Top 10 Must-Try Beijing Food
When visiting Beijing, exploring the local food scene is just as essential as visiting the Great Wall or the Forbidden City. Whether you're craving something savory, sweet, or adventurous, Beijing's diverse cuisine has something for everyone.
Let's dive into the vibrant food paradise and find out the top 10 delicious and worth-trying Beijing cuisines, featuring recommended restaurants and price ranges.
1. Beijing Roast Duck
Peking Roast Duck
Beijing Roast Duck, also called Peking Roast Duck, is one of the most iconic dishes in Chinese cuisine, known for its crispy skin, tender meat, and intricate preparation. It has a rich history and is considered a must-try for visitors to Beijing.
The duck is typically sliced tableside by a skilled chef, who carves it into thin pieces, ensuring that each slice has a bit of both crispy skin and juicy meat. It is often served with pancakes, sweet bean sauce, and sliced cucumbers. You can use them to make a roast duck pancake.
- Chinese name: 北京烤鸭
- Ingredients: Except for duck meat, there will be vegetables and soy bean sauce.
- Taste and texture: The skin of roast duck is light and crackling; the meat beneath is tender and flavorful. When you combine it with pancakes, you will find the pancake is soft, the vegetables are crispy, and the sauce is sweet.
- Price: 160-300 RMB (about 23 USD to 43 USD) for a whole duck
- Where to eat: Any branches of Quanjude (全聚德), Da Dong (大董烤鸭店), and Bianyifang (便宜坊).
2. Peking Dumplings
Beijing Dumplings
- Chinese name: 饺子
- Ingredients: The dough is a mixture of wheat flour and water; the fillings are usually meat (pork, fish, and lamb) and vegetables (Chinese cabbage, leek, and green onion).
- Taste and texture: Boiled and steamed dumplings are soft, and pan-fried dumplings are crispy.
- Price: 10-15 RMB (1.4-2.1 USD) for a serving of 15-20 dumplings.
- Where to eat: 金谷园 (Jinguyuan) on Xingtan Road or other branches.
- Recommended Tour Itinerary
3. Tanghulu
Tanghulu
- Chinese name: 冰糖葫芦
- Ingredients: sugar and fruits, such as hawthorn berries, strawberries, grapes, kumquats, or small tangerines.
- Taste and texture: It has a sweet-and-sour flavor. The sugar coat offers a crunchy and sweet exterior, while the fruit inside offers a juicy burst of flavor. To highlight the contrast of flavors, the fruit used is typically a bit sour. That's why hawthorn is the most classic choice.
- Price: around 10 RMB (1.4 USD) per stick.
- Where to eat: It's street food, so you can find it in every Hutong in Beijing.
4. Zhajiangmian
Zhajiangmian
- Chinese name: 炸酱面
- Ingredients: Most of the Zhajiangmian restaurants use thick and chewy wheat noodles. The fried sauce is made by stir-frying minced pork or beef with fermented soybean paste or sweet bean paste. To balance the richness of sauce, Zhajiangmian is usually served with fresh vegetables as toppings, such as sliced cucumber, radish, and bean sprouts.
- Taste and texture: The noodles have a strong umami flavor from fried soybean paste, with the meat adding richness. The vegetables provide a crisp contrast, making each bite refreshing and flavorful.
- Price: 25 RMB (about 3.5 USD) for a serving.
- Where to eat: No. 69 Fangzhuanchang Zhajiangmian (方砖厂69号炸酱面) at Fangzhuanchang Hutong.
5. Donkey Burgers
Bread of Donkey Burgers
These "burgers" are not quite like Western-style burgers. They are actually crispy and flaky, with finely chopped donkey meat as filling. Donkey Burgers are a unique and beloved street food in Beijing. Some local people would have it for breakfast.
Donkey meat was considered a delicacy in northern China, including in Beijing.
- Chinese name: 驴肉火烧
- Ingredients: braised donkey meat cooked with soy sauce, wheat bread.
- Taste and texture: The meat is lean, tender, and mildly sweet, while the bread is warm and crunchy.
- Price: 10-20 RMB (about 1.4 to 2.8 USD), depending on the portion size.
- Where to eat: Donkey burgers can be found in many Hutongs, such as Shichahai Hutong, Nanluoguxiang, and Yandai Xiejie.
6. Beijing Hotpot
Beijing Hotpot
Beijing hotpot, also known as Mongolian hotpot, is a popular dish in Beijing, especially during cold months. You can add your favorite meat and vegetables into the broth. Different from Sichuan hotpot, local people use tahini or sesame-based dipping sauce, a mixture of garlic, leek, soy sauce, and chili oil, as dipping sauce.
The ancient Yuan Dynasty brought this dish to Beijing. Traditionally, this hot pot was created to help people endure the harsh northern winters, and it was especially favored by the Qing Dynasty nobility.
