Ok, so you’ve got to Beijing, you probably bought “lonely planet – Beijing” and you open the food chapter.
You will go eat some Peking duck, and maybe some nice dumplings, but Beijing has a lot more to offer!
If it’s street food or if it’s those small sometimes hidden places – I will try to give you some tips / recommendations here.
In part A of the guide I will focus on street food - which is much more accessible.
So - is it somewhat risky to eat street food? Most definitely! and because of obvious reasons.
Will eating street food make you sick? Probably not!
Think about it, Beijing population is somewhere around 21.5 million people.
A lot of those 21.5 million people eat this street food all the time, everyday.
If they are all well – why shouldn’t you be?
If the above doesn’t convince you, think about not needing to wait for 20 minutes for the food to be ready in a restaurant.
You go to those street vendors and no matter what they sell, it will not take more that 1 minute!
You will go eat some Peking duck, and maybe some nice dumplings, but Beijing has a lot more to offer!
If it’s street food or if it’s those small sometimes hidden places – I will try to give you some tips / recommendations here.
In part A of the guide I will focus on street food - which is much more accessible.
So - is it somewhat risky to eat street food? Most definitely! and because of obvious reasons.
Will eating street food make you sick? Probably not!
Think about it, Beijing population is somewhere around 21.5 million people.
A lot of those 21.5 million people eat this street food all the time, everyday.
If they are all well – why shouldn’t you be?
If the above doesn’t convince you, think about not needing to wait for 20 minutes for the food to be ready in a restaurant.
You go to those street vendors and no matter what they sell, it will not take more that 1 minute!
Now, when you walk through Beijing you will see a big variety of street food, from small snacks to big dishes.
Let’s describe what is what:
1. My personal favorite! Is a dish called Jianbing / 煎饼 (Which is even tastier after some drinks:)).
Basically it’s like a pancake, which on one side they put egg and flatten it, then flip so the egg is getting fried.
On the other side they put some vegetables and a crunchy cracker thing (which is awesomely tasty!), and on that they spread some green spicy sauce.
Then they fold it and put in a bag for you to eat, it is very delicious! Recommended eating while still hot!
The price for one is between 6 to 15 RMB, depends where and what time (usually at night time in a bar area it will cost a little bit more, and you will probably be happy to pay:)).
Let’s describe what is what:
1. My personal favorite! Is a dish called Jianbing / 煎饼 (Which is even tastier after some drinks:)).
Basically it’s like a pancake, which on one side they put egg and flatten it, then flip so the egg is getting fried.
On the other side they put some vegetables and a crunchy cracker thing (which is awesomely tasty!), and on that they spread some green spicy sauce.
Then they fold it and put in a bag for you to eat, it is very delicious! Recommended eating while still hot!
The price for one is between 6 to 15 RMB, depends where and what time (usually at night time in a bar area it will cost a little bit more, and you will probably be happy to pay:)).
2. Also among my favorite street food, something which is called Kaolengmian / 烤冷面 – some kind of fried noodles, actually similar to the Jianbing, they put the noodles on the hot plate, put the egg, flatten it and flip it, then put some spicy sauce.
Then it is being cut and put in a small bowl for you to eat with 2 small chopsticks.
Although when you will see it being made you will not think it's noodles - it looks a little bit like dough - but don't let that fool you:)
Also very tasty while hot!
The price for 1 bowl is between 5 to 10 RMB, depends where and in what season, on summer time since it's hot it will be less pricy but on winter time since it's a hot (and tasty) dish it will be a little bit more.
Worth every Yuan!
Then it is being cut and put in a small bowl for you to eat with 2 small chopsticks.
Although when you will see it being made you will not think it's noodles - it looks a little bit like dough - but don't let that fool you:)
Also very tasty while hot!
The price for 1 bowl is between 5 to 10 RMB, depends where and in what season, on summer time since it's hot it will be less pricy but on winter time since it's a hot (and tasty) dish it will be a little bit more.
