Peking Duck
烤鸭
Peking Duck is absolutely the must-eat food in Beijing. It was the imperial dish served for the royal family only in the old days. The high quality roasted duck is not greasy at all since it is made from the flesh of a baby duck. The fresh duck gets roasted for 80 minutes in the oven with the fruit wood which makes the outer layer crispy while the inner layers are tender and fruity. A chef will slice the duck in front of your table. You can wrap the duck with scallion, cucumber and sweet flour paste in a thin pancake and enjoy it as it slowly melts in your mouth. Of course, it’s important to go to a decent Beijing local restaurant for the best Peking Duck.
Old Beijing Hot Pot
铜锅涮肉
Beijing is also famous for the Hot Pot. “Hot” is not for “spicy” here, rather , it’s one kind of cuisine. The typical pot is made of copper with a tube in the middle and is filled with charcoal. The soup around the tube is always boiling in which you have to put the mutton or beef that has been cut into slices as thin as pieces of paper and boil them for several seconds , after which you have to dip the meat in the specially made sesame sauce to enjoy it. The side vegetables are mostly cabbage, tofu, mushroom and etc..
Royal snacks
宫廷小吃
The royal family members really enjoyed to watch the opera show, drink tea and also have the snacks at the same time. The imperial chefs made various snacks to please the royal family members. Now, even the common people can enjoy these delicious dishes. The popular snacks are Ai wo wo (Sticky rice with sweet fillings); Lv da gun (Pastry made of Soy Been Flour); Wan dou huang (Pea Flour cake); Mei gui bing (Rose cake) and etc.. You should try the snacks and experience getting treated like royals while fulfilling the desires of your sweet tooth.
Noodles with stir-fried
soybean paste
炸酱面
This is also one of the signature dishes of Beijing . It has fame for also being a typical Northern Chinese dish. Almost every home can make the noodles since the recipes are passed down from generation to generation. You can order a bowl of Noodles with the stir-fried soybean paste in most of the restaurants where Peking Duck is also served. The taste varies from place to place as the magic of the chef's hand is responsible for imparting the best flavor of the paste in the dish.
Beijing Special dishes
北京特色小吃
As a foreign tourist, the Beijing special dishes is something you should know, but it does not suit with the taste-bud of every person. Not everybody can appreciate the taste at the first bite. They are Dou zhi 豆汁(Mung Bean Milk); Guan chang 灌肠 (Filled Sausage); Lu zhu 卤煮火烧; Chao gan 炒肝(Stir-fried Pork Liver); Bao du 爆肚; Ma dou fu 麻豆腐(Mung Tofu) and etc..