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Beijing Destination GuideFood & DrinkThere are four regional types of cuisine: Beijing/Mandarin and Shandong (with steamed bread and noodles as staples); Cantonese and Chaozhou (lightly cooked meats and vegetables); Shanghainese (characterised by 'red cooking' and wuxi spare ribs); and Sichuan (spicy, with lots of chilli). Tea and beer are the most popular drinks. Since Beijing has been the Chinese capital city for centuries, its cuisine was influenced by people from all over China. The Emperor's Kitchen was a term referring to the cooking places inside of the Forbidden City, Beijing where thousands of cooks from the different parts of China showed their best cooking skills to please royal families and officials. Therefore, it is at times rather difficult to determine the actual origin of a dish as the term "Mandarin" is generalized and refers not only to Beijing, but other provinces as well. Mandarin food is heavily influenced by other provinces' food. Some well-known Mandarin dishes:
The other culinary specialty of Beijing is hotpot. Unlike the Southern Chinese and Thai variants of this dish, you cook the meat yourself in a spicy boiling broth. Raw meat is purchased by the plate, as with any vegetables or noodles you would like to add. A thick sesame dipping sauce is usually also served. While "raw" sounds dangerous, boiling the meat yourself is the best way to ensure that more risky meats like pork are fully cooked and free of germs. McDonald's has over 100 restaurants in Beijing, followed closely by KFC. As a rule of thumb, whenever there is a McDonalds, a KFC is no further than 100m away. There are also a fair number of Pizza Huts in Beijing. However, visitors to Pizza Hut should be prepared to take a number and wait in line if they dine around 12:00-13:00 and again from 18:30-19:30 (peak hours), as the restaurant is very popular with young Chinese. Origus has numerous locations throughout Beijing, and offers an all-you-can-eat pizza/pasta buffet including soft drinks and dessert bar. If you're homesick, head for the John Bull Pub near the Jianguomen subway station. They'll happily provide you with your favourite English food and drink. Tony Roma's also has a location in Beijing. Lamb kababs (Yangrouchuan) and other kababs are sold on streets all over Beijing, from the late afternoon to the early morning all around Beijing. Often, the worst looking grills offer the best taste, so be brave and try them all. Wangfujing has a "snack street" selling such mundane fair as lamb, chicken, and beef kabobs, but the very brave can sample silkworm, scorpion, and various organs all on sticks and grilled to order. Korean restaurants are also very common in Beijing. A frequent meal is the grill-it-yourself barbeque, including beef, chicken, and seafood items as well as some vegetables including greens and potatoes.
Chinese Tea:
There are several special circumstances in which tea is prepared and consumed.
In the past, people of lower rank served tea to higher ranking people. Today, as Chinese society becomes more liberal, sometimes at home parents may pour a cup of tea for their children, or a boss may even pour tea for subordinates at restaurants. The lower ranking person should not expect the higher rank person to serve him or her tea in formal occasions, however.
After a person's cup is filled, that person may knock his bent index and middle fingers (or some similar variety of finger tapping) on the table to express gratitude to the person who served the tea. This custom originated in the Qing Dynasty, about 300-400 years ago. At that time, Emperor Qian Long would sometimes travel incognito through the empire. Servants were told not to reveal their master's identity. One day in a restaurant, the emperor, after pouring himself a cup of tea, filled a servant's cup as well. To that servant it was a huge honour to have the emperor pour him a cup of tea. Out of reflex he wanted to kneel and express his thanks. He could not kneel and kowtow to the emperor since that would reveal the emperor's identity so he bent his fingers on the table to express his gratitude and respect to the emperor. This "thanks" knock is still in use today in China and Chinese-influenced areas. Green T. House:
The concept behind the brand is to be modern without losing traditional Chinese values, hence the design minus music, decoration and detail, but big on space. These cultural hubs will provide performances by cutting edge Chinese musicians, exhibits by modern Chinese artists to accompany food and tea presentations, all the elements are desgined to energise the senses and soothe the soul of any visitor.
Beer:Chinese beer can be quite good. The most preferred beer in China is Qingdao beer (normally 10 yuan) which can also be found in the States. It has a distinctive taste due to its mineral water content. Try Yanjing beer (normally 2 yuan), which is main beer brand of Beijing. It comes in very large bottles and has 4% alcohol content. (Yanjing is an antiquated name for Beijing.). Both Yanjing and Qingdao now come in "standard" and various "deluxe" varieties, some of which are significantly better tasting than the regular stuff.
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Beijing Roast Duck is the speciality in Beijing. There are numerous cheap Chinese restaurants serving duck 500-800m south of the Hepingmen subway stop. Some offer relaxing classical Chinese live music, but most are crowded and bustling. 
Tea drinking was popular in ancient China as tea was regarded as one of the seven daily necessities, the others being firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Tea culture in China differs from that of Europe, Britain or Japan in such things as preparation methods, tasting methods and the occasions for which it is consumed. Even now, in both casual and formal Chinese occasions, tea is consumed regularly. In addition to being a drink, Chinese tea is used in herbal medicine and in cooking. 
Green T. House is the creation of JinR, a remarkable Chinese woman designer, chef and musician, who founded the business in 1997. She opened back then with Green T. House in central Beijing, and in 2006 will expand by adding Green T. House Living, a restaurant, art gallery and concept furniture store, located in the Wen Yu River quarter on the outskirts of the city. JinR also plans to open Green T. Hong Kong at Cyberport on Hong Kong Island in early 2007. It will be a gallery, bath, shop, tea room and restaurant overlooking the South China Sea. There are plans to have one whole floor that is just one bath in the style of the Tang Dynasty, taking advantage of the popular Chinese bathing culture.  |