Just like the capital’s culture, Beijing cuisine has absorbed and been influenced by many of the flavours of China’s regions.

Chinese cuisine in general has the four distinct regional cooking styles of Sichuan (Chuan) to the West, Canton (Cantonese) to the South, Shangdong (Lu) to the East  and Jiangsu (Huaiyang) to the North and the cuisine of Beijing brings together these contrasting styles.

In Beijing you can find menus from around the world including Spanish, French and Italian restaurants that are well-established, and Japanese, Indian and Thai outlets, that are also very popular with local Beijingers.

About Beijing Snacks

All over China, food from the street-side is tasty and filling. Some caution may be required for the uninitiated but in general, eating where everyone else is eating is a good rule of thumb. You can have steamed bread with bean filling; flour pancakes cooked with egg, coriander, chilli, and black onion seeds; pancakes stuffed with pork, egg and vegetables. These gems are available from little glass cabinettes on the back of three-wheeled bicycles or from stands on street corners, hidden down leafy hutongs.

Tips

• Restaurants in Beijing usually do not require tips or a service charge. Some expensive restaurants will charge 15% service.
• Opening times usually 11am-2pm and 5pm-10pm
• Menus written in Chinese, so be warned: bring a friendly translator!!
• Do not worry about getting the chopsticks right first time: practice not perfection!!
• Do observe some of the taboos associated with eating in China.