Wondering what to eat in Beijing? I’ve got you covered.
Beijing is a must-see location for any first-time visitor to China. As the capital city, it has a wealth of cultural and historical sites to discover. Of course, everyone’s heard of the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China. But you might be wondering, what should I eat in Beijing? Are there any famous local Beijing foods you must try?
Although more famous for its tourist attractions than its cuisine, there are still a few notable Beijing foods to try. After eating my way around Beijing for two weeks on my big trip to China, I’ve uncovered some of the best local spots to try typical Beijing food. Read on for a round-up of the best and most authentic Beijing foods to eat. If you’re feeling brave, I’ve also included 3 bonus items for the more adventurous foodie (they’re not for the faint-hearted).
I’ve included location links on Apple Maps plus addresses in English and Chinese. Prices are correct at the time of eating/writing.
Approximate conversion rates: £1 = ¥9 RMB / $1 = ¥7 / €1 = ¥8
For authentic food tours in China, I highly recommend Lost Plate.
Check out their Beijing Hutong Food Tour
(use code ‘MIMI‘ for a $5 discount)
Zhajiang Noodles
Zhajiang noodles (炸酱面 zhá jiàng miàn) is considered THE noodle dish of Beijing. It’s a staple food in Beijing and can be found in almost every eatery around the city. Zhajiang noodles are very popular around northern China, and you may even have spotted it on a restaurant menu back home. The name “zhajiang” means fried sauce. The key ingredient in the thick dark sauce is yellow soybean paste. Sweet bean sauce, made from fermented flour and soybeans, is often added for a slightly sweet flavour as well. Diced or minced pork is stewed in the zhajiang sauce to produce the signature rich, salty taste. (Note: you can find variations made with beef, lamb or tofu)
As with most noodle dishes from northern China, zhajiang noodles are made from wheat flour. The noodles are typically thick but narrow (as opposed to broad belt noodles) and are handmade.
The sauce is accompanied by a selection of raw sliced vegetables (usually cucumber, radish, carrot) and soybeans. The light taste of the vegetables balance out the saltiness of the sauce, and provide a crunchiness with the chewy noodles.
How to Eat Zhajiang Noodles
The noodles are boiled and served plain, with the dark sauce and sliced vegetables piled on top. Before eating, you need to mix the noodles yourself. Mix until all the noodles are coated in a thin layer sauce.
Zhajiang noodles are not spicy, although there’s usually a jar of chilli oil on the table if you want to add some heat. Locals like to eat zhajiang noodles with slightly sweet pickled garlic, which offsets some of the saltiness of the sauce. Don’t be put off by the green colour of the garlic – it happens naturally due to a chemical reaction with the vinegar.
Where to Eat Zhajiang Noodles in Beijing
The best place to eat zhajiang noodles in Beijing is No. 69 Fangzhuanchang. It’s popular with locals and has also made it into the Michelin Guide for Beijing! There’s always a queue, but there’s a quick turnover and you can usually get seated fairly quickly. You can watch the sauce being stewed in huge metal cauldrons from the window while you wait. A bowl of their signature zhajiang noodles with all the trimmings costs ¥38.
Location: No. 69 Fangzhuanchang // 方砖厂69号炸酱面
Address: Dongcheng District, South Luogu Lane No. 2 // 东城区南锣鼓巷2号
For halal zhajiang noodles in Beijing (made with beef or lamb), try any restaurant on Ox Street (牛街 niú jiē), called Hui Street on Apple Maps, which is the Muslim Quarter in Beijing. Ox Street is a popular place to eat in Beijing for locals.
For vegetarian zhajiang noodles in Beijing, try Bai Yi Shu Shi Lanzhou Noodles (百易蔬食兰州素拉面). Disclaimer: I haven’t eaten here myself, but it’s a highly-rated vegan noodle restaurant in Beijing.
Peking Duck
Peking duck is probably the most famous food from Beijing on this list. Peking is an old-fashioned name for Beijing which is no longer used. The name for Peking duck in Chinese is simply ‘Beijing roast duck’ (北京烤鸭 běi jīng kǎo yā). You’ll often see roasted duck hanging in restaurant windows, with their enticing glossy skins.
When you order Peking duck in Beijing, the chef will usually carve the duck in front of you (and then arrange it artistically on the plate). The perfect duck skin is thin and crispy, slightly sweet, and not too oily.
Peking duck will be served with sweet bean sauce (the same one used for zhajiang noodles), thin pancakes (like spring roll wrappers), sliced (julienned) cucumber, and spring onion.
How to Eat Peking Duck
Peking duck is eaten wrapped in the pancake, along with the sliced cucumber, spring onion and sweet bean sauce. It’s eaten in a similar fashion to a spring roll (the non-fried variety). The ‘proper’ way is to dip the duck in the sauce, then place it in the pancake. I like to spread a layer of sauce on the pancake first, before adding the duck, and then the vegetables. Whatever order works for you is the right way. Be careful of the sauce dripping out from the bottom. I usually tuck in the bottom of the pancake before rolling it up to prevent this.
