Get your hot dogs in the hutong

By Mike Fuksman (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-23 10:24

US college student Elly Henriksen runs a hot dog stand in Nanluoguxiang during the summer time this year. [China Daily/Mike Fuksman]

US college life is in full swing and many young adventurous Americans are still telling tales about their overseas experiences. It's not unusual for foreign students to spend a summer in China interning at various companies but selling hot dogs in a Beijing hutong is way off the beaten track.

US college student Elly Henriksen ran the Bar Uno hot dog stand, located in Nanluoguxiang, for the greater part of the summer and is now back home in Washington state to tell the story.

"I got there on June 1, and was pretty much keeping the place running," said Henriksen.

A student at the University of Puget Sound in Washington state, Henriksen was offered the job by an American businessman and alumni of her school.

"My professor called me on my cellphone and told me I had a job prospect in China, and asked if I was interested," said Henriksen. With less than three weeks left before the semester was to end, she scrambled to get her visa and passport in place so she could come to China.

"I was basically told 'you're going to be running a hot dog stand, and you're going to work a lot'," said Henriksen. The stand, which is still running, is open seven days a week, for at least 12 hours each day. Henriksen was in charge of "establishing regular hours, regular prices, doing some of the hiring; we wanted to use an American business model," she said.

Among her hires is Temucin Caglar, a young man of Turkish and Chinese descent. Caglar has worked at the stand for about three weeks. "I hung out here a lot and got to know the owner, and then they asked me if I wanted to work here," he said.

According to Henriksen, the little hot dog stand has built a big following in Beijing.

"I've heard people describe our dogs as being the best in the city, and I don't think that's far off," she said. The precise number of dogs sold on any given night is hard to establish but it was constantly fluctuating.

Although the stand largely caters to American expats, the customer base gets more diverse all the time.

"The first hot dog I sold was to a Chinese lady, and she loved it," said Caglar.

People of all backgrounds, ethnicities and ages come to check out the stand. "My favorites are the kids, they're the best. They get really psyched about the hot dogs," said Henriksen.

Depending on their nationality, certain toppings tend to be popular with patrons of the stand. "The Chinese like olives on their dogs, and the French are always asking us to put mayonnaise on them," she said.

The laid-back, quiet nature of the stand contributes to its reputation. "We have a bunch of regulars. They give us a sense of community here," said Henriksen.

On Friday and Saturday nights, it's common to see a line of people stretching across the alley, just waiting to get their hands on a dog after a long night of drinking at the many bars in Nanluoguxiang.

Henriksen returned to the United States last month to continue her studies. She plans to journey to Taiwan next summer for an intensive Chinese language program. "It was a kick in the head to go back home. I got to live in a hutong all summer, no one gets that experience," she said.