Top local foods to try in Beijing, China

Well, some of the foods listed here may originally from other regions of China instead of Beijing, but their popularity among tourists and local people and their authenticity made them deserve a spot in my top list here.

Beijing is one of the most frequented travel destinations in the world. Millions of visitors are flocking into the city every year. It is so popular among travelers mainly because it is the capital city for both ancient and modern China for more than 2000 years which inherited an unbeatable richness in historical features that wow travelers from not only Asia but all over the world.

However, UNESCO World Heritage sites are not the only attractions in Beijing. Beijing has also one of the widest varieties of light foods or snacks on offer which often been overlooked by tourists. If you are visiting Beijing in a packaged tour, you will probably miss out on many of those good foods since your tour guide will not bring you to those alleys or stalls that far away from the hot tourists spots. I was lucky to have more time on my self guided tour to Beijing that I was able to walk more and found more great authentic Chinese foods around the city.

Here are some of the top local foods I would recommend to those foreign travelers should try in Beijing (I had actually tried more foods than these but only those I think are good deserved my recommendation):

1. Beijing Roast Duck – Perhaps the most well known local dish of Beijing, Beijing Roast Duck is the ‘must-try’ delicacy for those coming to Beijing. However, there are too many restaurants selling it everywhere in Beijing, so choosing the best can be a headache. Quality of Beijing roast duck is all about the taste of the duck itself and the crispiness of its skins that being sliced to serve separately. I’ve tried a couple on my Beijing travel recently. Quanjude is the most famous restaurants chain selling roast ducks. They have many branches in Beijing. They even sell them as vacuum packed roast ducks in supermarket! The other equally popular restaurant chain in Beijing is Bianyifang which is slightly cheaper at around RMB200 per whole duck and they claimed to be the oldest. Both restaurant serve slightly different taste of Beijing Roast Duck but they are equally great and they are the best roast duck that I’ve ever eaten (I’m not really craving for duck meats but I do eat quite a lot of them everywhere.)
   
2. Candied Hawthorn – Or being called BingTangHuLu (冰糖葫芦) in mandarin, candied hawtorn is really popular among locals and tourists in Beijing. It is traditionally a stick of Chinese Hawthorn fruits wrapped with candied , though you can find other fruits are being sold as an alternative. The most important ingredient to me is the hawthorn. The quality of hawthorns justify the quality of the Bingtanghulu, which is why the same food I tried in Shanghai didn’t taste as good! It should cost around RMB2 to RMB4 per stick which is cheap!
   
3. Deep Fried insects – Have you ever seen live insects being sticked but still crawling? You can see them in action when you pass by Wangfujing Snack Street or other marketplaces in Beijing. These sticks of various live insects are displayed in front of their store. You ought to choose any of them and the vendors will deep fry them for you! Want to try? It costs RMB5 per stick (RMB25 for scorpions). You can also find them in DongHuaMen Night Food Market.
   
4. Goubuli buns – Tianjin Goubuli (狗不理) buns is arguably the most famous juicy pork meat stuffed buns you can find in Tianjin. Now you can try them in Beijing too! Served in a steam tray portion of 9 buns and cost RMB45 that comes with a bowl of plain porridge, it was the most expensive buns I’ve ever tried in Beijng, albeit they are really tasty. Goubuli buns restaurant that I went to is located at Wangfujing street opposite the Quanjude Beijing rost duck restaurant. You can choose other cold salads as appertizer as well.
   
5. Roasted local nuts – Wang Lao Tou is arguably the best shop selling all sorts of roasted nuts including chestnuts, almond, hazelnuts, flower seeds and others. A lesser known shop to foreigners located along Tiantan East Road, this more than 100 year old little shop is always packed with patrons coming from all parts of Beijing. According to its owner, Wanglaotou used to be the exclusive nuts roaster for the ancient Chinese imperial family! I’ve tried the chestnuts and almonds and they taste marvelous! Their roasted chestnuts are as good as, if not better than, the Qiulixiang Chestnuts, which is next.
   
6. Qiulixiang Chinese chestnut – Qiulixiang chestnut shop is the most celebrated little shop selling only Chinese chestnuts in Beijing. Located at the Southern end of Nan Lou Gu Xiang Road, you will always see long line of people queuing up for the chestnut. Selling for RMB15 per 500g, they are definitely not the cheapest chestnuts you can find in Beijing, but they are among the best. I still personally think Lilixiang of Suzhou is slightly better, cleaner shells and sweeter.
   
