When I began planning my trip to Beijing, I was anxious to eat the food once we got there! Will they speak English? Will I find food that I like? Am I going to get sick from eating the food? I’m sure not everyone thinks they way I do but I am very “Type-A” so I can’t help myself sometimes! I like to try my best to avoid any potential hurdles in any situation I expect to be in.
Our hotel provided breakfast each day, and on most of the days on our trip we had lunch with our tour guide, so there were only a few meals we would have to figure out on our own. Here is a list of our favorite places to eat in Beijing!
Xian Lao Man
Xian Lao Man is known for great, cheap dumplings. They have a wide variety of dumplings, both fried and not fried. They also have a lot of other tasty options like noodles, hotpot, soups, appetizers and meat dishes. If you like garlic, check out the large glass urns against the wall near the entrance! They are filled with whole garlic cloves that have been pickled in black vinegar, and you can eat some with your dishes. Xian Lao Man is located in the Dongcheng district, near the drum and bell towers.
Xiabu Xiabu
Xiabu Xiabu is a chain hotpot restaurant; we went to the location in the food court area of the Pearl Market. They had a Chinese and English menu with a lot of authentic and safe options (lol). They have a variety of meats and vegetables to choose from, as well as tofu, how spicy you want your broth to be, etc. We chose a spicy broth and a non-spicy broth! Keep in mind that you cook the food yourself!
Ju EnYuan
Ju EnYuan is a small restaurant tucked in the Sea Jing Hutong. We had their “Reunion dish”, spring pancakes, kung pao chicken. We were surprised to find that both dishes rolled into the pancake (similar to a tortilla) was a delicious combination!
Qi Xun Ba Zhao – Guo Er Tiao
Qi Xun Ba Zhao – Guo Er Tiao has amazing traditional Beijing noodles that you must try! This restaurant is located the Cang Jing Guan Hutong.
Bao Rui Men Ding Rou Bing
Bao Rui Men Ding Rou Bing is a little rough on the inside but their “door nail” meat buns are tasty.
Bei Ping Ji Qi
This brewery is one of the most westernized places we visited. The crowd was younger and all of the music playing was in English! This brewery is located in the Fang Jia Hutong.
Wanfujing Snack Street
candied fruit…meats, dumplings, and even things like scorpions on a stick that are still moving!
Houhai Lake’s “Snack Street”
Near Houhai Lake there is an area that is like a mini snack-street. Most of it is indoor but you can see the two outside locations are a swirled potato on a squewer and frozen yogurt. We had both and they were delicious! The indoor area includes a lot of other authentic Chinese food items, like peking duck. I think I liked this location better than the Wangfujing snack street because it was less crowded by tourists (ironic, huh?).
Toast
Toast is the name of the restaurant within the hotel we stayed (The Orchid Hotel). It has a lunch/dinner menu, but the brunch cannot be missed. Toast is unique in that it isn’t traditional Chinese food; they say it is East-Mediterranean, but I think a lot of the brunch food can be seen as American. We were fortunate to eat an amazing breakfast at Toast each day we were staying at the hotel, but I highly recommend trying it even if you’re not staying at The Orchid!
Xihongchun
We went to a restaurant named Xihongchun on the way back to the city center of Beijing after visiting the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. We had another form of pancakes, kung pao chicken, and sweet and sour pork!
When you visit Beijing you will find that there are many great eateries to choose from. Narrowing it down your location within Beijing and the type of eatery (sit-down restaurant, food vendor, etc.) will help you in choosing where you want to eat while you’re there! Good luck and have fun!
If you have visited Beijing and have a favorite place to eat, please mention it in the comments below!