- Chinese name: 北京涮羊肉
- Ingredients:
Vegetarian: Napa cabbage, spinach, mushrooms, and bean sprouts, tofu and noodles;
seafood: shrimp, fish fillets, or squid, though less common.
The base is often a light, clear broth made from water or mild stock with just a few aromatics such as scallions, ginger, and goji berries.
- Taste and texture: It's not as hot as Sichuan hotpot. Also, Beijing hotpot focuses more on the natural flavors of the ingredients.
- Price: 300-450 RMB (about 43-64.3 USD) for a meal.
- Where to eat: Any branch of Dong Lai Shun (东来顺) and Jubaoyuan (聚宝源).
- Recommended Tour Itinerary
7. Jing Jiang Rou Si
Jing Jiang Rou Si is a classic northern Chinese dish made with finely shredded pork stir-fried and coated in a savory-sweet soybean paste sauce. While the dish has regional variations, the Beijing version is unique due to its use of sweet bean paste.
Like Beijing Roast Duck, Jing Jiang Rou Si is usually served with pancakes and vegetables. You can take a few pieces of pork and some vegetables, wrap them together, and enjoy it like a taco.
- Chinese name: 京酱肉丝
- Ingredients: lean pork (some restaurants may offer chicken), sweet bean paste, vegetables (green onions or cucumbers), wheat pancakes.
- Taste and texture: The sweet bean sauce provides a deeply savory and slightly sweet taste. The pork is tender and umami-rich, while the vegetables add a crisp and refreshing bite.
- Price: about 50 RMB (7.13 USD) per person for a meal
- Where to eat:
1. Any branch of Heyanroubing (河沿肉饼);
2. Pork-free option: Any branch of Ziguangyuan (紫光园).
8. Rolling Donkey
Rolling Donkey
Lüdagun, or "Rolling Donkey," is a traditional Beijing pastry and snack. It consists of glutinous rice flour dough filled with sweet red bean paste, which is rolled in a coating of toasted soybean flour. The name "Rolling Donkey" playfully refers to its appearance—the final rolling process resembles a donkey rolling on the ground.
- Chinese name: 驴打滚
- Ingredients: glutinous rice, sweet red bean, and soy bean
- Taste and texture: chewy and sweet
- Where to Eat: Bai Ji Niangao (白记年糕) at Niu Jie Street and Qianmen Street
- Price: 20 RMB for 500g (2.8 USD for 1.1 lbs)
9. Pea Flour Cake
Pea Flour Cake
Pea Flour Cake is a popular Beijing dessert made from yellow split peas or dried peas. Local people love to have it in spring and summer due to its light and refreshing taste. It was once considered a royal delicacy in the Qing dynasty. Over time, it became a popular street food and is now commonly enjoyed by locals.
- Chinese name: 豌豆黄
- Ingredients: Pasted yellow split peas and sugar
- Taste and texture: dense, sweet, and delicate, like a firm custard or jelly.
- Price: 10 RMB for a portion, weighing about 150g (1.4 USD for 5.3 oz).
- Where to eat: Huguosi Snacks (护国寺小吃) at Huguosi Street; Laohuihui Snacks (老回回小吃) on Jiaoda East Road.
- Recommended Tour Itinerary
10. Jianbing (Chinese Crepes)
In Beijing, Jianbing, a kind of pancake, is beloved as a breakfast staple, especially among commuters. Vendors set up early in the morning on street corners or outside subway stations, catering to busy locals.
Basically, vendors will bake the pancake and add vegetables, eggs, crispy layers, sauces and other fillings. You can choose your preferred fillings, such as sausages, pickles, and beef. Another thing that makes Jianbing popular is that it's quick and convenient. You can take it and eat it on the way to your destination.
- Chinese name: 煎饼果子
- Ingredients: Pancakes are made of wheat flour or millet flour; crispy layers are fried and usually made from flour; sweet bean sauce and chili sauce are the most common sauce.
- Taste and texture: a blend of sweet and savory with a crispy and chewy texture.
- Price: 10-15 RMB (about 1.4-2.1 USD), depending on the fillings.
- Where to eat: Qianmen Street and Niu Jie.
Tips for A Beijing Food Tour
- Book in advance. Beijing cuisine is always popular among locals and tourists. Thus, you may find there are often long queues in front of some cuisines or restaurants. It's wise to book your meal a few days earlier before your trip.
- Check if the food is gluten-free. A large portion of Beijing cuisine contains pasta or incorporates flour-based ingredients. Among the foods we introduced above, Tanghulu, Beijing Hotpot, and Roast Duck might be the best choices for celiacs.
At China Odyssey Tours, we only arrange authentic Chinese cuisine for our customers and customize itineraries to suit every traveler's interests. If you're interested in an authentic Beijing foodie tour or have any questions about Beijing food, feel free to contact us or email trip@odynovotours.com.
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