Eating Outs & Night Entertainments

Entering the Chinese Culinary Experience - Eating in China is both a culinary and a cultural experience. The food is delicious and varied and makes the most of regional delicacies and cooking methods. Whether in a private home or out at a restaurant, table atmosphere is lively and hospitable; family members and friends gather around to share fresh dishes and often talk, eat, and drink for hours. There are dozens of distinct cuisines in China, but it is also possible to describe Chinese food by regions determined by the four cardinal directions: Northern, Eastern, Western, and Southern.

In Beijing; with approximately 50,000 restaurants to choose from, eating out is very much part of living in Beijing. You can find just about any kind of restaurant in this city, be it a wide variety of Chinese cuisine, pan-Asian, European, South American, African, fusion, the list goes on and on. There are restaurants to suit all kinds of tastes and budgets. It is just as easy to find a restaurant serving authentic Chinese cuisine as it is to find a sushi bar or a vegetarian restaurant.

Imperial cuisine is offered by a limited number of special Beijing restaurants that emulate feasts from imperial times in the Forbidden City. These spectacular offerings of royal delicacies are quite memorable.

Peking Duck is justly famous as a major world dish. Peking Duck preparation methods were developed and refined during the early Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The fowl is cleaned and stuffed with burning millet stakes and other aromatic combustibles, and then slow cooked in an oven heated by fire made of fragrant wood. When the duck is fully roasted, the meat is ceremoniously sliced into small pieces…each one attached to a piece of crispy skin. The duck is served with pancakes, scallions and a delicious plum-based sauce.

Beijing has no shortage of all-night karaoke lounges and western-style pubs and cocktail bars. Sanlitun’s “bar street,” located in the embassy district, is a favorite for westerners due to its heavily American and European influenced bars. The Houhai area is a tamer and more romantic alternative that trades in some of the chaos and excitement for a quieter, more relaxed atmosphere. Houhai's lakeside bars and outdoor tables create a more subdued drinking experience.

At the same time, you can enjoy much traditional Chinese performance in the theaters, such as The Legend of Kungfu Show in Red Theater, Acrobatic Show in Tianqiao Acrobatics Theater and The Grand China Show in Beijing Night. Also there are many ethical performances in different   characteristic restaurants. 

Tips for Travelers Dining in China, Chopstick Etiquette and Other Customs

Eating in China is full of customs unusual to the foreigner. Chopsticks are a struggle for those used to the fork, but versatile and dexterous in the hands of a master. When you sit down to a meal, wait for the host to move before beginning yourself. Almost every Chinese meal is family style, the beginning of the meal being orderly and calm. The host will offer a piece of each dish to the honored guest before trying it himself. Finishing one's rice is a sign that you're full and satisfied, but finishing all the dishes in the center tells the host he hasn't provided enough. Chopsticks shouldn't be used as spears, nor should they be separated as the togetherness of the pair represents the closeness of a marriage. Gesticulating or playing with your chopsticks is considered rude, and dropping them or clinking them is bad luck. In China, each region, and even each town, has its own specialty, and trying it is a great way to honor your host and experience the diversity of Chinese cuisine. The standard table setting of a pair of chopsticks and a Chinese spoon may be daunting at first, but if you swear off the fork and knife, you'll find that after a few meals the necessity of feeding yourself has made you an expert.