Where to Eat Peking Duck in Beijing
If you ask a local Beijinger to where they usually get their roast duck, the unhelpful answer is likely to be the shop closest to their house. There are lots of big-name famous restaurants for Peking duck in Beijing such as Quanjude, Da Dong, and Bianyifang. They have a reputation for a reason, but tend to be more expensive and are not necessarily the best. They’re still very affordable compared to a high-end meal in Europe, but we wanted a more budget-friendly option during our longer-term travels in China.
For top-quality authentic Peking duck at a better price point, I recommend Ruiyun Restaurant. A whole roast duck costs ¥228, and half a duck costs ¥138. Helpfully, the menu is also in English (but don’t worry, it’s not a tourist hotspot). We just turned up and they luckily found us a table, but you may want to make a reservation.
Location: Ruiyun Restaurant // 瑞云酒家
Address: Dongcheng District, Xinzhong Street Shizi Slope Dongli No. 6 // 东城区新中街十字坡东里6号
Beijing Hotpot
For those unfamiliar with hotpot, it’s a DIY method of eating that’s extremely popular in China. You have a large metal pot of spicy, flavoured broth which is heated continuously and simmers throughout the meal. You are served a selection of thinly-sliced meats, vegetables and other foods, which you cook in the broth yourself. It makes for a fun and social eating event.
Beijing hotpot is cooked in a distinctively-shaped round copper pot. It has a central tower-like section, which contains coals that heat the broth. The Chinese name for Beijing hotpot (北京涮羊肉 běi jīng shuàn yáng ròu) literally means Beijing-style cooking lamb by dipping in boiling water. It’s sometimes also called Mongolian hotpot because of its supposed origins.
There’s a legend that the hotpot was invented because Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, wanted to eat some lamb just before a battle. Kublai’s chef didn’t have time to make it properly, so he sliced the meat into very thin slices and cooked it quickly in a pot of boiling water. Kublai Khan won the battle and went on to found the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China, and supposedly popularising the concept of hotpot.
Beijing hotpot is typically served with a sesame paste dipping sauce (a bit like tahini). Although the name specifically mentions lamb, it’s very common to eat both lamb and beef in the same sitting. In fact, some restaurants call it beef and lamb hotpot (涮牛羊肉 shuàn niú yáng ròu).
How to Eat Beijing Hotpot
First, you’ll need to order the type of broth: spicy or clear. The clear broth often contains ginger, spring onion and goji berries. Be warned, the spicy broth is actually quite spicy. You can order a yin-yang pot with half spicy/half clear broth if you’re not sure.
Next, you need to order the ingredients to be cooked. I recommend ordering a selection of sliced meats, but also vegetables and tofu. Not only are the vegetables delicious, they’ll also keep the meal cost down and provide your daily source of fibre. Enoki mushroom and lotus root are two of my hotpot staples. You can order more food as you go along if you’re still hungry later. Make sure to order the sesame dipping sauce, which pairs perfectly with the sliced meat.
To cook the slices of meat, you dip it in the broth until it completely changes colour from pink to brown – it only takes a few seconds. The vegetables and tofu will take longer to cook, so you can leave them in the broth. Just don’t forget about them! You may have to go fishing at the end for any forgotten items. Most people use the same chopsticks to put raw ingredients into the hotpot and to eat with. Dousing your chopsticks in the boiling water does a good job of sterilisation.
The coals heat the pot continuously during your meal, so the broth is always boiling. A server will habitually top up your broth with hot water to prevent it from drying up.
Where to Eat Beijing Hotpot
The best place to eat Beijing hotpot in Beijing is Jubaoyuan. It’s located on Ox Street (Niu Jie), which means the meat is all halal. For vegetarian Beijing hotpot, it’s best to order the clear broth, as the spicy broth may contain lard.
Jubaoyuan is one of the most popular places for hotpot in Beijing. The meat is excellent quality, and the ingredients are very fresh because of the high turnover of customers. There’s usually a long queue, but the restaurant is very big, so it clears quickly. We had about 30 people in the queue ahead of us and only waited 20 minutes to get a table. To join the queue, you need to scan a QR code, and you’ll be provided with a number. You wait in the lobby until your number is called, and then you’re shepherded upstairs to the restaurant. It’s an organised chaos. It costs around ¥120-140 per person for Beijing hotpot at Jubaoyuan.
Location: Jubaoyuan // 聚宝源 – main branch on Ox Street (Niu Jie)
Address: Xicheng District, Niu Jie No. 5-2 // 西城区牛街5-2号
Check out this Beijing Hutong Evening Food Tour, which includes Beijing hotpot and other local foods whilst exploring the ‘hutong’ alleyways of Beijing. Use code ‘MIMI‘ to get a $5 discount.
