Food: our favorite topic!

OUR FAVORITE RESTAURANTS IN BEIJING:

Do you have an orgasm over a perfect qing1 zheng4 yu2 (steamed fish)? Does it take you 15 minutes to discuss the merits of each dish with the waitress before ordering? Must you know the Chinese name of every dish? Have you ever spent time translating a menu for a small restaurant just to practice your restaurant Chinese and to build a relationship with the waiter, chef and boss so meals in the future are free or done especially for you? Do you flirt with the waitresses in hopes of getting a discount card to the restaurant?

If so, read on. If not, this section probably isn’t for you.

What makes these restaurants special is that they have not been spoiled by foreigners or by getting massive press. If we had wanted that we would have started a restaurant review column a long time ago - so share this with friends only. What I look for in a restaurant is atmosphere, and good CHEAP food (30-60 RMB per person). For most of these restaurants, you need (have to) to know Chinese.

(Note: This page still under construction -- phone numbers, addresses and best dishes to be added - sorry it's taking so long. Most of these places aren't listed, so we're making the rounds again. Yum!)

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Beijing Duck:

Li Qun Kao Ya Dian - say hi to Zhang Liqun for me. Great atmosphere in his si he yuan in chong wen men. I also recommend the gong bao ya xin. (30-50 RMB per person)
Tuan Jie Hu - more expensive, but the best selection of condiments to eat with your duck.
Quan Ju De - more expensive, but the lightest bing around. This restaurant is ubiquitous (just look for their eye-catching duck), but the best I've been to in located on Wang3 Fu4 Jing3, in a side street that leads over to Peking Union Hospital.

Xinjiang:

Gan1 jia1 kou3 - an area, not one specific restaurant. Go nuts in the summer. Eat outside, drink beer, be rowdy and scarf on yang rou quar!
Afanti - the newest dancer here rocks; you’ll be addicted after the first visit. Guaranteed. Definitely make reservations in advance -- this place is now packed everynight. Excellent sampling of xinjiang food, although the portions have gotten smaller and the prices more expensive. It's the atmosphere you go for.

Sichuan:

Lao Sichuan - by far the best guai4 wei4 ji1 (strange tasting chicken) I’ve ever had. Plus the nicest group of Sichuan waitresses.

Hunuan:

Sui Yuan - try the dong an zi gi, suan dou jiao, la zi rou, duo la zi yu tou, hon shao rou.

Dong Bei

Hei1 Tu3 Di4 (The Black Earth) - meat and potatoes-type food, served in a blast-from-the-past Cultural Revolution type setting. Located on he2 ping2 li3 dong1 jie1, west side, between second and third ring roads. 6422-1415. Make sure to order la1 pi2, song1 rer2 yu4 mi3 (pine nuts and corn) andzhu1 zhou3 zi1 (slab or pork).
Up the street from Gui Bin Lou - great food.

Hot pot:

Man3 Fu4 Lou2 - best mutton in town; this makes the Beijing winter. Located at di4 an1 men2, on the north-south street north of jing1 shan1 park. During the winter, you'll have to wait for a table. 6403-0992, 64035307. They also have a branch restaurant near the south gate of the Worker's Stadium.
Shun4 Bing1 - great fresh mutton to match Man Fu Lou's. Business was so good they opened a branch right down the street. Located on gu3 lou3 dong1 da4 jie1, the east-west street directly east of the Drum Tower, on the wouth side of the street. 6401-8381 or 6407-1208.

Yunan:

Yun2 Teng2 - Dong1 Bian4 Men1, first floor of the Yun2 Teng2 Bing1 Guan4. The secret to finding good regional cuisine is to find where each provincial government has located their Beijing representative office…

Dai:

Jin1 Kong3 Que4 - (Golden Peacock) - Cory discovered this treasure. Out in wei4 gong2 cun1 - how cheap and good can it get?

Jia chang (Homestyle):

Bai2 Hui4 - cheap and good. Near the li jiao qiao across from the Asia Pacific Building.
Nai3 xian1 - hong2 xing1 hu2 tong4. Try the yu xiang cui shan.

Snack foods (xiao chi):

Yong He Dou Jiang - (on the northern end of dong1 si4, on the east side of the road). They are 24 hours. All those snack-like foods you can't find in Beijing anymore. It took a Tawainese owner to bring them back... 6401-4977.
Shanghai eats - located near the north exit of the he2 ping2 men2 subway exit, on the north side of the main east-west road.

Beijing:

Bei3 Jing1 Gong1 - at Chao Yang Men Nei, south side of the road. Make sure to get some jia fan jiu to wash it all down.
Gu Lou - all the small restaurants behind the Drum Tower (gu2 lou2) are good. Sample ma dou fu, yang dan and niu bian…

Dim sum/Cantonese:

You really have to go to Guangdong, but the 24 hour Jin1 Ding3 at the Dong1 Zhi2 Men2 flyover is pretty good; also try the Hua Du Hotel (across from the Capital Mansions) for more expensive, but good dim sum.

Korean

Wu3 Dao3 Kou3 - (an area, not a restaurant). You can’t go wrong in this section of town, near the Language Institute. By far, the greatest contribution our massive number of Korean liu xue sheng tong xue men have brought is their demand for good food. Enter the local Korean minority population to please…

Russian

now where did that place move to? If you know, let me know…

Japanese:

San1 Si4 Lang2 - across from the Kempinski. Great business, so it’s gotta be fresh.

Vegetarian (yes, we are carnivores, but this place actually makes stuff that fools us):

Tian Shi - a bit more pricey, but well worth it. Located at deng1 shi4 kou3, across from the Novotel and near the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza. 6524-2349.

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