Beijing:
Food and Eating out

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(tea, beer, wine and more)

The best way to eat good and cheap in Beijing is to enter one of the ubiquitous restaurants where the locals are eating and pick a few different dishes from the menu. Truth be told, anyone familiar with Western currency and prices will find Beijing a very inexpensive city for food, especially considering that tipping is not practiced in China.

Some of the cheapest and delicious meals can be had on the streets. Jianbing guozi is one of the most popular street snacks, eaten from morning till night. This delicious pancake is cooked with an egg on a griddle, a fried dough crisp is added, and the whole thing is drizzled in scallions and a savory sauce. Hot sauce is optional. Diehard fans often go on a quest for the "best" jianbing cart in the city. This ubiquitous treat only costs about ¥2, with an extra egg ¥2.50.

 Lamb kebabs (yángròu chuàn ) and other kebabs are grilled on makeshift stands all around Beijing, from the late afternoon to late at night. Wangfujing has a "snack street" selling such mundane fare like lamb, chicken, and beef, but the brave can also sample silkworm, scorpion, and various organs all skewered on a stick and grilled to order.

A winter specialty, candied haw berries are dipped in sugar and sold on a stick. You can also find variations with oranges, grapes, strawberries, and bananas, or dipped in crumbled peanuts as well as sugar. This sweet snack can also sometimes be found in the spring and the summer, but the haw berries are often from last season's crop.

Beijing Roast Duck This famous Beijing specialty is served at many restaurants, but there are quite a few restaurants dedicated to the art of roasting the perfect duck. Expect to pay around ¥40 per whole duck at budget-range establishments, and ¥160-¥190 at high-end restaurants. (prices may vary)

Beijing duck is served with thin pancakes, plum sauce and slivers of scallions and cucumbers. You dip the duck in the sauce and roll it up in the pancake with a few slivers of scallions and/or cucumbers. The end result is a mouthwatering combination of the cool crunchiness of the cucumber, the sharpness of the scallions, and the rich flavors of the duck.  Try Quánjùdé, 32 Qianmen Dajie. Daily 11:30am-2:30pm and 4:30-8pm. The oldest and most venerable of the roast duck restaurants, Quanjude is slipping these days, but its fame still brings many customers, mostly tourists eager for the "classic" experience. Ducks cost ¥199 each and ¥99 for half a duck; quality varies by location.  Subway: Line 2 to Qianmen.  The most reputable of Quanjude's 14 branches is the listed Qianmen location. Other branches are at Hepingmen (south of the subway stop), the east side of Tian'anmen Square, and Qinghua Science Park near Wudaokou.

Guolín Restaurant. This well-kept secret among Chinese people has some of the tastiest and most inexpensive ducks in all of Beijing. Half a duck is just ¥28. And all its other delicious, innovative dishes keep customers coming back: be prepared for a bustling, noisy atmosphere, though the interior is often quite nice. Locations all over Beijing—look for a sign with two little pigs—including at Fangzhuang, Zhongguancun, Wudaokou, Xuanwu, and more.

Dàdong, Chaoyang District, Tuanjiehu Beikou Bldg. 3, East 3rd Rind Road. Daily 11am-10pm. Considered by some to be the best Beijing duck in the city, this upscale restaurant also delivers on a nice atmosphere. Reservations suggested. Also at Dongsi Shitiao 22A, Bldg. 1-2 of the Nanxin Cang International Tower.

Biànyìfăng, Chongwen District 36 Xingfu Dajie.  Other locations at 73 Tiantan Dong Lu and 2A Chongwenmen Wai Dajie.

Hot Pot Beijing is also known for its lamb hotpot, which originally came from the Manchu people and emphasizes lamb over other meats. Like variations of hotpot from elsewhere in China and Japan, lamb hotpot is a cook-it-yourself affair in a steaming pot in the center of the table.

