[Photo by Ye Jun/chinadaily.com.cn]

Many don’t consider lamb spine a "mainstream" food, even in Beijing, where people love lamb. But many locals still like the food because it is so tasty.

In recent years, Beijing has developed quite a few lamb-spine hotpot restaurants. These offer sections of bones from lamb spine, with some meat attached to it. They also often offer a straw for customers to suck out the marrow.

The popularity of these restaurants has a great deal to do with local people’s belief that meat attached to bones is the tastiest. Marrow also is believed to be healthy. Recently, Red Willow (Hong Liushu) Roast Lamb Spine Restaurant held a Roast Lamb Spine Festival.

As part of Beijing’s Muslim food promotional month this summer, the restaurant has offered good deals on meals. Instead of using a hotpot, Red Willow roasts its lamb spine in naan stoves.

As a special roasting tool in Xinjiang, the naan stoves are used to roast lamb legs and other parts of lamb meat. The lamb spines at the restaurant are presented on a special iron rack with many hooks on which the spines are placed and easy to pick. There are two versions of the roast lamb spine. A big rack of lamb spine that’s enough for a table of 10 (two pieces per person) costs 188 yuan ($31).

A smaller rack, enough for three or four people, costs 88 yuan. The lamb spines actually have more meat than many people think. Moreover, the bones are cut in a special way so that when one takes off a bone at the top, the marrow will easily come out.

Apart from the signature lamb spine, the restaurant offers tasty Xinjiang fare. Big-plate chicken with a base of noodles, roast lamb and assorted cold noodles are some of the popular choices. The restaurant is decorated and designed as an affordable restaurant, with Muslim and Xinjiang elements in the decor. There are several eye-catching artificial peach trees with colorful flowers and leaves.

IF YOU GO

Average expense is 80 yuan ($18). 55 Xiaoying Beilu, Yayuncun area, Chaoyang district, Beijing.

010-8498-5988.