7. Yao Ji Chao Gan Dian – Yaoji Chaogan restaurant is especially famous among local Chinese since 30 years ago. Even the US vice president Joe Biden stopped by for a meal here. Chaogan, or stir-fried liver (炒肝), is the signature food over here, which is a bowl of pork liver and intestines is served in a mushroom broth thickened with mung bean starch, and topped with crushed raw garlic. Yaoji was by far the best snack restaurant that I’ve been to in Beijing. They serve great local foods that you can try them all at one place. Normally the restaurant is packed with local people who came from other parts of the city and other regions. It is located at the corner shop, Gulou Dong Dajie, Dongcheng district which is at the East side of Drum Tower. Definitely worth paying a visit!
   
8. Luzhuhuoshao and Ludagun – Luzhuhuoshao (卤煮火烧) is pot stewed pig’s intestine with baked wheat cakes. There’re three liangs of pig’s intestine and two liangs of pig’s lung in it. It’s a little bit salty and hot. You can try it in Yaoji restaurant also which tastes good, if you like animal insides. Ludagun (驴打滚) or Rolling Donkey is a kind of cake made of bean-flour and is a famous Islamic snack in Beijing. It is made from steamed glutinous millet or sticky rice, scattered with fried bean-flour and filled with red pea. Both you can try it in Yaoji Restaurant.
   
9. Spring rolls, fried stuffed Intestine and Fried Rings – Another 3 popular snacks that you can try in Yaoji Chaogan restaurant. Prices are RMB8, RMB 5and RMB1.50 respectively, which I think is reasonable.
   
10. Zhajiangmian – Fried sauce noodle, or Zhajiang Mian (炸酱面) in Mandarin, is a famous local food available in various regions in Northern China. We tried the Beijing variant when we visited the city last month. It is basically a bowl of thick local made noodle served with dark soy sauce mixed and fried with pork cubes. It is so famous in Beijing that you can find one shop or stall selling them at almost each and every corner of shops. It’s worth every visitor to Beijing a try.
    
11. Dao Xiao Mian – dao xiao mian (刀削面) or Knife Shaved Noodle is another famous type of noodle that one can find in Beijing. Different from other types of noodle that made by rolling and cutting by mainly machines, DaoXiaoMian are made by hand shaving off thin slices of a ball of dough by knife, and as such, none is identical, and they have a nice, chewy texture. You can find it in many local restaurants and they normally served in soup.
    
12. Wangfujing Snacks Streets – Wangfujing Snacks Streets is a tourist populated snack street located along the Wangfujing Shopping Street in Beijing DongCheng area. The entrance gate is beautifully crafted and built to resemble the ancient Chinese architecture. Combining 5 alleys together selling foods and souvenirs, tourists can find most of the local Beijing foods and snacks at one single place, albeit they are not necessarily authentic and tasting good. It should not have been included here but it at least give you a rough idea on how those foods are like.
    
13. Donghuamen Night Foods Market – Donghuamen Night Food Market is another food market in Wangfujing area located along DongAnMen Dajie on the West of Wangfujing street. There are nearly hundred food stalls lining up in a row selling only foods and drinks and you can have more varieties here than in Wangfujing Snack Street which is not too far away. Its opening hours is strictly from 6PM until 10PM at night. After which the local authority will come to block the street and start cleaning and washing up the place. The price is not the cheapest you can get but if you are lucky, you can grab last minute deal in half price or more when they are closing at 10PM. Visiting this place is not purely for good food but to experience the “Eat as you go” fun!
    

That’s all the top foods that I think is worth to try when you are visiting Beijing. Make sure you walk more and off the beaten track on your travel and you will discover more unexpected but greater foods than those appear in front of the famous tourist spots that are normally pricey and don’t taste as good. 🙂 – Travel Feeder, your ultimate photo travel guide to Asia

About The Author

Cecil Lee

The author is an avid traveler and photography hobbyist who loves to share with others his travel and photo-taking experience in many popular tourist destinations around Europe, Asia and Australasia. Read the exciting stories with many photos captured on his journeys.