Doornail Meat Pie
Doornail meat pies (门钉肉饼 mén dīng ròu bǐng) are a popular street food in Beijing. The pie is a thick round slab that loosely resembles a doornail (like the huge ones on ancient Chinese doors). The ‘pie’ is more akin to a filled flatbread than an actual pie. The filling is usually ground beef and spring onion, and is very juicy – be careful of spillage. Dowager Empress Cixi was supposedly a big fan of these meat pies.
Where to Eat Doornail Meat Pie
These can be found all over the city wherever there are food stalls, including Ox Street, and are commonly eaten on the go. A freshly-made doornail meat pie contains piping hot liquid, so be careful not to scald yourself. For a sit-down snack try an eatery on Qianmen Street (a popular pedestrian shopping street). They’re usually around ¥10 each.
Location: Mending Meat Pie (Qianmen Branch) // 门钉肉饼(前门店)
Address: Xicheng District, Qianmen Street No. 121 // 西城区前门大街121号
Rolling Donkey
This peculiarly-named food doesn’t contain any donkey meat, don’t worry. In fact, it’s completely vegan.
Rolling donkey (驴打滚 lǘ dǎ gǔn) is actually a very popular dessert in Beijing. It’s made from glutinous rice with swirls of red bean paste inside. It looks a bit like a swiss roll in cross-section. The outside is dusted with a layer of soybean flour. Rolling donkey gets its name from the fact that the yellow coating of soybean flour looks like the back of a donkey that’s rolled in the dirt. It’s sweet, but not too sweet (like all great Asian desserts).
The authentic ones are usually huge hunks of rolled glutinous rice that you’ll struggle to finish. You can also get smaller bite-sized ones to try, but they’re not handmade.
Where to Eat Rolling Donkey
For authentic handmade rolling donkey, you should try Ya Er Li Ji, which is located near the drum tower. Order from the shop window, not the restaurant next door.
Location: Ya Er Li Ji // 鸦儿李记
Address: Xicheng District, Drum Tower Old Street No. 181 // 西城区鼓楼旧大街181号
Yellow Pea Cake
Yellow Pea Cake (豌豆黄 wān dòu huáng) is another popular sweet snack in Beijing. It’s yellow in colour (unsurprisingly) and more of a dense jelly than a cake. Again, it tastes sweet but not too sweet, and has a smooth texture. It’s served cold and is quite refreshing.
Legend has it that Dowager Empress Cixi was also a fan of yellow pea cake. After trying it from a local street vendor, she enjoyed it so much that she brought the vendor into the palace to make them for her.
Where to Eat Yellow Pea Cake
You can find it in most places where there are street food stalls. Qianmen pedestrian street is a good place to find yellow pea cake and other Beijing street foods. Ya Er Li Ji also does an excellent yellow pea cake as well as rolling donkey, so you can try both at the same time. The portion sizes are quite big here though. Some street food stalls will sell you a smaller slice on a stick.
Location: Ya Er Li Ji // 鸦儿李记
Address: Xicheng District, Drum Tower Old Street No. 181 // 西城区鼓楼旧大街181号
Chatang (’Tea Soup’)
This is an interesting food from Beijing (or is it a drink?). ‘Chatang’ (茶汤 chá tāng) literally translates as tea soup, but it’s neither a tea or a soup. I would call it more of a dessert food. Chatang is made from stir-fried flour, typically millet flour, which is mixed with hot water into a very thick porridge-like consistency. Various toppings are then added: sugar, osmanthus jam, raisins, hawthorn flakes, sesame seeds. The result is a delicious, fragrant and wholesome dessert. The sweetness of the toppings is offset by the mild flavour of the chatang. It’s perfect as an afternoon snack.
Where to Eat Chatang
Chatang Li is undoubtedly the best place to try chatang in Beijing. They’ve been going since 1858 (when it was still a humble street stall) and people keep coming back for a reason. It costs ¥17 a bowl.
Location: Chatang Li (Tea Tang Li) // 茶汤李 Address: Dongcheng District, Gulou East Street No. 94 // 东城区鼓楼东大街245号
Milk Rolls
Milk rolls (奶卷 nǎi juǎn) are a traditional Beijing snack that’s said to have been popular in the imperial palace. The outer roll layer is a kind of creamy cheese, which is made with cow’s milk and rice wine. The inside is jujube date or red bean paste (or both). It’s served cold from the fridge. It tastes sweet and slightly sour.
Where to Eat Milk Rolls
Milk rolls are the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of chatang, and you can also find milk rolls at Chatang Li (¥27 for 3). Their milk rolls have a jujube date and red bean paste combination filling.