 Unlike Sichuan hotpot, lamb hotpot features a savory, non-spicy broth. If that's not exciting enough for you, you can also request a spicy broth (be aware that this is flaming red, filled with peppers, and not for the weak!). To play it safe and satisfy everyone, you can request yuanyáng for a pot divided down the middle, with spicy broth on one side and regular broth on the other. Raw ingredients are purchased by the plate. In addition to lamb, beef, and seafood, this also includes a wide variety of vegetables, mushrooms, noodles, and tofu, so it's also perfectly possible to have vegetarian hotpot. A dipping sauce, usually sesame, is served as well; you can add chilis, garlic, cilantro, etc, to customize your own sauce. While "raw" sounds dangerous, boiling the meat yourself is the best way to ensure that more risky meats like pork are fully cooked and free of germs. In the city center, hotpot can run as much as ¥40-¥50 per person, but on the outskirts it can be found for as little as ¥10-¥25. Dong Lái Shùn, Dongcheng District, 198 Wangfujing Dajie.  Daily 11am-2pm and 5-9pm. This king of Beijing hotpot has been around since the 19th century. Founded by the Hui (ethnic Muslims), Donglaishun serves halal cuts of top-quality lamb and beef. Also serves cooked-by-chef dishes, including traditional Beijing sweets. Subway: Line 1 to Wangfujing. Other locations on the 5th floor of Sun Dong'an (New Oriental Sun) Shopping Plaza, at Tian'anmen, and in Haidian.

Other Chinese cuisines Beijing provides an ideal opportunity to sample food from all over the country. Some of Beijing's best restaurants serve food from Sichuan, Hunan, Canton, Tibet, Yunnan, Xinjiang, and more. Many, such as Makye Ame (11A Xiushui Nanjie Jianguomenwai Beijing Tel: +86 (10) 6506 9616) and Dai Nationality Restaurant feature live dancing and performance, and are not to be missed. Gesangmedo, Chaoyang District, Xindong Lu, Xingfu Ercun Shangye Building, 2nd fl.  Daily 11am-11pm. Tibetan food in a beautifully decorated interior, complete with a shrine in one corner. Attentive staff. Nightly live performance begins at 9pm. Subway: Line 2 to Dongzhimen and walk east on Dongzhimen Wai Dajie.

Red Rose Xingjiang Restaurant, Chaoyang District, Gongti Beilu Xingfu Yicun 7 Xiang. Daily 10am-midnight. This local and tourist favorite promises the full Xinjiang experience, from kebabs, lamb dishes, and delicious naan bread to a bellydancing show with real Uighur musicians. Not the place to go for quiet conversations.

Yuxin Sichuan Restaurant, Chaoyang District, A5 Xingfu Yicun Xili. One of the contenders in the ongoing competition for Beijing's best Sichuanese, Yuxin delivers on authenticity, flavor, and service. It's always busy, and always good. Try their location in the Chang'an Grand Theatre for a calmer setting decorated in a traditional style, with alcoves divided by bamboo screens; take the subway Lines 1 or 2 to Jianguomen, take Exit A, and walk west. Y15-30 per person.

For vegetarians, Beijing's first pure vegetarian buffet restaurant is located on the Confucius Temple on Guo zi jian street, west of the famous Lama Temple. No English menu so far, but one can just ask for the buffet, which contains a large variety of delicious vegetarian dishes, as well as a vegetarian hotpot, and a large selection of dessert.

International cuisines:

McDonald's has over 100 restaurants in Beijing, followed closely by KFC. As a rule of thumb, whenever there is a McDonalds, a KFC is no further than 100m away. There are also a fair number of Pizza Huts. However, visitors to Pizza Hut should be prepared to take a number and wait in line if they dine around 12:00-13:00 and again from 18:30-19:30 (peak hours), as the restaurant is very popular with young Chinese. You will pay on average ¥60-¥120.

Origus has numerous locations throughout Beijing, and offers an all-you-can-eat pizza/pasta buffet for ¥39, including soft drinks and dessert bar.

Mirch Masala Indian Cuisine (60-2 Nanluogu Xiang) Located on the still-quiet tourist street of Nanluoguxian, Mirch Masala serves delicious North-Indian dishes.

If you're in the mood for American fare, head for the Tim's Texas BBQ near the Jianguomen subway station. They'll happily provide you with your favourite American food and drink.

Tony Roma's has a location in Wangfujing (in the big big shopping mall near the bookstore).

 Korean restaurants are also very common in Beijing. A frequent meal is the grill-it-yourself barbeque, including beef, chicken, and seafood items as well as some vegetables including greens and potatoes.

Splurge

All luxury hotels have at least one restaurant, which can be of any cuisine they believe their guests will enjoy. You will find French, Italian, American, and Chinese restaurants in most hotels. Of course, restaurants that serve abalone/sharkfin are considered the most expensive restaurants in the city. Expect to pay upwards of ¥800 for a "cheap" meal at one of these restaurants, much more if splurging.