The exotic secrets of Cow Street

"Our generation is old-fashioned, so we may be a little slow on the uptake with these new sales methods," Hong says.

The three long lines on the other side of Niujie are outside Jubaoyuan, which gained a reputation over many years for its raw beef and mutton and cooked beef, but whose signature product is now mutton hotpot.

Ma Gang, the general manager, is a Niujie resident whose family is nicknamed Brick Ma, his father being a builder. He took over managing Jubaoyuan, which then had 12 staff, 25 years ago.

"We're known for our beef and mutton, so I go to the slaughterhouse each day and wait for the fresh meat and bring it back to the shop," Ma says.

When Niujie was upgraded in 1997, Ma took the sign that had hung outside Jubaoyuan's shop and reopened the business elsewhere. In 2003 he moved back to Niujie and, with much more space, decided to start offering mutton hotpot. That has been a resounding success.

The long lines outside seem to be a constant, and even at 10 pm people are still waiting for a table.

"The high quality of our beef and mutton is the key, and we need to keep that into the future," Ma says.