Cuisines from many different cultures permeate the Beijing dining scene. With literally thousands of restaurants available, dining choices are practically unlimited. And the best part is that you can splurge at a fancy restaurant or dine supremely well (any much more cheaply) at any of the smaller family-run operations located all over the city.
Beijing Roast Duck
It is said that there are two things that you must do when visiting Beijing: One is to enjoy the roast duck and the other is to take a stroll on the Great Wall. There is simply quite nothing like a perfectly roasted duck with bronzed crispy skin and tender, succulent meat. There are literally dozens of restaurants that serve this famous dish, but perhaps the best known are Quanjude and Bianyifang.
Beijing Imperial Court Food
Imperial Cuisine has evolved over time to be enjoyed by all of the country's people, characterized by complex preparation techniques, the freshest ingredients and elaborate presentation including colorful vegetable carvings. It is the foundation of Beijing cuisine. Probably the finest expression of classic imperial cooking is the Tan Jia cuisine served at the Beijing Hotel.
Beijing Snack
Fancy Beijing snack is a must in tasting the authentic Beijing flavor. These dishes emanate from many different cuisines, but the Chinese Muslim influenceis the most apparent. There are probably 200 varieties of snacks in Beijing. Most of the snacks can be found throughout the city. Here, let us begin a snack tourto seek most delicious snacks of Beijing.
Chinese Cuisines
Besides of the eight cuisines, most of regions and minorities in China also have their own particular cuisines that supply customers with more choices. For example, the delicate Shanghai, Huaiyang and Chaozhou cuisines, the unconstrained Shaanxi, Shanxi and Dongbei cuisines as well as the exotic Moslem and Uygur cuisines. In Beijing, it is easily to find such a kind of restaurant for dinner. Here is a bilingual menu which can help ordering dishes in restaurants.
Western Restaurants
In addition to the thousands of Chinese restaurants, there are also lots of places serving foods from all over the world. You can basically get any type of food you want here, if you know where to find it.
 American Brazilian French Germen | Italian Russian Scandinavian Swiss |
Asian Restaurants
Are you still looking for the special food which could suprise you by totally different flavors? Why not try an Asian restaurant in Beijing?
| Japanese Korean Indian | Indonesian Thai Vietnamese |
Sea FoodSeafood is a special dish in east and south part of China. It is well liked around the country with its fresh and special flavor.
Hot PotYou will never be disappointed to look for various kinds of food. For the cold weather, Hot Pot is a good choice to try. It is no wonder that some love to have in summer too. Hot pot is so popular nationwide.
FastfoodApart from KFC, McDonald's and other well-known western fastfood shops, there is no lack of Chinese, Japanese and special flavor (such as curry) fastfood restaurants in Beijing, some of which are chain shops.
Muslim RestaurantsFeature food from Chinese ethnic minorities contributes a lot to Beijing's colorful dining culture. Characterized by its fresh yet dense flavor, Muslim Cuisine is also known as Islamic cai and Hui cai, the best dish of which is Whole Sheep Banquet which has won wide praise.
Vegetarian RestaurantsLike fastfood is for people in a hurry, the increasingly fashionable vegetarian dishes are for vegetarians or persons who love this healthy dining style, but not only for those vegetarians for the religion's sake. Merits and Virtues Vegetarian House is a time honored brand in Beijing that was first founded in Shanghai. Absolutely, there are more vegetarian restaurants listed on page for references.
CafeteriasHelping oneself in Cafeterias is a popular and free dining style favored by multitudes of people. Many BBQ restaurants and cafes are of this kind. Here are many excellent cafeterias getting well spoken. For specialty cafeterias, Golden Jafuar, Amazon and Max's Cafeteria are all sound ones.
BuffetsIf tired of big dishes all the time, buffets offering desserts, milk tea, ice cream and takeaway coffee are comfortable choice. One can sit and enjoy in the small but delicately decorated shops or buy some drinks and candies by the way while roaming about. If interested in old Beijing culture, tea house is a perfect choice where listening Beijing Opera and other folk art performances is enjoyable as tasting the tea aroma.
Special FlavorSome Special Flavor restaurants are enveloped in romantic atmosphere and they are ideal places for appointment between lovers. There are also other restaurants listed here in terms of food style to provide another way for customer to choose where and what to eat.
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Q & A on Beijing Dining
1.
Jan. 2,2010 02:30 Reply
Mr.jojo(malaysia) said:
How can I get from wangfujing to Hard Rock cafe? Thanks
Jan. 4,2010 01:21
Ms.Kaye replied:
First take subway line 1 at Wangfujing Station and then transfer to line 10 at Guomao Station. Stop at Liangmahe and the hard Rock Caf is at 1/F, Landmark Towers, 8 Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District.
2.
Jan. 2,2010 05:01 Reply
Mr.olive oil(heaven) said:
it's so yummy,i eat 1000 chicken in 10 minutes
3.
Aug. 25,2009 23:57 Reply
Ms.Daisy(Vietnam) said:
dear all,
Im about coming to Beijing and i would like to know where to eat Peking Duck which is good n cheap prices.(how much does it cost? )
I also heard about there is Peking duck street in beijing.( many peking duck restaurants among the street) Tell me if anyone knows.
Thanks
Aug. 27,2009 01:44
Mr.Qi replied:
This is the most famous peking duck restaurants:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/dinning/roastduck/
To look for cheaper ones, you can see:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/dinning/roastduck/bianyifang.htm
I ate in Bianyifang,, 140RMB offering sauce and pancakes. Quanjude also charge service fee. Recommend you go to Bianyifang, Liqun. Made in China is also good, a bit more expensive than the other two.
Enjoy~
Nov. 27,2009 00:34
Ms.FangFang(USA) replied:
Hi Daisy,
I have a few more recommendations for the roast duck places in Beijing.
One is Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant, and the other is Huajia Yiyuan. They are both very good and popular among the locals.
Have fun in China!
Dec. 18,2009 09:21
Ms.HERBEAT(China) replied:
hehe, Da dong is good...
4.
Nov. 4,2009 10:36 Reply
Ms.DANICA S.(PHILIPPINES) said:
dude! i tried roast duck and it is so good..... I LOVE CHINESE FOODS 2!
Nov. 18,2009 22:48
Ms.HERBEAT(China) replied:
Hehe, there are lots of cuisine styles in China and you would find almost all of them are lovely^-^
5.
Oct. 13,2009 01:48 Reply
Ms.Joleen(country) said:
Thanks Ms Yun! Yes, is Guijie.
Please tell me which subway station is nearest to Guijie.
Thank you.
Oct. 13,2009 02:41
Mr.Eric replied:
Guijie（Ghost Street）stretches from Dongzhimen cloverleaf junction in the east, to Jiaodaokou East Street in the west. The nearest subway stations are Dongzhimen Station of subway line 2 in the east and Beixinqiao station of subway line 5 in the west.