Top 12 Cuisine in Beijing

Food in China has very special and meaningful usage. When in UK, people greet each other starting with weather. While in China, we normally greet with “have you eaten yet”, “how is your dinner”, “what did you eat”, etc. When traveling in Beijing, apart from normal travel sightseeing, we want to introduce you some local cuisines so you can really get to know the life of Beijing people.

Beijing Roast Duck

Beijing Roast Duck enjoys world reputation and ranks No. 1 on your food list. The cook will choose high quality duck as raw material to make sure you have the tender, crispy and juicy taste. The duck will be sliced into more than 100 pieces, each having the crisp skin on it, so you can have a combination of the thin and fat meat together. To eat like a local, we can follow the steps below:

1.Take one piece of thin dough and spread it with plum sauce

2.Add some pieces of duck

3.Add some fixings like vegetable, onions, etc

4.Roll up the dough and take a bite

Recommended Restaurant

1.Peaking Chamber(No.11, Nanchizi Street)

2.Quanjude (No.9, Shuaifuyuan Hutong, Wangfujing Street)

Lvdagun (Rolling Soybean Cake)

It’s one of the old Beijing traditional snacks. The ingredients include bean powder, sugar, oil, fragrans, etc. Due to its sweet and sticky taste, many children and seniors are fond of it very much.

Recommended Restaurant

1.Huguosi snacks （No.93, Huguosi Street）

2.Halal▪Bai snack (Shuru Hutong, No.13, Niu Street)

Aiwowo (Steamed Rice Cakes with Sweet Stuffing)

Aiwowo’s history dates back to Ming Dynasty. The main materials are glutinous rice, walnut, sesame, and yams. It’s sweet, sticky and soft and of rich nutrition.

Recommended Restaurant

Halal▪Bai snack (Shuru Hutong, No.13, Niu street)

Instant-boiled Mutton Slice

This cuisine is highly recommended if you have a group of friends or families. We will boil the mutton slice in a hot pot and share the time together. The essence of this cuisine lies not only in the fresh taste but also the precious time people spend together.

Recommended Restaurant

Manfu Building (No.8,Chaoyangmen Street)

Luzhu (Boiled Pig Guts)

Years ago, the pork was quite expensive, which average people cannot afford. In order to eat meat, workers invented this dish by boiling the pig guts, much cheaper than pork, together. As time goes by, more and more people accepted this cuisine and it becomes one of the most popular cuisines among local people.

Recommended Restaurant

Menkuang Hutong Luzhu (No.2, Zhaodengyu Rd.)

Fried Liver

Although been called Fried Liver, it’s actually stewed and most of which are pig intestines instead of liver. There are many other condiments like ginger, garlic, vinegar, soy, etc. so you won’t need to worry if it will taste strange.

Recommended Restaurant

Yao’s Fried liver (No.288-3, Dongzhimen Street)

Tangjuanguo (Chinese Yam and Date Rolls)

Tangjuanguo is a famous snack in Beijing, favored by Chinese and foreign travelers. The main ingredients are yam and jujube, with green plum, peach kernel, melon kernel, etc. Fresh yam is of rich nutrition, including protein, essence fiber and vitamin.

Tang Erduo (Fried Sugar Cake)

Tianerduo, also known as Fried Sugar Cake, was rated as "Beijing famous snacks" and "Chinese famous snacks" in 1997. In Chinese, the name actually means sweet ear due to its shape (see the pics below). It’s brown with soft texture and sweet flavor. You will see many vendors selling it on the streets in Beijing.

Tanghuoshao (Sweetened Baked Wheaten Cake)

Tanghuoshao is one of most popular snacks among Beijing people, with more than 300 years’ history. It tastes sweet but not sticky, very friendly to children and seniors. 

Fried Ring

Fried Ring is the love of people of all ages in Beijing. It’s crispy and people often eat it with the famous Soybean Juice together when in morning.

Fried Butter Cake

Fried Butter Cake is a nutritious food, made of wheat flour, egg, sugar, cream, etc. It’s small, with thin wrapper and variety of stuffing including beans, sugar, vegetables, etc.

Hama Tumi (Baked Bean Cake)

Hama Tumi or Baked Bean Cake is a well-known local snack in Beijing. It is named after its bean filling. In the processing of preparation, the cake is split on the round for the expansion of bean filling inside. It looks like honey on the lip of a frog.

Check the 6 Cuisine You Cannot Miss in Beijing.