Jianbing is a wonderful, uniquely Chinese street food. It’s difficult to describe. Visitors to China may only know it as ‘that delicious thing you get in the morning in the alley.” At Bing of Fire, we’ve gone through many iterations trying to find a succinct way to describe it.

Some examples for you:
Chinese crepes (But it’s not like a French crêpe.)
Chinese pancakes (Not thick/sweet enough to be a pancake.)
Chinese burritos (No whole beans or rice or tortilla.)
Chinese wraps (This is the version I use!)
Egg McMao (A common expat translation, but it has some negative connotations that I’d rather avoid thank you.)

Lately, I just call it “jianbing” or “bing.” It’s easier to import the word than try to describe or translate.

History
Jianbing is historically associated with northern China, specifically Tianjin. One legend claims the famous Chinese chancellor Zhuge Liang used jianbing to feed an army.

Locations ‘Round the World
Can you find jianbing in China? Well, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Chengdu all have it. You know, just to name a few major cities.

Can you find jianbing outside of the China? Yes! Can you get that street cart experience, yes! I highly recommend getting it from a cart. Watching jianbing being freshly made just for you is magical.

Britain:
Meimei’s Street Cart, Manchester
America:
Jianbing Johnny, San Francisco
Nali, Chicago
Bing of Fire, Seattle
Australia (these look more like mall kiosk setups):
Bing Boy, multiple locations
Bing Go, multiple locations

Do you know of other jianbing carts around the world?

Other sources:
http://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2013/02/10/bing-it-variations-breakfast-classic
http://www.newschinamag.com/magazine/bing-a-ling