Is De Fa Chang not the muslim restaurant you are thinking of (it is in the building diagonally across from McDonalds next to the drum tower?).

Clearly lots of tourists at De fa Cheng when I visited, but as many (if not more) Chinese than foreigners. Also relatively few concessions to foreigners (no English menu, limited English from a couple of the staff). I was able to order using my basic Chinese and had an enjoyable meal. Equally, I had a fun lunch next day down next to the Great Mosque, dining on Paomao noodles. There were of course many tourists in the local branches of Starbucks.

But I'm in my early 30's, traveling alone, living in China and with quite a lot of time spent aborad. I love diving into the local scenes and agree I get a lot out of that. But if I am traveling with my parents, who are in their mid-60's and didn't have passports until 15 years ago, I'll be found with them in the Sheraton restaurant eating French or Italian style food, again alongside certain locals as well as expats. They're on vacation, not a cultural orientation, and I want them to enjoy themselves rather than feeling uncomfortable or challenged. They will likely leave China with a less rich experience than I had, but at least with the clear view that China is not something found on willow-pattern porcelain but a thriving and fascinating place. Also (like it or not), multinational fast food chains and cuisine are a key part of China today, and a valid part of a visit to China, at least in the cities. Many of us on these boards make our living out of the fact that an increasing number of Chinese citizens eat at KFC, drive Buicks and VWs, shop at Ikea and Carrefour (and Gucci).

Everyone has different comfort zones on this kind of thing, and this works both ways (Chinese colleagues are always asking me to recommend good Chinese food in London and I suspect many older and less well off Chinese would find a trip to the US, for example, totally bewildering). You may argue that people who can't cope with the full-on local experience should not bother visiting, but I do think that even trips where tourists end up sheltered in international hotels and the like bring positive cultural and economic benefits to all concerned.