Time-honored restaurants in Beijing
Sep 15, 2008
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Beijing is a heaven for gourmets, as the city brings together fine examples of Chinese cuisine from across the nation. If you're having trouble choosing from a long list of recommended eateries, follow our suggestion and try some of the restaurants that've been in business for decades or even centuries. They have stood the test of time and are recommended by generations of local diners.
Beijing with a long history has many time-honored restaurants, and this is one of them. That's why some visitors even come here to take pictures of this landmark building. Dining in a time-honored restaurant is like tasting a part of history. This restaurant is called Lai Jin Yu Xuan.It serves dishes mentioned in the classic novel "A Dream of Red Mansions". Eating here is a culinary introduction to the red mansion stories.
Lai Jin Yu Xuan, located at the west corner of Zhongshan park, started as a teahouse in 1915. It was not until the 1980s that red mansion cuisine appeared on the menu. This charming restaurant is modeled on the novel's splendid grand view garden, and diners come here to experience what the gentlemen and ladies of the novel ate. Dishes include one commemorating author Cao Xueqin.
The characters in the red mansion stories held various banquets for many occasions, such as visiting their parents, welcoming friends from afar, dragon boat celebrations, and poetry assemblies. Author Cao Xueqin set a unique table for each and every venue at the occasion.
In Lai Jin Yu Xuan, you can eat in the banquet hall, with a luxury set of red mansion dishes, or in the more humble dining room on the restaurant's first floor. Patrons include locals living nearby and visitors traveling through Zhongshan park. One delicacy you must try at Lai Jin Yu Xuan is the "Dong Cai Baozi", or steamed buns stuffed with ground pork and pickled vegetables. In the past, local Beijingers queued for the steamed buns and now they are still the must-order dish at every table in the restaurant.
You may already have a number of restaurants to try in Beijing, recommended by friends or in various tourist guide books. But you should add Lai Ji Yu Xuan to your list. The ambiance and dishes recreated from China's most famous novel will bring your palate on a journey tinted with the color of fiction.
There are lots of time honored restaurants in Beijing like this one. And some of them are hundreds of years old. They all specialize in different food, like Shao Mai, roast duck or royal food. Some specialize in the cuisines of Sichuan, Shandong or Hunan provinces. We've selected some of the local favorites.
Du Yi Chu, established during the Qing dynasty, serves the best Shao Mai in town. The delicate steamed dumplings impressed emperor Qian Long so much that he bestowed upon the restaurant the name Du Yi Chu, meaning "the only place in the capital". Here, Shao Mai come in different flavors including meat, vegetarian and sea food offerings. Du Yi Chu is also one of the old dining institutions in Qianmen street, with a newer second branch in the southern part of the city.
Almost a century after the fall of China's last empire, imperial extravagance lives on in restaurants like Yu Shan, boasting recipes handed on from the palace kitchen. In Yu Shan, you can sample imperial dishes in a luxurious atmosphere with royal surroundings. You can taste dishes that have won the thumbs-up from royal dignitaries like the Empress Dowager Cixi. Chinese cuisine demands excellence in appearance, fragrance and taste, and royal dishes definitely reach the peak of perfection.
You may not know that there are two major ways of roasting Beijing duck. One is the "Gua Lu" method popular at the famous Quan Ju De restaurants, where the duck is roasted above the oven. The other way is the "Men Lu" method where the bird is roasted inside an oven, like the duck at Bian Yi Fang.
Sampling Beijing duck is without a doubt on your dining plans. The oldest restaurant in town serving Beijing duck is Bian Yi Fang, boasting a history of six hundred years. They cook the duck in a more traditional way: inside the oven, which they claim can make the duck's skin crispier and the meat more tender. While you wait for the main course, your palate will be delighted by every other part of the duck. Bian Yi Fang has many branches in Beijing, especially in the southern part of town where its vintage headquarter is located.
Speaking of time-honored restaurants in Beijing, Sha Guo Ju certainly deserves a place on the list. It serves a large variety of steamy casseroles.
These include tripe, meat slices with pickled cabbage, pork meatballs known as lion's heads, and more costly abalone pots. Built in 1741, Sha Guo Ju has long been a popular dining place for Beijing locals. It's comfortable ambiance, authentic flavors and humble prices will make you feel right at home.
Next, I'll inform you about restaurants specializing in food from different regions of China.
Tong He Ju specializes in Shandong cuisine, featuring dishes from Confucius's hometown. Tong He Ju has three specialties: a non-stick Chinese custard, "Sea cucumber stir-fried with Spring Onions", and "Jiao Liu San Bai", a tasty combo of fish, chicken and bamboo shoots. The restaurant's origins go back to 1824, its long popularity with locals proving that it stands the test of time.
Jinyang restaurant serves the best Shanxi noodles in Beijing. Shanxi's dry climate is ideal for planting wheat, and the province boasts more than 100 wheat-based dishes. Jiyang restaurant, a renowned Shanxi dining institution, moved to Beijing in the 1950's. Favorite dishes here include dao xiao mian, bo yu, and noodles shaped like cat's ears, served with a nutritious and tasty sauce. Another specialty you shouldn't miss here: crispy duck, one more mouth-watering experience believe me!
Now a restaurant specializing in Hunan dishes. Ma Kai is the oldest Hunan restaurant in Beijing with a history of more than half a century. Hunan dishes are rich in hot peppers, salty fermented soybeans and cured meat. Hunan is the hometown of Chairman Mao, and this restaurant offers Mao's favorite dish of authentic braised pork along with other spicy foods.
The restaurant that wraps up my culinary introduction to Beijing is this one, recommended by legendary opera singer Mei Lanfang. Mei was deeply impressed by the Kung Pao Chicken made here. The restaurant boasts serving the most authentic Kung Pao Chicken in town, and they only make one hundred of them per day. E Mei Jiu Jia specializes in Sichuan dishes that leave your mouth on fire, while your taste buds are satisfied with rich aftertastes.
LAI JIN YU XUAN RESTAURANT
ADDRESS: ZHONGSHAN PARK, WEST OF TIAN'ANMEN SQAURE
TEL: 66056676
DU YI CHU SHAOMAI RESTAURANT
ADDRESS:FANGZHUANG GOURMET STREET, FENGTAI DISTRICT
TEL:67606235, 67661080
YU SHAN ROYAL DISH RESTAURANT
ADDRESS:NO.87, TIANTAN NORTH ROAD
TEL:67014263
BIAN YI FANG ROAST DUCK RESTAURANT
ADDRESS: CHONGWENMEN HEDEMEN HOTEL
TEL:67120505
SHA GUO JU
ADDRESS:NO.60, GANGWASHI SOUTH STREET, XISI
TEL:66021126
TONG HE JU
ADDRESS:NO.71, SANLIHE YUETAN SOUTH STREET, XICHENG DISTRICT
TEL:68522917
JIN YANG RESTAURANT
ADDRESS:NO.241, ZHUSHIKOU WEST STREET,XUANWU DISTRICT
TEL:63031669,63037636
MA KAI RESTAURANT
ADDRESS:NO.117, XUANWUMEN WEST STREET,XUANWU DISTRICT
TEL:66064077
E MEI RESTAURANT
ADDRESS:NO.58,NORTH LISHILU, XICHENG DISTRICT
TEL:88374437, 88370673
[From CCTV.com] |
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