Location: Chatang Li (Tea Tang Li) // 茶汤李
Address: Dongcheng District, Gulou East Street No. 94 // 东城区鼓楼东大街245号
Bonus Items (For the Adventurous Foodie)
These foods are not for the faint-hearted. If I’m honest, I’m not sure I would try some of these again. But they are indeed authentic Beijing foods that locals love to eat.
As it happens, all three bonus adventurous foods are typically eaten for breakfast. For an authentic and delicious Beijing breakfast that doesn’t involve offal, check out Lost Plate‘s Beijing Breakfast Food Tour (use code ‘MIMI‘ for a $5 discount 😉).
If you’re feeling brave, read on…
Chao Gan (Pork Liver Stew)
Chao gan (炒肝 chǎo gān) is a traditional breakfast in Beijing. It contains pork liver and large intestine. The stew is very starchy and thick, flavoured with soy sauce and garlic. It’s eaten with pork baozi (steamed buns filled with pork mince), which are dipped into the gloopy mixture. If you want to try it the ‘proper’ way, you should drink the stew directly from the bowl, not with using a spoon.
Where to Eat Chao Gan
Yuan Zhao Ji is considered one of the best places for chao gan in Beijing. The owner apparently spent some time in Shandong province (my home!) to learn how to make proper baozi. It costs ¥20 per bowl. The baozi are sold in ‘liang’, a traditional Chinese measurement. 1 liang = 50g (or 3 baozi). It costs ¥9 for 3 baozi.
Location: Yuan Zhao Ji // 缘赵记
Address: Dongcheng District, Zhu Shi Kou East Street No. 6 // 东城区珠市口东大街6号
Luzhu Huoshao
Luzhu huoshao (卤煮火烧 lú zhǔ huǒ shāo) is a pork offal soup and one of the most well-known street foods from Beijing (within China, that is). It has a rich herby broth topped with garlic and coriander. The main contents is offal (pig lung and intestines), but it also contains tofu, flatbread (called huoshao) and a small amount of sliced pork belly. The flatbread is boiled in the broth so it soaks up all the flavours.
As with most traditional Beijing foods, there’s an imperial backstory to this dish. Legend has it that this dish was a favourite of Emperor Qianlong (reign: 1735-1796, Qing dynasty). Of course, the emperor didn’t eat lung and intestines – that evolved later. The original dish contained only pork belly. When it spread outside the palace kitchens to the common folk, they couldn’t afford to use such an expensive ingredient, so it was replaced with offal.
Where to Eat Luzhu Huoshao
Chen Ji is one of the top places for luzhu huoshao in Beijing. Their soup is rich and the ingredients fresh, so there’s less of the ‘fishy’ smell you may associate with offal here. It costs ¥33 for a bowl of luzhu huoshao. The big cauldron of soup simmers in the open kitchen, and you can watch your luzhu huoshao being prepared as you wait in line.
Location: Chen Ji Luzhu Small Intestine // 陈记卤煮小肠
Address: Xicheng District, Lang Fang 2nd Alley No. 82-84 // 西城区廊房二条82-84号
Douzhi (Fermented Mung Bean Milk)
Douzhi (豆汁 dòu zhī) is a breakfast drink popular with locals in Beijing. It’s made from fermented mung beans and is drunk hot or cold depending on the season (similar to soy milk). Locals like to have douzhi with fried dough rings called jiaoquan (焦圈 jiāo quān) or a side of pickles. It’s considered a healthy drink, and has a high protein content. The fact that it’s fermented is probably good for your gut microbiome too. Unfortunately, it’s a very acquired taste. Douzhi has a a strong sour taste, as if you’re drinking something that’s gone off.
Where to Have Douzhi
If my description hasn’t deterred you, you can find douzhi at many small eateries around Beijing that serve breakfast. I tried douzhi at Yao Ji, a restaurant that also serves chao gan. Bill Clinton even ate here on his state visit to China in 1998 (although he chickened out on eating both chao gan and douzhi).
Yao Ji has a smaller branch (without the offal smell) about 3 doors down called Yao Ji Convenience Store (姚记便利店), which also serves excellent baozi (including vegetarian ones).
Location: Yao Ji Chao Gan Shop (Gulou Branch) // 姚记炒肝店(鼓楼店)
Address: Dongcheng District, Gulou East Street No. 311 (Gulouwan Southeast Corner) // 东城区鼓楼东大街311号(鼓楼湾东南角)
Now you’re all set for eating your way around Beijing. For more on what to do in Beijing, check out my Forbidden City guide.
Which food was your favourite? Let me know in the comments.
Planning a trip to China? Check out my other China guides:
How to Pay in China
Guide to Booking Hotels in China
How to Book Trains in China
Transportation Guide to China
6 Essential Apps for Travelling China
If you want to watch my food adventures around Beijing, check out my YouTube channel:
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