Worth every Yuan!
3. Baozi! / 包子 – baozi is a kind of steamed bun, filled with either vegetables or meat.
I personally like the vegetables version more – fits perfectly for breakfast / dinner because it's not too heave.
You can find it with eggplant (excellent!), egg, mushrooms, onions, beans etc, there is a very big variety of ingredients.
The price for one is usually around 1 RMB, don’t pay much more!
I personally like the vegetables version more – fits perfectly for breakfast / dinner because it's not too heave.
You can find it with eggplant (excellent!), egg, mushrooms, onions, beans etc, there is a very big variety of ingredients.
The price for one is usually around 1 RMB, don’t pay much more!
4. Skewers – in Chinese called Rouchuan / 肉串.
Those skewers are to be found in more “central” places.
At first they seem a little unsafe, because it’s “too” cheap, and well, let’s face it – the meat was out there for a while.
But after some time I didn’t touch those skewers, I tried once – and from that time I eat it often, and it very tasty! (And safe, apparently).
I recommend the chicken and the beef but if you are into sea food they have shrimps etc as well.
The price range is 1.5 RMB to 6 each, depends where.
Those skewers are to be found in more “central” places.
At first they seem a little unsafe, because it’s “too” cheap, and well, let’s face it – the meat was out there for a while.
But after some time I didn’t touch those skewers, I tried once – and from that time I eat it often, and it very tasty! (And safe, apparently).
I recommend the chicken and the beef but if you are into sea food they have shrimps etc as well.
The price range is 1.5 RMB to 6 each, depends where.
5. Sweet snacks!
Chinese love sweet snacks and they sell them everywhere!
So you have a lot of options – don’t be afraid to try them out!
You have small haws on a stick covered with caramel and usually in the caramel they will put some sunflower seeds or something similar – very nice..! it should cost about 5 – 10 RMB at most.
Those will be found usually in colder climate otherwise they will melt, so don’t look for those in Beijing during summer.
Next we have rice cakes which are something I personally love – it’s not too sweet and is quite filling.
They come with different fillings, from red beans to raisins (tasty). Should cost around 1.5 RMB for one.
Chinese love sweet snacks and they sell them everywhere!
So you have a lot of options – don’t be afraid to try them out!
You have small haws on a stick covered with caramel and usually in the caramel they will put some sunflower seeds or something similar – very nice..! it should cost about 5 – 10 RMB at most.
Those will be found usually in colder climate otherwise they will melt, so don’t look for those in Beijing during summer.
Next we have rice cakes which are something I personally love – it’s not too sweet and is quite filling.
They come with different fillings, from red beans to raisins (tasty). Should cost around 1.5 RMB for one.
6. Last but not least! Milk tea – in Chinese called naicha / 奶茶.
So this is not food, but it’s a “street snack” worth trying. It comes cold or hot, with a variety of different tastes. Should not cost more than 8 RMB
Wherever I have travelled here in China, the core of street food remained the same with slight changes and variations depending on the area – but in general, the food I have stated above can be found in most places and the prices should be at the same price range.
When you travel throughout China don’t be afraid to try new things, because for every one time you won’t like the dish there will be 9 times you will and the food is a part of the place! If you travell somewhere without trying the local cuisine, you miss a bit part of the place.
Now go out and explore!
So this is not food, but it’s a “street snack” worth trying. It comes cold or hot, with a variety of different tastes. Should not cost more than 8 RMB
Wherever I have travelled here in China, the core of street food remained the same with slight changes and variations depending on the area – but in general, the food I have stated above can be found in most places and the prices should be at the same price range.
When you travel throughout China don’t be afraid to try new things, because for every one time you won’t like the dish there will be 9 times you will and the food is a part of the place! If you travell somewhere without trying the local cuisine, you miss a bit part of the place.
Now go out and explore!