A-Quan Beef Restaurant (阿泉全牛馆) is a well-known, long-established restaurant chain in Quanzhou, Fujian Province (福建.泉州). The brand specialises in a variety of beef dishes — from all parts of a bull — and is beloved by locals for its exceptionally fresh beef, rich and flavourful offal soup, specialty stews and well-seasoned beef steak. It is a representative restaurant for experiencing authentic Southern Fujian / Minnan-style beef.
A-Quan Beef Restaurant’s main outlet is located on the west side of Jinjiang River, in Licheng District (鲤城区), and has a number of outlets around Quanzhou Ancient City (泉州古城). We visited the outlet along Dongjie Street, about 200 metres from Quanzhou Clock Tower (泉州钟楼) — a famous landmark dividing Xijie (西街 / West Street) and Dongjie (东街 / East Street).
“阿泉全牛馆” literally translates as “A Quan Whole Bull Restaurant” and nearly all edible parts of a bull are listed on its menu — including bull penis, testicles and even calfskins. The beef, ribs, tendons, offal, etc, are available in soup (汤类) or “dry-cuts” (干切). There are beef noodle, rice dumplings, savoury rice (咸饭), dry-tossed noodle and side dishes too.
If the menu does not give a good “picture” of the dishes, look at the big basins of beef and offal stews on the counter and take your picks. The staff are happy to demonstrate the tenderness of the meats, especially the large beef ribs.
We have a beefy feast of premium beef rib, sliced beef, bull tendons, beef balls soup, minced beef soup, stir-fried vegetable, savoury rice (2 bowls) and dry-tossed noodle — for 3 pax. Nobody wants to try the bull penis and testicles…
A-Quan’s Premium Beef Rib (干切精品大排), available only as “dry-cuts”, is a long, thick piece of rib with chunky meat. The nicely-stewed, thickly-cut beef is very tender and filled the mouth, giving a very satisfying mouthfeel and rich, beefy flavour.
The Dry-Cut Beef (干切牛肉) is served in thin slices as the meat generally has a tougher texture when cooked for long hours. It offers a different texture from the beef rib — we had similar experience with Chao-shan beef hotpot in Chaozhou tasting different parts of bull with different textures.
The Dry-Cut Beef Tendons (干切牛筋) are cooked till very soft yet retaining some of its chewiness. There are different mix of thick and thin tendons, offering varying textures from soft to slight chewy, some crunchy.
The Minced Beef Soup (牛肉羹汤) is quite a big bowl of beef broth with lots of minced beef, mixed with sweet potato flour, to give a soft and smooth texture. The broth, with ginger shreds and greens, is flavourful and carries a familiar, nostalgic taste.
The Beef Ball Soup (牛肉丸汤) — forgot to take a close-up photo — is another soup dish that contains 5 big beef balls, which are juicy and offers that familiar bouncy, firm texture.
The Quan-style Sauced Noodle (泉式伴面) — not sure if it is A-Quan’s style or Quanzhou-style — is served with yellow noodle and greens in small amount of beef broth and doused with a mixed sauce that contains sesame paste and others. The sauce gives the dry-tossed noodle a nice, sweet-savoury flavours that is not too strong-tasting to steal the show of the main dishes.
A-Quan serves Savoury Rice (咸饭) instead of plain white rice. The short-fat pearl / calrose rice is nicely-cooked with some non-meat ingredients and lightly oiled. It carries a light aroma and with mellow savoury flavour, not salty. This delicious rice is must try too — it is so good that “Take-away Savoury Rice” is also a menu item.
Having a meal, or meals, at A-Quan Beef Restaurant to experience the wonderfulness of Minnan-style beef is definitely a must when visiting Quanzhou.
Address:
37~39, Dongjie Street, Licheng District, Quanzhou City, Fujian, China
福建省.泉州市.鲤城区.东街37~39号 — Baidu Map
Opening Hours:
10am to 10pm | Daily
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