What to Eat in Beijing: 8 Delicious Beijing Dishes You Must Eat
Enjoying delicious food can make your trip to Beijing even more fun. Whether it's signature dishes in fancy restaurants or simple stir-fries in small eateries, they can all fill you up and leave you craving for more. When it comes to the most famous food in Beijing, it's Beijing Roast Duck. But besides duck, what other must-try dishes are there? Let me tell you!
1. Beijing Roast Duck 北京烤鸭
Beijing Roast Duck is world-renowned. It's made from carefully selected Peking ducks and roasted over a charcoal fire. After roasting, the duck skin takes on a rosy and appealing hue, while the duck meat remains tender and succulent, never greasy. With a crispy exterior and a tender interior, it truly deserves to be called an intangible cultural heritage for the taste buds.
How to eat: Use chopsticks to spread sweet bean sauce on a lotus leaf pancake. Then, place a few slices of roast duck on top, along with some green onion strips, cucumber strips, or carrot strips. Roll up the pancake and pop it into your mouth to enjoy.
Famous Beijing Roast Duck Restaurants
Quanjude Wangfujing Branch
- Address: No. 9, Shuaifuyuan Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM
- Price: CNY170/person
Bianyifang Dengshikou Branch
- Address: Room 202, 2nd Floor, No. 157, Dongsi South Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 11:00 AM to 9:30 PM
- Price: CNY150/person
Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant Wangfujing Branch
- Address: 5th Floor, Joy City Shopping Mall, No. 301 Wangfujing Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 11:00 AM to 9:30 PM
- Price: CNY400/person
2. Zhajiangmian 炸酱面
Zhajiangmian isn't a noodle made by frying noodles. Instead, it's a delicious meal tossed in a special sauce. The zhajiang is mainly made from yellow bean paste and diced meat, carefully stir-fried together.
Scoop some chewy, springy noodles into a bowl, pour on the rich, aromatic zhajiang, and mix everything thoroughly so that every strand of noodle is coated with the flavorful sauce.
How to eat: Simply stir the sauce and noodles together well before enjoying.
Famous Zhajiangmian Restaurants
Fangzhuanchang No.69 Zhajiangmian (Wangfujing Branch)
- Address: Wangfujing Joy City Shopping Center, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 10:00 AM to 9:30 PM
- Price: CNY40/person
Lao Beijing Zhajiangmian King
- Address: No. 32, Dong'anmen Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM
- Price: CNY50/person
Haiwanju Beijing Cuisine (Wangfujing Branch)
- Address: No. 255, Wangfujing Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 11:00 AM to 9:30 PM
- Price: CNY100/person
3. Chinese Dumpling 饺子
Dumplings are popular in northern China, and Beijing locals always eat them during festivals and the Chinese New Year. When making dumplings for the Spring Festival, people often hide a coin inside one of them.
The person who finds and eats the dumpling with the coin is believed to have good luck for the coming year. The dumpling filling is mainly pork, with an amount of chopped green onions added for extra flavor. When cooked, the dumplings are soft and slightly chewy, with a delicious savory broth bursting out when you bite into them.
How to eat: Pour some soy sauce and vinegar into a small bowl, add a bit of minced garlic, and stir well to make a dipping sauce. Dip the cooked dumplings into the sauce. If you like spicy food, you can also add a little chili sauce for an extra kick.
Famous Dumpling Restaurants
Xian Lao Man Yongdingmen Branch
- Address: No. 252, Andingmen Inner Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 10:30 AM to 9:30 PM
- Price: CNY60/person
Baoyuan Dumpling House (Maizidian Street Branch)
- Address: Building 6, Maizidian Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM
- Price: CNY70/person
Bai Wei Yuan Dumpling Restaurant (Tuanjiehu Branch)
- Address: No. 52, Tuanjiehu Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 10:00 AM to 9:30 PM
- Price: CNY50/person
4. Moo Shu Pork 木须肉
Moo Shu Pork is a stir-fried dish made by combining sliced pork, eggs, and black fungus. When Beijing locals prepare it, they also add daylily flowers and cucumber for extra flavor and texture. Notably, this dish was featured on the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics athletes' menu!
How to eat: enjoy it directly.
