Top Beijing restaurants
 

I'm preparing for a trip to Beijing. I have made a booking at Jing in the Peninsula hotel, as a result of a tip from a fellow FT-er.

Conde Nast had Mei Mansion on its hot list for 2005 and I have also seen the Courtyard mentioned.

Has anyone here been to any of those places?

Any others you could recommend?

I would also be interested to get recommendations for nice tea houses to visit.

Many thanks

The other day, I saw someone mention The Aria at the China World Hotel as a good choice. And the current issue of That's Beijing is about restaurants so maybe that will also help out. Apparently, people get tired of all the Chinese food and tend to look for other cuisines.

jing-zing!
 

oh, man, jing...

just let me 'confirm your reservation.' it's so, so, so fabulous. not really chinese, per se, but what a wonderful meal you'll have! the setting is gorgeous, sexy, food is wonderful, ditto service (and you can have ice in your drinks!)

if you want something more traditionally chinese, we had terrific meals at both han kejia (get the fish in paper) and dao jia chang. there are no english menus or speakers at the latter...i think there might be at the former. we don't speak much chinese, and the waitstaff at dao jia chang loved walking around with my husband while he pointed at other's meals saying 'i want that.' both were recommended by frommer's, they'd have info on how to find them.

actually, while i'm parrot-ing frommer's, if you want to do peking duck, you won't be unhappy at Beijing Dadong Kaoya Dian...mmmm.

my mouth is watering--enjoy your trip!

Jing is very good and we really liked the food there.

Haven't tried the other two you mentioned.

I'd also recommend the Green T House. It's sort of trendy Chinese food though if you're staying centrally, you'll need to take a taxi there. It's in the embassy district.

Thanks people, some great tips here! I am getting hungry already!!

when did you go, EEB? i'm pretty sure green t is closed, or it was when we tried to go there last year. sorry to be the bearer of bad news... :(

We went in October last year. Was it later than that when you tried to go? The taxi driver did have some trouble finding it when we went and they do tend to claim that where you want to go is closed if they can't find it!

you know, i just spend half an hour googling this...i think what happened is that we were in beijing at the end of october when the owner, jin, was opening her place in new york, and green t. was closed while she was doing that and renovating the existing space. (i wouldn't necessarily believe a taxi drive either, had we gotten the info from him, but we had the concierge call :))

looks like, from what i see on the 'net, it's open. that's great news, thanks!

Fliar, you'll have to go and report back. ^ it was high on my list of places to eat when we were there last year; i was crushed it was closed.

At your service! :)

http://www.thatsbj.com/blogging/blo...eam_of_the_crop

btw, i didn't like alameda at all, but some of these places, particularly hatsune, are worth checking out

Well, I've got booked so far:
Green T House
Jing
han kejia
and dadong kaoya dian

I'll definitely report back how it all was!

don't expect to walk away from green t full (food isn't bad, just not filling). also, xiao wangfu (near the kerry centre) is my favorite place to eat duck because it is very clean the atmosphere is less chaotic than some of the more famous places.

[QUOTE=moondog]don't expect to walk away from green t full (food isn't bad, just not filling). /QUOTE]

Thanks for the reminder. It'll give me an excuse to indulge in chocolates afterwards! ;)

I have seemingly misplaced a card I picked-up from what is purported to be the best restaurant in all of Beijing for Peking Duck. Sure enough, throughout the restaurant, photos were plastered all over the walls of dignitaries, world leaders, and international stars.

Sorry I can't remember the name, but your hotel concierge will undoubtedly know.

It's a great city in a wonderful country. Enjoy!

that would be the 全聚德at qianmen, which also won the that's bj readers poll. personally, i find that place overcroweded, overpriced, and overhyped, especially during peak times (i met some friends down there at the start of the may holiday; big mistake). made in china (and several others) make better duck imo

How would you rate dadong kaoya dian?

I used to live next door and thought it was pretty good (though I can't eat duck too often, you know; stomach isn't too fond), certainly better than quanjude, but I like Made in China and Xiao Wangfu because they are so much cleaner than most other Chinese restaurants.

Thanks moondog!

Brining this thread back from the dead...
 

