Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Best
Food
Food is an absolute obsession for the Chinese and eating out is the favourite so-
cial activity for Beijingers. With over 60,000 restaurants, and countless thou-
sands of street-food stands, they're spoilt for choice and you will be too. Every
one of China's numerous cuisines are on offer here, so you can eat your way
across the country without ever leaving the capital.
Beijing Food
Chinese cuisine has four main schools, one for each compass point. Beijing food is classi-
fied as 'northern cuisine', which makes heavy use of wheat and millet, with noodles and
steamed dumplings popular staples. Peking duck is the city's most famous dish. Beijingers,
though, are equally enthusiastic about hotpot, which has Mongol origins, and the local
street food, which involves anything that can be whipped up roadside or skewered on a
stick. You'll see a lot of Sichuan (western China cuisine) restaurants in Beijing, as well as
more esoteric places with food from far-off provinces.
Eating out in Beijing
Dining Chinese-style is a noisy, chaotic and often messy affair. Beijingers like to eat in big
groups and they're at their most relaxed and gregarious when sitting around the dining
table. Restaurants aren't judged by their decor or service; the only thing that matters is the
food and the company. Most Chinese dishes are meant to be eaten communally, with every-
one digging in with their chopsticks. A selection of meat, fish and vegetable dishes, both
cold and hot, is the standard order. Don't worry about dropping food; you won't be the only
one doing so.
Best Peking Duck
Beijing Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant
(
Click here
)
Crispy, lean and delicious duck.
