An old Muslim cook with his assistant
Beijing 1871 - 1872
© The Wellcome Library, London
In addition to being butchers, Muslims also ran a number of cheap eating houses and bakeries in Beijing. The older man shown here had a small cook's shed in the Qianmen area. In front of his shop was a series of brick ovens and fireplaces; from these a pungent aroma of roasting spread constantly. The shop specialised in various baked and stuffed bread with both savoury meat and sweet fillings. While the older man presided over the cooking and stuffing of the bread, his assistant rolled the dough.
Chinese translation
A pdf of the information about this image in Chinese is also available to download:
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