Do you love Chinese cuisine? If you want to taste the essence of Chinese food, you must go on a Beijing food tour. I have been planning one for long. Last December, I have executed it and have tasted all my favourite Chinese food in Beijing before I went home.
I am Chinese and am knowledgeable of what are the best Chinese foods to eat. Here I want to walk you through my Beijing food tour, so you can have some ideas of how to plan yours.
Set Up A Food List
Many of you might know that Peking duck is the most famous Chinese food in Beijing. Other than this, what Chinese cuisine do you like? Type "best Chinese food in Beijing" into the internet and search. You'll get lots of ideas. Another source is to ask your friends who live in Beijing or who have been to China. Write down the foods that are tempting to you. Here is my food list:
o Peking Duck
o Sichuan Smoked Duck
o Lamb Hot Pot
o Imitated Imperial Meal of the Qing Dynasty
o Dan Dan Noodle
o Specialty Sauce Noodle
o Beijing Dumplings
o Mapo Tofu (spicy beancurd)
Search For Restaurants
Go through a similar process like searching for food. Search for "hot pot restaurant in Beijing" might give you a lot of suggestions. Check travel forums might also help.
Here is my targeted restaurant list:
o King of Duck - Peking Duck
o Dong Lai Shun - Lamp Hot Pot
o Sichuan Restaurant at Prince Gong's Palace - Sichuan Smoked Duck
Your restaurant list might be too long that you don't know which the best is. To make life simple, you might show your food list to hotel concierge and ask them for to suggest good and economic restaurants nearby. It does not need to be the hotel where you stay, any hotel concierge should be able to help.
You don't need to target for five star ones. Restaurants run by local people where local Beijingers do their daily meals could be the best place to have a true Beijing feel. Daojiachang is one recommended by my driver, which I found it outstandingly good in environment, food quality and price.
Getting There
If the place is not nearby, make sure to have the restaurant's Chinese name and address written on a paper and show to taxi drivers. This is important as to avoid misunderstanding and any language communication gap.
Check the Cost of Beverages
Food in Beijing is generally not expensive, but drinks are. Better find out before ordering. At the Beijing duck house, our pot of tea cost us ¥40 which is ridiculously expensive. When we checked for drink prices, we were able to order tea at ¥6 per head with refill, which is far more reasonable.
Beijing restaurants generally do not incur service charge. However some might add 10% to your bill.
Check Opening Hours
This should not be a problem for restaurants in the downtown area. However some restaurants have a break between lunch and dinner. We missed our favourite Sichuan Restaurant at the Prince Gong's Palace, without realizing that it closes daily at 2pm for lunch and re-open at 5pm for dinner.
Add Some Sightseeing Activities to Your Beijing Food Tour
You must do something in between meals in order to add colour to your food tour. The spots I have chosen are Peking University, Laoshe Tea House, Prince Gong's Palace and the Mutianyu Great Wall. Mind the time, so you have enough time to visit your favourite spots without missing any of your favourite food and restaurant.
Visit The Snack Street At Wangfujing
If eating is your main travel objective to Beijing, you must not miss the Snack Street along the Wangfujing Main Street towards Dong Chang'an Street.
The Snack Street is a place where it can make you feel hungry. The whole street is all the time full of people and yummy food. The BBQ chicken/lamb/beef sticks cost only ¥1 to ¥5 per stick. If you want to try new and funny things, pay ¥5 per stick of cocoon, pupa, cicada and ¥15 for a seahorse. You can find almost any kind of Chinese snacks from all over the country here.
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