I am a big fan of Sichuan food, and I find that Beijing has a lot to offer. I like South Beauty, Yu Xiang Ren Jia, and Chuan Ban the best. Moondog or others, can you make other recommendations?

I just returned from 2 weeks in China last week, including 5 days in Beijing. I managed to have Beijing duck 4 times, including at Quanjude and Xiao Wang Fu. My favorite duck however was at Hua Jia Yi Yuan. It's not a duck place per se, but it was fantastic! All the other items we tried there we great too. Best part of it was that the total bill for dinner for 2 was only RMB 190 (~$25). It's located on Gui Jie (this is a nickname for the street, the real name is really long and I can't remember it right now).

Xiao Wang Fu came a close second. I was hoping to try Li Qun but did not get a chance to.

Forget Courtyard
 

Dined at Courtyard a few months ago. Whilst the location is stellar - the F&B experience here was probably the worst i've had in China. I guess after hearing all the rave reviews i had pretty high expectations....but honestly this place was a miss.

The service was almost non existent and snotty when it was there. I had a four-course meal (i was starving) whilst my business partner had eaten on the plane and just wanted to have a cup of coffee....they said that there was a minimum charge of RMB200 per person...my food bill alone was RMB630+!! They wouldn't waive the RMB200! :td: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Food was passable. The scallops i had were ok, but the couscous that came with it wasn't cooked properly. The 'signature' dessert of molten chocolate cake with mint, kiwi and lime (im not making that up!) was ok at first bite, but only to realise that there were actual lime rinds in the cake that were incredibly bitter!

Oh and the place is really really dark....I have photos if anyone wants to see them!

The most memorable meals i had in beijing were at 1001 Nights for Arabic food. Opposite the golden dragon hotel near the embassies. Fantastic food and great atmosphere - felt like i was back in Dubai. South Beauty was great too. Tandoor inside the Golden Dragon hotel was also spot on.

I also don't care for Handle's restaurants. However, RBL (walking distance from the Penn) is worth checking out for two reasons: 1) they recruited the head chef from Louisianna at the Hilton, which was a great restaurant; and 2) the attached bar gets some pretty good blues bands.

On the downside, the service is surly, the portions are small, and the prices are not.

gbjd1205: Unfortunately, I am unable to expand on your list of Sichuan restaurants. I'm looking through some listings right now and you appear to have nailed the most popular places.

Thanks for taking a look. Are you using the That's BJ city guide? I find it to be very reliable (with the somewhat perplexing exception of their relentless praise for Almeda!). They have turned me on to some places that I never would have found, although I wish they had more offerings from places outside of Sanlitun, Houhai, Shunyi, and Wudaokou.

For the people who like Xiao Wang Fu, which branch have you visited? Has anyone ever been the highly exclusive Houhai outlet? I have heard that they only allow one group per evening -- can't begin to imagine that costs.

It's funny you mention TBJ because I was just on my way out the door to pick up the bottles of wine I won for last month's crossword. I own a copy of the guide (some of their day trip suggestions are quite good), but I usually use the magazine (City Weekend is also fine) for things like restaurant and bar listings because establishments come and go so quickly.

Did you ever read my letter to the editor about Almeda? I posted it on FT and also won a nice bottle of wine from the TBJ folks. I also think Almeda is overrated (hence, the letter), but I no longer suspect that they paid off TBJ for the good press. The problem with magazine surveys is that people tend to vote for places with which they are familiar. For example, the fact that Hatsune keeps winning best Japanese, illustrates that people don't get out enough. Speaking of Japanese, I've been wanting try Yotusuba, which has gotten great reviews. The problem is that it tends to full up 3 days in advance but I don't often plan my meals that far in advance.

I always go to the Xiaowangfu near the Kerry Center. I didn't know they had a Houhai branch.

I just did a search on FT and couldn't find it, but I can probably guess the content! IMO, Almeda is quite good, although they are not without serious problems (like charging 50 RMB for olives and throwing a fit when you ask for water). But I think you're right that people vote for what they know. I remember Taco Bell winning the reader's poll for tacos in Denver in the early 90s -- I think that's the last time I thought that reader's polls were particularly useful.

