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Beijing not only has a variety of traditional Beijing dishes such as roast duck, shabu-shabu, and Beijing snacks; it also has court cuisine, private cuisine, halal cuisine and other exquisite delicacies with Chinese characteristics; French Western food, American fast food, Japanese teppanyaki, Korean cuisine, Southeast Asian dishes and Indian cuisine, etc., all kinds of exotic food can also satisfy your appetite in Beijing.
Wangfujing Snack Street is located on the south side of the Friends World Shopping Mall. There are more than a hundred shops and stalls on the street, specializing in Beijing and other local snacks and tourist souvenirs, which are slightly expensive.
Address: Wangfujing Pedestrian Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Transportation: Take Metro Line 1 to Wangfujing Station, Exit A, or take Bus No. 10, 41, 59, 90, 99, 104, 120, 126, 203, 205, or 420 and get off at Wangfujing Station.
After arriving at Qianmen and strolling through Dashilan, don't forget to visit Xianyukou, located opposite Dashilan. This is an old alley with a history of nearly 600 years. It has been recently renovated, but all the time-honored Beijing brands are still here, including Guotie King, Tianyuan Sauce Garden, Kaorou Ji, Bianyifang, Yongfeng Baodu and other time-honored Beijing brands.
Address: Qianmen Pedestrian Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Transportation: Take Metro Line 2 and exit at Qianmen Station B, or take Bus No. 5, 8, 17, 20, 22, 48, 59, 66, 67, 69, 71, 82, 120, 126, 203, 301, 626, 646, 690, 692, 723, 729, Special 4, Special 7, Special 11, or Bus Rapid Transit No. 1, Special 1, or Special 2 and get off at Qianmen Station
Gui Street (pronounced "Ghost") is the name of the dining street within Dongzhimen, stretching from Dongzhimen Bridge in the east to Beixinqiao Street in the west. Less than a kilometer long, this street boasts a string of restaurants offering a wide variety of cuisines, including hot pot and barbecue dishes from Sichuan, Shandong, Cantonese, and Hunan provinces. Spicy crayfish, frogs, and grilled fish are particularly famous. Gui Street, adorned with large red lanterns, has become a bellwether for Beijing's most popular culinary scene.
Address: Dongzhimennei Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Transportation: Take Metro Line 5 and get off at Beixinqiao Station
The Gulou area's dining scene is dominated by unique small establishments. These small restaurants hidden in the alleys, while lacking the grandeur of Guijie, are nonetheless rich in a cultural atmosphere. Famous establishments include Zuihonglou in Mao'er Hutong, Cheese Youth Dessert Shop at the north entrance of Nanluoguxiang, Yaoji Chaogan at the corner of Gulou, Ju'er Renjia in Ju'er Hutong, and Wenyu Cheese Shop in Nanluoguxiang—all of them trendsetting establishments.
Address: Drum Tower, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Transportation: Take Metro Line 2 and get off at Guloudajie Station
Beijing roast duck is divided into two types: hanging oven roast duck represented by Quanjude and stewed oven roast duck represented by Bianyifang. Thin lotus leaf pancakes are spread with sweet bean sauce, added with chopped Beijing green onions, topped with duck slices, and rolled into a tube for consumption.
Donglaishun is the most famous Beijing hotpot restaurant, and it's best enjoyed in winter. There are also many authentic hotpot restaurants in Niujie, the southern part of the city where Muslims gather.
Douzhi is a unique Beijing folk snack that has been around for thousands of years. Made from mung beans, it has a dark color and a sweet and sour flavor, making it difficult for most people to swallow for the first time. It is often enjoyed with snacks such as fried dough sticks, fried dough sticks, crispy bread, and piecrust, making it a traditional Beijing dish.
This fried dough snack, primarily made from flour, was originally a Qing Dynasty imperial delicacy. Shaped like a bracelet, it's delicate and translucent, deep yellow in color, crispy and flaky, and crumbles to the touch. Old Beijingers traditionally enjoyed it with soy milk for breakfast, and it can still be found in the city's hutong districts.
Luzhu Huoshao is a pure tradition of old Beijing, native to the region, even purer than Peking Opera. The original Luzhu originated from the imperial court's "Suzhou-style meat." Legend has it that during the Guangxu era, pork belly, a dish made with pork belly, was too expensive, so pork head and offal were substituted. This, spread by local culinary experts, eventually led to the creation of Luzhu Huoshao. Few native Beijingers dislike Luzhu Huoshao. Cut the Huoshao into a crisscross pattern, cut the tofu into triangles, and chop the small intestine and lung into small pieces. Ladle a ladle of the broth from the pot into the bowl, then add a little minced garlic, chili oil, fermented tofu, and chives. When the bowl arrives piping hot, the Huoshao, tofu, and lungs soak up the broth, cooking thoroughly without being sticky, and the meat tender without being mushy.
