Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
At big tables, the dishes are placed on a lazy Susan, which revolves so everyone can ac-
cess the food. Rice often arrives at the end of the meal but if you want it before, just ask.
The mainland Chinese dig their chopsticks into communal dishes, or spoons will be used
to ladle out the food, but don't root around for a piece of food. Instead, identify it first and
go directly to it without touching what's around it. Bones can be deposited in your side
dish, or even on the table itself. If you're in doubt about what to do, just follow the ex-
ample of the people around you.
CHOPSTICKS
Most people get to grips with chopsticks quickly out of necessity (it's either that or go on an involuntary crash
diet), but don't feel embarrassed if you struggle at first; there's no shame in dropping a dumpling.
Until recently, only posh places handed out their own, reusable chopsticks, while cheap joints relied on dispos-
able wooden ones. The disposable ones are more hygienic but with China producing 63 billion pairs of them a
year, which is an awful lot of bamboo, they are not environmentally friendly. If you don't want to use them but
are worried about cleanliness, consider carrying your own chopsticks.
Běijīng Bites
Off the main roads is a world of steaming food stalls and eateries teeming with activity.
Eat this way and you will be dining as most Beijingers do. Breakfast can be easily catered
for with a
yóutiáo
(deep-fried dough stick), a sip of
dòuzhī
(bean curd drink) or a bowl of
zhōu
(rice porridge). Other snacks include the crunchy, pancake-like
jiānbǐng
. The heavy
meat-filled
ròubǐng
(cooked bread filled with finely chopped pork) are lifesavers and very
cheap. A handy vegetarian option is
jiǔcài bǐng
(bread stuffed with cabbage, chives, leek
or fennel and egg).
Dàbǐng
(a chunk of round, unleavened bread sprinkled with sesame
seeds) can be found everywhere, and of course there's
mántou
(steamed bread).
Hóngshǔ
(baked sweet potatoes) are cheap and filling and sold during winter.
Málà
tàng
is a spicy noodle soup that's very warming in winter, and has chunks of
dòufu
(bean
curd), cabbage and other veggies - choose your own ingredients from the trays. Also look
out for
ròujiāmó
, a scrumptious open-your-mouth-wide bun filled with meat, chilli and
garlic shoots. But perhaps the most ubiquitous Běijīng snack is
kǎo yángròu chuàn
(lamb
kebabs), which are sold throughout the city at all times of the day and night.