I haven't been to either of these places, although I have only heard things about Hatsune. Maybe a side-by-side comparison is in order!

I heard that Wang Fei had her wedding reception at the Houhai branch (sadly, I wasn't invited). I gather that they cook for one party per night and I've heard that the price is 20,000 RMB. Doubt that I will be going anytime soon -- at that price, the branch on Gongti Bei Lu suits me just fine!

One thing that I have not found in Beijing is a great Hunan place. There is a place on Lotus Lane at Houhai that is quite good, but it pales in comparison to Gu Yi Hunan in Shanghai. Does anyone have any suggestions for Hunan in Beijing?

My opinion of Hatsune is low enough to render a side-by-side comparison pointless. Surprisingly, the best sushi I have had in Beijing is from the little place in my apartment complex (Blue Castle), which happens to offer half price sushi/sashimi during lunch. Like Yotosuba, they fly their fish in from Tokyo several times per week. I'm almost positive Hatsune doesn't do that.

The problem lies in the fact that both of us were spelling it wrong. Here is the thread:

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=448258

D'oh! :o

Last time I was there, the service and the steak were fine. And I agree with the Economist that their fixed-price lunch is a good deal. Their chocolate desserts are also quite good. I also like the fact that it has a non-smoking section, a rarity in China. All that being said, there are lots of places with OK service, OK steaks, and good desserts in that price range, so I think that Alameda's real draw is its location.

Incidentally, I agree with your assessment of Annie's. I think it's pretty good Italian in the same way that the place in the strip mall in every town in the US is pretty good Italian, but it certainly isn't the best in town.

come on! it's off a bar street, and a has-been bar street, at that. the lunch set it can routinely fetch consists of ibm employees and a limited subset of embassy staffs. although i don't think they paid off tbj, the fact that they could generate an economist review with such an undistinguished product suggests to me that their PR is above average, to say the least.

btw, while i was out tonight, morrel's struck me as another restaurtant that should be mentioned here. in case you haven't figured it out yet, chinese food isn't really my thing (i even went so far as to pack a bag full of "duck sauce" that i picked up in baltimore several weeks back, for the sole purpose of sprucing the local fare up a bit) so it's hard for me to respond to your regionally specific queries.

that said: 1) my mind is open; 2) there are a handful of chinese restaurants that i like in both beijing and shanghai; and 3) i know the western restaurant scene cold in both cities.

Morrel's is a great restaurant, certainly much better than Alameda for steak. I haven't been there for a long time, but I should make a point of going next time I'm in town.

As far as Alameda's location, it is down a little alley on a rapidly declining Jiu Ba Jie, and it is hard to find the first time you go. Still, it's it's one of the few Western restaurants left in the immediate area (especially with the demise of Mediteraneo a couple of years back), and there is still a huge embassy crowd in the area. The other alternatives are a little farther (e.g. Athena), a little less business friendly (e.g. The Book Worm), or even harder to find (e.g. De Niro's).

When I'm not in China, I live in a small town in Maine where it's hard to get great food (ok, plenty of lobster and blueberries), so I try to make a point of going to some of the good Italian, Thai, Korean, French, etc. restaurants when I'm there (I know it sounds weird to go to China for good French food, but there you have it). Unfortunately, most of my Chinese friends don't care for Western food too much, so I usually end up in Chinese places nonetheless.

we appear to walk similar paths. i spent my formative years at a boarding school in exeter, nh and my dad lives in lovell, me. so, my culinary habits are shaped by exeter's 四川 taste and lovell's lobster and blueberries.

for me, beijing's restaurant scene boils down to: 1) the american cafe; 2) the japanese restaurant; and 3) taipan foot massage, where i'm planning to go within 40 mins.

however, since my boss really likes food, i get around. whenever a new restaurant opens, we usually get there within 10 days. unfortunately, yotosuba hasn't panned out yet, but it will.

once again, regarding hatsune (i lost some sleep last night over your continued curiosity), that place doesn't hold a candle to the restaurants my (japanese) girlfriend shuns (osaka-ya, mio sushi, etc) in the other portland. shanghai has plenty of nice japanese restaurants. beijing only has a few, but they are relatively easy to identify.