Chaoganer (stir-fried liver) is a traditional Beijing snack. Its main ingredients are pork intestines, with pork liver as a side dish. Seasonings include soy sauce, yellow bean paste, minced raw and cooked garlic, and pork bone broth. The resulting broth is crystal clear, the intestines and liver tender, and the flavor is light, non-greasy, and rich. Famous restaurants include Tianxingju in Xianyukou, Qianmen, and Yaoji Chaogan in Gulou. Yaoji Chaogan in Gulou became particularly famous thanks to a visit by US Vice President Biden, prompting the popular saying, "For Chaoganer, just around the corner from Gulou!"
"Baodu'er" is short for "water-fried lamb tripe," with the "du" character "du" (du) pronounced "dǔ." A lamb tripe is divided into six parts: the "du collar," the "du shan" (du shan), the "hulu" (gourd), the "sandan" (sandan), the "mushroom," and the "shixi" (shixi). Baodu'er is always eaten with a dipping sauce, similar to that used for hot pot mutton, including cilantro, chopped green onions, sesame paste, fermented tofu, chili oil, minced garlic, braised shrimp oil, chives, soy sauce, and vinegar. Most of the baodu'er restaurants in Beijing are run by Hui people. Baodu Wang and Baodu Man, located in Niujie Street's Rudong Hutong, are the most famous.
First, mix brown sugar, sesame paste, osmanthus flowers, and sesame oil. Then, add an appropriate amount of flour and baking soda. Spread the mixture on thinly rolled dough, fold it repeatedly, and finally form it into a dough. It's baked in the oven. Sugar-coated steamed buns are a common breakfast snack in Beijing, with a history of over 300 years. Dashunzhai's sugar-coated steamed buns are the most famous.
Donkey rolls are a traditional Beijing snack that is quite well-known. They are made of layers of sticky dough, brown sugar and fried soybean flour. They are sticky and sweet, with a faint sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance. You will never tire of eating them.
Use white peas, white sugar, red dates, etc. as raw materials. First crush the white peas, add water and boil for one and a half hours, then make pea paste, add date juice and white sugar and mix evenly, pour into the pot, stir-fry until thick, pour into a stainless steel plate, let cool, cut into small pieces with a knife and eat.
A traditional Beijing snack, steamed glutinous rice is first cooled and then rolled into round skins. Peach kernels, sesame kernels, melon seeds, green plums, golden cakes, and sugar are then mixed into the filling. It tastes sweet but not greasy and is very palatable.
Located on the north bank of Shichahai, it houses 12 traditional Beijing snack shops: Chen's Small Intestines, Dalan Fire-baked Bread, Feng's Fried Tripe, Wei's Cheese, Li's Tea Soup, Yueshengzhai, Zhou's Pie, Deshunzhai, Qian's Nian Gao, Yangtou Ma, White Tofu Pudding, and Enyuanju.
Address: Xiaoyou Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Getting There: Take Line 2 to Jishuitan Station, Exit C, and walk east along Gulou West Street until you see a sign for Jiumen Snacks. Alternatively, take Buses 27, 44, 83, 344 Express, 345, 670, or Special Bus 12 and get off at Deshengmen West Station. From the Deshengmen overpass, you'll see a sign for Gulou West Street. Walk about 100 meters until you see signs for Xiaoyou Hutong and Jiumen Snacks.
This century-old hot pot restaurant, featuring large copper pots and a roaring charcoal fire, boasts top-quality lamb, cooked instantly, fresh and tender without a hint of mutton. Dipped in a traditional blend of five spices, it's a dish even the wealthy enjoyed a century ago. Winter is especially popular, with many tourists, both domestic and international, drawn to its fame.
Address: No. 198 Wangfujing Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing (near Wangfujing Department Store)
Tel: 010-65139661
Transportation: Take bus No. 103, 104, 201, 211, 420, Special No. 11, or Special No. 2 and get off at Wangfujing Road North.
You must try fresh meat. From fat to lean, you can order large sancha, small sancha, ground pork, and cucumber strips. Small sancha is recommended, as it has the perfect balance of fat and lean. After finishing the hot pot, enjoy a bowl of soup and adjust your own flavor with chopped green onions, cilantro, salt, and MSG for a truly authentic flavor. Recommendations include fresh lamb, sugar-fried curried fruit, black tripe, and frozen tofu.
Address: 50m east of Beixinqiao Cross, Guijie Street, Dongzhimen, Beijing
Tel: 010-84026223
Transportation: Take Metro Line 5, Beixinqiao Exit A
Address: No. 9 Shuaifuyuan Hutong, Wangfujing Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing (opposite to Goubuli)
Tel: 010-65253310
Transportation: Take bus No. 103, 104, 201, 211, 420, 614, Special No. 11, or Special No. 2 and get off at Xindong'an Market Station, or take Metro Line 1 and exit at Wangfujing Station Exit A.