Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
EATING
The presence of embassies and many foreign companies, as well as the Sānlǐtún bar and entertainment district,
means this giant district has the greatest concentration of international restaurants, foreign-friendly Chinese res-
taurants and fine-dining options.
NÀJIĀ XIǍOGUǍN$$
|CHINESE MANCHU
( 6567 3663; 10 Yong'an Xili, off Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chunxiu Lu, mains ¥40-70; 11am-9.30pm; ;
Yong'anli)
There's a touch of the traditional Chinese tea house to this excellent restaurant,
housed in a reconstructed two-storey interior courtyard, and bubbling with old-Peking at-
mosphere. The menu is based on an old imperial recipe book known as the Golden Soup
Bible, and the dishes are consistently good (and well priced considering the quality). The
imperial Manchu theme sounds a tad tacky, but it's carried off in a fun but tasteful way that
doesn't give you the feeling you're in a tourists-only restaurant. You don't need to book (in
fact, at peak times you can't), but you should be prepared to hang around for at least half an
hour for a table. It's worth the wait. No English sign, and not much English spoken, but the
menu is in English.
JĪNGZŪN PEKING DUCK$$
( Jīngzūn Kǎoyā; 6417 4075; 6 Chunxiu Lu, mains ¥30-50; 11am-10pm; ; Dongzhimen or Dongsi Shi-
tiao)
Very popular place to sample Běijīng's signature dish. Not only is the duck here ex-
tremely good value at ¥128 including all the trimmings but, unusually for a roast duck res-
taurant, you can also sit outside, on the wooden decking overlooking the street. The rest of
the menu is a mix of Chinese cuisines, rather than Běijīng specialities, but the food here is
all decent. Some English spoken. Wouldn't hurt to book, but not essential.
|PEKING ROAST DUCK
JÍXIÁNGNIǍO XIĀNGCÀI$$
( Jishikou Donglu, mains ¥20-50; 11am-9.30pm; ; Chaoyangmen)
There aren't enough places in
Běijīng that serve up
xiāng cài
, the name given to the notoriously spicy cuisine of Húnán
province, but this large, fiery restaurant is arguably the best of them. The braised pork with
brown sauce (¥38), known in China as
hóngshāo ròu
, is understandably popular - it's well
known for being the favourite dish of Mao Zedong, who hailed from Húnán. But the fish
head with chopped pepper (¥68) also should not be missed; nor the village style fried meat
cubes (¥28). Not much English spoken here, but the menu has photos and English transla-
tions. No English sign; look for the red neon Chinese characters.
|CHINESE HÚNÁN
BÀODǓ HUÁNG$
|CHINESE BĚIJĪNG