I teach at a small private college in Maine, so I I have encountered many students from Exeter. I must admit, though, that I have never met anyone from Lovell (south of Bethel, right?).

I haven't been to the American Cafe or to Taipan Foot Massage (although I have read your recommendations about the latter here), so I should put them on my to do list when I'm in town in a few weeks.

I don't really know what constitutes good Japanese food, so I'll take your advice on that. IIRC, TBJ particularly likes Hatsune's service, though, not its food. Am i remembering this wrong?

Incidentally, I totally agree with your assessment of Green T House from a while back. It was one of the ollest places I have ever eaten, but I left feeling hungry.

...and you really don't need to. While I'm a big fan of pretty much everthing they make, were it not for the convenience factor, it would never make my radar. Steak & Eggs is just as good and is near the St Regis, where many of you guys stay.

Absolutely! Taipan is beyond fabulous... and they also have a branch near the St Regis. My friend and I spent 4 hours there today, watched the Departed, ate and drank lots, and got great massages. The total bill was less than Y200 each (including coupons).

My girlfriend is Japanese, has VERY high standards, and has taught me the ropes. Unlike Shanghai, Beijing is pretty weak in this category, but, in spite of the fact that I haven't been there yet, I'm pretty confident that Yotusuba is worth an evening; the reviews simply give off a vibe that isn't typical here.

I appreciate your thorough study of my reviews and am glad that we have similar ideas. But, it is worth mentioning that my boss loves that place (he is 100% ambience/atmosphere).

Hatsune in Shanghai?
 

hey guys, i heard from a friend's friend who visited a Hatsune branch in Shanghai and raved about how great the food and decor was. can someone confirm that? definitely worth a visit if it's not another copy cat! thanks.

decor or not, it's just not very good (imo)

I am reviving this thread to ask about the China Club Sichuan restaurant. Does anybody have any reviews of this, especially as compared to South Beauty near the Peninsula.

Hatsune
 

O.K. moondog, I'm going to have to try your place over in Blue Castle (is this the one I never found that day you were going to Seoul?). I'm pretty happy with Hatsune, however that's when compared to the sea of garbage that is called sushi here in Beijing. I've eaten at Hatsune about 4x's in the last 10 days, and considering that I live way the heck out here in Wudaokou, you know it's a heckuva a haul out to the Guanghua Bridge :)

I actually had a bad experience there last week (even though everything else was as good as usual, I felt that the hirame sucked, which is not good because it's in season), but I'm sure I'll be back there within a week (during the interim, it's far easier for me to justify the less-healthy options that comprise the rest of my lunch regimen).

Regarding Beijing sushi in general, I honestly think that the top end is better than almost anything you'll find in the US.... maybe not as creative, but fresher and more interesting fish.

My Blue Castle place doesn't qualify as "top end" by any means, but they still manage to get their product from that market in Tokyo that begins with a T 3x per week, and its lunch prices are really cheap (as cheap as the belt sushi place across the street in the Mitsukoshi). So, bad hirame or not, I'm still a supporter.

When you return from your trip, we'll have to try Yotosuba.

Ken, you live in Wudaokou? I'm guessing maybe you work around Zhongguancun in the tech area? I'm at Beishida (well in Dalian for the next five weeks).

I haven't had good sushi in Beijing, only been to the all you can eat places (which aren't bad at all), so I'd be up for making the long trek to Blue Castle when I get back. Shoot me a PM.

Moondog, let me know next month when you have a chance late next month and maybe the three of us can go...

Hey everyone, a bit of a bump here. I will be in Beijing soon and plan to go to Made in China (for the duck) and China Grill (in our hotel, my gf wants to try it, etc). Outside if these two, which seem admittedly touristy, we hope to try more "authentic" spots.

From the list above, or other ideas, are there any places you'd recommend for a less touristy experience, i.e., somewhere a local might go? As a caveat, we're both mildly adventurous but not into extremes (travel channel type places). Also, my minor annoyance is that i have bad allergies to fish/seafood, so being able to identify what i am eating is ideal!

Thanks for your help!
Phipps