See also my tips on Food in China Spa Princess.

Food Republic: I’m a big fan of spicy tofu, and it was wonderful to just wander into this great big food court and point at something and have it served up - nice and easy, although I should have noticed when the server’s eyebrows raised at my choice of sauce - it was very, very spicy!

Anyway, having sat down and enjoyed my tofu, and now desperately in need of a drink, I was really happy to see a great big fruit juice stall, where I recognised my favourite - watermelon juice.  Unfortunately when I approached this server I got a whole shaking of the head and was pointed to a little kiosk.  Oh well, in for a penny.  Although, once again, very little English is spoken here, at the kiosk they did have written instructions on how to buy food at the food court.  You purchase a 50RMB card (£5) put however much money you want on it, then go off to the various concessions, and at the end go back to the main kiosk for a refund.  Apparently the tofu stand was one of a few stand alone concessions where you can pay with cash.

Armed with my card I managed to get a very big watermelon juice, before wandering around the rest of the place and eyeing up everything on offer.  As it’s based in the Oriental Plaza; a very swish shopping centre (mostly too pricey for me!) there was no staring or pointing, and although most people don’t speak English it’s very easy to just point at what you want and hand over your card without any fuss.

I’d say the spicy tofu was still the stand out dish, but this is a great place to enjoy the street food experience without worrying about hygiene or people hassling you too much.

Eat: The one dish I tried in Beijing that I just can not forget (and have spent ages looking for in London) were the beautiful dim sum in my hotel.  They were light and fluffy steamed dumplings with a dark sweet/nutty black filling, absolutely perfect with coffee in the morning (but maybe skip the milk in your coffee!)  I have finally found them in the UK so can tell you that they are called red bean paste buns (Dao Sar Pau).  And I have found a place in London that makes them - Chuen Chen Ku Restaurant on Wardour Street in Chinatown.  I’m sorry to say that in Beijing the place I ate them (a lot of them!) was my hotel, so I don’t have another recommendation for them.

Peking Duck: Obviously the most famous dish here is the Peking Duck and one of the most famous places to eat it is Dadong.  Wonderful service, despite a lack of English spoken, but I have to say that their famous lean duck was not a world away from the kind of crispy duck you’d get from an English restaurant or takeaway, and it is pricey (About 200RMB (£20) for a whole duck plus tip, drinks, etc. when a dinner in my hotel was around £2-3). 

What was more impressive was that the waitress showed me how to make up my pancakes using just chopsticks. First you pick up a piece of duck and use it as a brush for the sauce and then delicately fold over the sides - very artistic. If you don’t want to eat the duck this way you can also just dip it in the pile of rough cut sugar that comes with the meal.

Go here for a lovely evening out - but it may well be full of business diners and young couples.  (Oh and maybe try to get your hotel to book for you - or be prepared to wait for a table on a busy night!) 

They have three restaurants:

5th floor Jinbaohui Shopping Center, No. 88 Jinbao Street, Dingcheng District

No. 3 Tuanjiehu Beikou, Chaoyang District

No. 22 Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng District

(No idea which one of the last two I was in - the man at the Hyatt directed the taxi to it and we went on a mad mystery tour on the way back - I could have been anywhere!)

Drink: For me the standout drink in Beijing was nut milk.  Often served in a can in restaurants, after nearly two weeks without lactose this really hit the spot!