Beijing Food

After my Shanghai Food Experience, I thought I have finally experienced authentic Chinese Food, to my surprise I was completely wrong. I failed to consider how extensively broad Chinese Cuisine is, and i found this out on the very first night of my stay in Beijing.

Old Beijing Food -  Old Beijing

We found this restaurant while walking around the area of our Beijing Hotel. We just got to Beijing from an 8-hr train ride and only had cup noodles and microwavable lunch meals, surely not enough for your exhausted body!

This restaurant serves the best Old Beijing food I have tasted!

The restaurant wasn't busy, the only reason that drew me in were the pictures hanging on the wall and the facade. I know I can be shallow but at least I am honest. Since the server only spoke mandarin, I instructed Qing to ask him, what are they specialties and their best seller. We trusted what the server said and just got lucky! We had no clue we were about to have our best meal of the entire trip!

The food didn't take long to arrive. The waiter "introduced" each dish to us, only Qing understood what he was saying and Qing in return would translate it in English or Tagalog. I forgot the exact description of each dish but here is what I remember: 

Aged tofu with bean sprouts chickpeas and other legumes , this was simply sublime! it has the consistency of a hummus and richness of a bubba ganoush but there is something else to it.

Aged tofu mixed with bean sprouts, chickpeas and other legumes, sheer goodness!

Old Beijing Style Sausage - until now I can't seem to forget how this sausage tasted. It isn't like Italian sausage, its nothing I have had before. It comes with a clear vinegar and garlic dipping sauce.

Old Beijing Sausage. It can't describe how good it tastes! Dipped in clear vinegar with garlic.

We had to order rice as well, if i remember it correctly this is also the Old Beijing Fried Rice. Fried Brown Rice with ground pork as simple as that and topped with a fried egg. I had to control myself from having more than half of the bucket.

Not to forget the extremely good rice with fried egg on top.

The Verdict:

Price: 50-75 CNY, mid priced but super worth it! 

Taste: ★★★★★★★★ , ok so maybe I am a bit exaggerating but the food was really flavorful, tasty and it is a first for me to experience these food!

Overall: Ok it is obvious, I really like the food. To be honest I am already planning my next trip to Beijing with my sibling to experience this restaurant again.. perhaps next year.

Street Food -  Beijing Style 

Since we were traveling on a budget, my friend and I always opted to go for street food, not only that most of the time we were lost and trying to figure directions, subways and buses out so we would always end up eating street food since they were cheap and fast. Most of the time I forget to take a picture of the meal since 98% of the time I was starving. Here a few of the meals I was able to take a picture of:

Beef Chinese Noodle Soup

This reminds me of Ramen, it is said that Ramen is actually of Chinese origin. This beef noodle soup is actually pretty good considering the fact that it is street food. It had generous servings of beef and mushrooms that really surprised me since here in Manila, even decent restaurant wouldn't serve half as much as they did.

The Verdict:

Price: 13 CNY, super cheap! thats less than a hundred pesos!

Taste: ★★★★,  pretty good for a street food

Overall: Makes me wish street food were as clean and affordable here in the Philippines.

The Hotdog Wrap

If there is one thing I look forward to whenever we get lost in China, somehow we would end up discovering something. In one of our lost sessions while on our way to the Summer Palace, we keep on seeing people munching on this lettuce wrap. We got curious and decided to try it once we found the stand that sells them.

Mother and Son Team - China's version of Hotdog Stand. Healthy and Yummy!

The wrap is made from scratch by the mother, the son cooks them on a flat grill together with the hotdog. Once cooked the mother smoothers this peanut sauce onto the wrap puts the hotdog and adds the lettuce. Simple, healthy since its not fried and yummy!

Grilled hotdog and fresh lettuce with special peanut sauce.

The Verdict:

Price: 4 CNY, unbelievable cheap. converted to peso that is less than 30.

Taste: ★★★★,  pretty good for a street food

Overall: I think i can recreate this.

Exotic on a Stick -  Beijing Night Market
While doing my research for this trip I came across a site that lists down unusual things to do in Beijing. One of which is to chow down a scorpion, seahorse, starfishes, roaches, larvae, goat's eyeball and testicle and snake meat. I opted for the scorpion since it was the smallest among them.

The Verdict:

Price: 35 CNY, friggin' expensive!

Taste: ★, tastes just like crablets.

Overall: If i think about it the 35CNY was really expensive for the scorpion, but hey i have a kick-ass video to brag!

Pork Barbecue

Pork BBQ - or at least what I was told, could have been snake meat.. errk!

The Verdict:

Price: 7 CNY, not bad for the quality and quantity

Taste: ★★★★, really tasty, not like any other street barbecue.

Overall: I can attempt to make this here in the Phils and start a franchise bwahahah!!

Fruits on a Stick

This has got to be my favorite street food China has to offer. It satisfies my sweet tooth!

L-R. Cherry Tomato, Melon, Plum, Cherry Tomato, Kiwi, Cherry Tomato and Pineapple

Juiciest Plum!

The Verdict:

Price: 13 CNY, Qing had to Haggle for a while since they initially offered it a higher price.

Taste: ★★★★,  Fresh fruits glazed in sugar, couldn't go wrong with that!

Overall: I am seriously planning to have this in my future restaurant ;) * dream mode

Overpriced Swirly Sausage -  Water Cube

While visiting the Water Cube, Qing and I got these overpriced swirly hotdogs that were only consumed within two-hungry-adult bites. They are quite attractive to look at since the presentation is very kid-friendly.

Qing like a Kid with a treat on his hand!

The Verdict:

Price: 15 CNY, expensive for a hotdog on stick

Taste: ★★,  Nothing special about it

Overall: Attracts the kid in you but leaves you unsatisfied

Quanjude's Peking Duck - Qianmen Avenue

Established in 1864 during the Qing Dynasty, Quanjude has maintained its famed status both locally and abroad. Known for its longstanding culinary heritage and Pecking Roast Duck is sells over 2 million roast ducks served in 400 different styles over 5 million customers annually.

Qianmen's Quanjude is the original location of the restaurant.

Qing and I opted to have the most common yet best selling roast duck of Quanjude, we call it here "one-wa" you know the one with the wrapper,cucumber and spring onion, in Beijing it is served with this super thick and extremely rich duck broth. I could only handle two sips of the soup it was too fatty for me.

Super thick and extra rich Duck Soup

I am no duck expert more so a food connoisseur but I didn't really find any difference between the Peking Duck served here in Manila from Gloria Maris, Spring Deer or any other local restaurants from that of the Quanjude's, however there is a huge difference with the sauce.

Perfectly roasted duck with abundant duck fat on each piece and  long lasting crispy skin

Here in Manila the sauce they serve if sweet, it is bordering peanut sauce and asado sauce at least for me. The Quanjude sauce is not sweet at all, it is actually on the roasted bitter side, zero sign of sweetness.

The wrapper was served warm unlike here in Manila it is cold