The private restaurants and food stalls are part of Beijing’s image. The restaurants satisfy the tourists, the business travelers as well as the foreign residents.
Because of the cold winter, short growing season and the arid climate, the cuisine is based on wheat, soybeans and millet. The modern Beijing chefs are proud of their lai mein (hand-pulled noodles)
Specialties and cuisines
While in Beijing you can experience one of the specialties or cuisines:
- Beijing (Peking) Duck (see photo right) is the must for any visitor. Half a duck along with hoisin sauce and silver fungus are rolled up in a piece of bread.
- Sichuan style cuisine is hot and spicy, with a lot of red chilies and Sichuan peppercorn, garlic and onions. One of the nicest restaurants serving Sichuan style cuisine is Shu Xiang Zhai.
- Hot pots contain varieties of meat, vegetable, tofu and some unique foods. Zhao Deng Wai Yu Lu is one of the best places around Beijing to get hot pots.
- Xinjiang food is a Muslim style cuisine and the bread is great.
- Dao Xiao Mian are noodles. They are served with soup, meat and sometimes vegetables. La Mian is a variant of the noodles, something like spaghetti
- Jiaozi are dumplings. They have different fillings, such as meat, vegetables or sea food.
- Gong Bao Ji Ding is a spicy chicken cooked with vegetables and peanuts.
- To Doe Zi is made of potatoes and green papers.
Worth Trying
Chao Yang Park quickly became one of the hippest spots in Beijing for dining. For spicy food and live blues, check out Big Easy. If you want to try some authentic Beijing cuisine, don’t miss Gold Cat Dumpling, located nearby Tuan Jie Hu Park.
If you want to enjoy some Beijing (Peking) Duck you shouldn’t miss one of the Quan Ju De Roast Duck Restaurants in the city. If you are on a small budget, don’t miss the Wu Dao Kou, a Korean style restaurant.
Jian Guo Men Wai and Ri Tan is an area where you can find almost any kind of restaurant. If you are in the mood for exotic Middle Eastern food, you should try Once Upon a Time Restaurant. If you want to eat Chinese food at affordable prices, try Xi He Ya Ju Restaurant. You can also get some Italian pizza at Adria.
Northeast Third Ring Road is another area where you can find a lot of restaurants. You can grab some Thai food at Red Basil or the Asian Star. The Asian Star also offers Chinese cuisine. If you want to try the Japanese dishes, go to San Si Lang. Of course, you can get American food as well (Hard Rock Café or T.G.I.F).
If you are looking for a Japanese place in the San Li Tun area, don’t miss Jazz Ya, while if you want India or Thai food, try Golden Elephant.
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