The story is basically the same for Longfusi. The two temple markets were known as the famous Dongsi markets, mirroring each other on the map along the Dongsishitiao axis.

Nowadays, people’s primary association with the temples may be through their xiaochi. Besides the original storefront next to the temples, both Longfusi and Huguosi Xiaochi have numerous franchises throughout Beijing. They sell baked goods, as well as noodles (including lao beijing zhajiangmian), soymilk, cold appetizers, congee and slew of other Beijing fare. Almost everything is under ¥10, with the sweets around ¥1 each and bigger dishes costing a bit more. Pay in advance at a central cashier’s station, (your remaining balance can be refunded). It’s a rowdy restaurant scene, with strangers sitting next to each other or families crowding around one table, bent on satisfying the xiaochi craving.