Food & Cuisine in Beijing
Beijing, as the capital of China for centuries, its cuisine integrates the cooking techniques of Han, Man, Mongolian and Hui ethnic groups, and has absorbed and been influenced by many culinary traditions from all over the country. But, what influences Beijing cuisine most is the eastern coastal Shandong province. Meanwhile, Beijing cuisine also greatly influences other Chinese cuisine in their flavors and ways of cooking.
Beijing cuisine has salty, rich flavors. As to cooking method, the most popular are roasting, frying, stewing, braising and steaming. The dishes in Beijing are more snack type rather than main course. Besides its local food, as a great international city, Beijing offers almost all kinds of foods from other parts of China as well as foreign foods including French food, American food, British food, Japanese food, Indian food, German food, Muslim food and much more.
Here are some typical foods that you cannot miss while visiting Beijing.
Beijing Roast Duck
Beijing Roast Duck has the reputation of being the number one yummy food in Beijing that has been prepared since the imperial era. Eating Beijing Roast Duck and climbing the Great Wall are the two things that you are absolutely supposed to do while in Beijing. The meat is prized for its thin, crisp skin. The authentic version of this dish serves mostly the skin and little meat, and the chef cuts the meat into thin slices at table. Bianyifang and Quanjude, the household names, are the two notable restaurants and centuries-old establishments that serve this dish, each with its own distinctive features.
Royal Cuisine (Gong Ting Cai)
Food of this kind once was served only to the members of the court. It once was never accessible to ordinary people. For a most bounteous feast of Imperial Court Food, you can have a taste of the Royal Feast of Complete Manchu-Han Courses.
Imperial Official Cuisine (Guan Fu Cai)
The cuisine is favorable of natural ingredients, exquisite condiments, long cooking times and very intricate cooking utensils. The cuisine Tan Family Food is the most famous type of official cuisine. It was named after a high official in Qing dynasty Tang Zonghou. The food successfully combined the flavor of several cuisines and developed its own characteristics. This dish can be had in the Beijing Hotel. Or, in the Beijing Grand View Garden Hotel.
Medicinal Food
Medicine food is a kind of cuisine that the food materials are cooked with the traditional Chinese medicine herbs and tonic materials such as deer musk, ginseng, bear's paw, soft-shelled turtle, and Chinese wolf berry, the cream of medicinal herbs. So, it is also known as herbal cuisine. Xiyuan Hotel has the best reputation for such food.
Besides the dishes mentioned above, other dishes like Sheep‘s Head in an Earthen Pot, Fried Fingered Citron, Braised Shark‘s Fin, Spare ribs in sweetened vinegar, Stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs etc. are quite popular.
The most notable snacks include Dragon Whisker Noodles, Pea Flour Cake, Shaomai (steamed dumplings with the dough gathered at the top), Niangao Qian (Qian's glutinous rice cake) etc.
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