Famous Mu Shu Pork Restaurant
Dongsi Minfang Restaurant (Chaoyangmen Main Branch)
- Address: No. 79, Chaoyangmen Inner Street, Chaoyangmen Subdistrict, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 10:30 AM to 10:00 PM
- Price: CNY150/person
Xingyuan Restaurant
- Address: No. 24, Xisi North Street, Xicheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM
- Price: CNY100/person
5. Instant-boiled Mutton Hot Pot 涮羊肉火锅
Shuan refers to the cooking method of quickly blanching ingredients in hot water. When enjoying instant-boiled mutton hot pot, a divided hot pot (yuan yang guo) is commonly used as the base, with one side featuring clear broth (without chili) and the other featuring spicy broth.
After the charcoal fire brings the broth to a boil, simply add the mutton and blanch it briefly until cooked. The mutton turns out tender and smooth, never tough, and pairs wonderfully with sesame paste or chili oil dipping sauces for a rich, satisfying flavor.
How to eat: Dip the cooked mutton slices into some sesame paste before enjoying.
Famous Instant-Boiled Mutton Hot Pot Restaurants
Donglaishun Restaurant (Wangfujing Pedestrian Street Branch)
- Address: No. 198, Wangfujing Street, Donghuamen Subdistrict, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 11:00 AM to 9:30 PM
- Price: CNY150/person
Jubaoyuan (Wangfujing Forbidden City Branch)
- Address: Department Store Building, No. 253, Wangfujing Street, Donghuamen, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM
- Price: CNY150/person
6. Stir-Fried Pork Liver 炒肝
Stir-Fried Pork Liver is mainly made with pork liver and pork intestines. Garlic, ginger, and scallions are added for seasoning, and cornstarch is used to thicken the sauce at the end.
This dish is cooked by braising rather than stir-frying, and typically, more pork intestines are used than pork liver. During cooking, the added starch makes the sauce thicken, so continuous stirring is needed, giving it an appearance similar to stir-frying.
How to eat: enjoy it directly.
Famous Restaurants for Stir-Fried Pork Liver
Yao Ji Chao Gan (Gulou Branch)
- Address: No. 311, Gulou East Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 6:00 AM to 10:30 PM
- Price: CNY50/person
Tian Xing Ju (Xianyukou Street Branch)
- Address: Xianyukou Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM
- Price: CNY50/person
7. Jijiang Rousi 京酱肉丝
Jingjiang Rousi is mainly made with lean pork, complemented by sweet flour sauce and scallions as key ingredients. It's stir-fried quickly over high heat to infuse the meat with a rich, savory-sweet flavor. Interestingly, this dish is often called the poor version of Beijing Roast Duck.
Here's the story: A child once begged his grandfather for roast duck, but the grandfather couldn't afford it. Instead, he cleverly used tofu skins as a substitute for the duck pancakes, wrapping them around the stir-fried pork. The child loved it, mistaking it for the real deal!
How to eat: Wrap the shredded pork and radish strips in a tofu skin and enjoy!
Famous Restaurants for Jingjiang Rousi
Dongsi Minfang Restaurant (Chaoyangmen Main Branch)
- Address: No. 79, Chaoyangmen Inner Street, Chaoyangmen Subdistrict, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 10:30 AM to 10:00 PM
- Price: CNY150/person
Haiwanju (Wangfujing Branch)
- Address: No. 255, Wangfujing Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 11:00 AM to 9:30 PM
- Price: CNY120/person
8. Luzhu Huoshao 北京卤煮
Luzhu huoshao contains both vegetarian and meat. The vegetarian part is tofu, while the meat includes pork and various pig offal. After boiling all these ingredients in a marinating broth until done, it is served piping hot.
The ingredients have soaked up plenty of broth, with the meat being tender and the intestines succulent, without any unpleasant odors. If it tastes too salty, just add some boiling water.
How to eat: enjoy it directly.
Famous Beijing Luzhu Restaurants
Xiaochang Chen Luzhu (Wangfujing Branch)
- Address: Joy City Shopping Center, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 10:30 AM to 9:30 PM
- Price: CNY100/person
Menkuang Hutong Century-Old Luzhu
- Address: No. 18, Dong'anmen Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
- Business Hours: 9:00 AM to 10:30 PM
- Price: CNY100/person
Beijing Food Tour
Enjoying good food, drinks, and fun activities is important during a trip, but it would be boring if you only focused on eating! Our tour guide will take you to explore the Forbidden City and wander through Beijing's traditional hutongs.
You'll even get to visit a local hutong resident's home and try your hand at making an authentic Beijing dish. It'll taste even better when you've cooked it yourself!