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GoingToChina.com -
- Chinese Food for Travelers: A Guide for the Western Palate
Beijing boasts more than 30,000 restaurants in the metropolitan area. What can a traveler expect when it comes to Chinese food? China's cuisine offerings provide temptations for those with a light stomach to those who will try anything…once. FoodTrekker.com has identified some menu choices for those traveling to China, along with a cheat sheat for those not looking for suprises.
BEIJING BASICS
According to FoodTrekker.com, some of the culinary offerings in Beijing may seem unexpected or unusual to the Western palate. For the adventurous traveler, they might enjoy sampling some of these true Chinese delicacies.
* Giant steamed dumpling filled with soup (type of soup varies, usually a kind of mutton or beef stock and often loaded with MSG)
* Hot pot (usually served in a ying yang shape bowl with half spicy, and half seafood based soup)
* Freshly-made tofu
* Fresh water chestnuts on a stick
* Steamed buns
* Cup of tea (green or black)
* Ludagun (a rolled pastry made of soy bean flour)FOR THE MORE ADVENTUROUS
* Roast duck (sometimes served complete with head, wings and feet)
* Raw sea urchin
* Donkey meat stew
* Duck bone soup
* Braised sea cucumber
* Stinky Tofu [Chou Dofu] (only the authentic versions are truly stinky)
* Braised Chicken Feet
* Fat Head Fish Soup [Peng Tou Yu Tang]TOP 10 SURVIVOR DISHES
FoodTrekker.com has created the following cheat sheet for the timid diner.
1. Gung Bao ji Ding: Kung Pao chicken done the right way. Spicy, lots of peanuts, chicken squares, carrots, and usually another vegetable
2. Di San Xian: Mild eggplant with potato, onions and brown sauce (can be a little heavy for summer)
3. Yu Xiang Xiezi: Eggplant in fish sauce with carrots, mushrooms and other vegetables. Popular with Westerners. Ask for Yu Xian Ro Si if you want it made with spicy pork strips instead of eggplant.
4. Baozi: Steamed dumplings. Usually available for breakfast everywhere. Look for large steaming bamboo vats in the early morning.
5. Xi Hong Shi Chao Dan: Tomato with Scrambled eggs. While this sounds like a breakfast dish to a Westerner, it is served at any time. The tomato sauce makes it slightly sweet. Popular with Westerners.
6. Chao Mian Pian: Xinjiang joint fried noodle dish. Close as you can get to home-style Italian pasta.
7. Suan La Tu Do si: Sweet and Sour Potato strips.
8. Qing Chao Xi Lan Hua: Broccoli with garlic sauce.
9. La Mian: Fried noodles (when you are tired of experimenting)
10. Ba si xiang jiao: Warm battered banana with sweet syrup. Take a piece and dip into the water provided, watch it solidify, and then eat. Unusual and flavorful. - Top Dining Spots in Beijing
Experimenting with Chinese cuisine can be overwhelming, but it's still worth it.
Top 5 Dining Street Locations in Beijing:
- Gui Street, near Dongzhimennei Dajie, in the Dongcheng District, is the largest and most famous food street in Beijing. Here you will find seafood specialties such as spicy lobster, spicy crab, pepper and chili prawns, and poached fish in pungent sauce.
- Wangfujing Snack Street, is south of Haoyou Department Store, near Wangfujing Business Street, in the Dongcheng District. Snack on crossing bridge rice noodles, smelled bean curd, sticky fruit on bamboo skewers and Xinjiang lamb skewers. If you're really adventurous, sample the scorpion kebabs.
- Donghuamen Market, north of Donganmen Street in Dongcheng District, appeals to the senses. Try stretched noodles, fish ball soup, smelly bean curds, muttons, prawns, silkworms skewered and grilled, boiled dumplings and caramelized fruits on sticks.
- Longfusi Snack street, north of Dongsi Longfu Mansion, in the Dongcheng District is the place to try soymilk, fried dough rings, sausage or fried squid. Sweetened baked wheaten cake is a traditional treat here.
- Laitai Food Street, located across from Lady's Street, is the newest food street in the city. Here you can sample foods from different regions and cultures: Cantonese, Sichuan, Japanese, Korean, Turkey, and Thai.
- Fangshan Imperial Restaurant at 1 Wenjin Jie, serves Court Cuisine, based upon 600-year-old-plus recipes favored by China's former emperors in the Ming and King dynasties. This is a true dining experience, rich with ceremony, and with the option for an eight, 10, 12 or 36 course dinner.
- Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, at 32 Qianmen Dajie, was founded in 1864, and is famous for its namesake dish. The chefs prepare roast duck on an open-door wood oven fueled by wood from fruit trees.
- Donglaishun Restaurant, near Tian'anmen Square, has been in business 100 years. Its signature dish, the lamb hot pot, is a staple among the Muslim communities of northern China. The restaurant also offers a variety of fried dishes including quick-fried mutton, minced chicken meat, roasted gigot and roasted duck, as well as flavored snacks such as butter fried cake and sweet walnut soup.
- Du Yi Chu Shao Mai on Qianmen Street, has been serving Beijing for 300 years and it is still a top spot among locals. The most popular dish is Shao Mai, steamed dumplings with the dough gathered at the top, and stuffed with vegetables or meat.
- LAN, on the 4th Floor at LG Twin Towers, Jianguomenwai Avenue, Chaoyang District, is one of the hottest, trendiest spots in Beijing, complete with Philippe Stark decor and 35 private dining rooms. There is a selection of meals from around the world that will appeal to all tastes.
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Top 5 Restaurant Recommendations in Beijing: