Dining Out in Beijing

My Dining Experience:

As a ‘Pescatarian’ who eats Vegetables and Seafood; there is no shortage of place to dine in Beijing, every continent is pretty much offered. From Japanese, Turkish, Italian, Indian to Hungarian. I guess you won’t expect less from a capital city but the prices are very reasonable too compared to Europe or Japan.

Our personal chef at Japanese Tapanyaki

The first on the list for me would be a place that made me hold my tummy walking out… The food is of top quality and you even get a personal chef. Yes it’s Japanese Tapanyaki in the central area. Well what can I say 170rmb eat and drink as much as you like with your personal chef, no wonder it’s busy every night of the week. My personal favourite in this restaurant is the cod, scallops, fresh water melon juice and caramelised banana for dessert. The unlimited Saki wine went down well for our group too. Here you can dine as two or a group. Have your camera ready for the flames that rise from the hot plate when the chef cooks the caramelised banana dessert.

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Roof top of ‘LaoGu’ restaurant

Next will have to be NanLaoGuXiang’s  Chinese restaurant ‘LaoGu’. This is the best tasting Chinese food at a budget price, 38rmb for a whole fish, stir fry dishes around 20rmb and 5rmb bottle of beer. To make it even better there’s a roof top for the warmer days to just relax and enjoy the good service.

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‘PurpleHaze' Thai restaurant in Beijing

‘Purple Haze’ Thai restaurant is the best for taste and price in Beijing, I mean there are others like the

 Leaving Meal at ‘PurpleHaze' in - Dec 2010

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‘FaceBar’ as well but the quality here at Purple Haze is unbeatable.

I came here for lunch and dinner for my leaving do and it was as good both times.

Try the green curry, red curry, shrimp cakes, salmon salad, papaya salad and definitely the pineapple rice. They are even fine with bringing along your own cake for dessert. A table of 12 people shared a bill of 1450rmb inclusive of one bottle of red wine and other soft drinks.

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'DaTong （大同）

Datong is another top place to visit just for the sake of a nice experience. My friends came here for Peking Duck which apparently is the best in town but I came to enjoy there company and found that the seafood dishes were amazing. The elegant display of the food starts to make your mouth water even before tasting the food. A simple salmon or prawn dish is made to taste out of this world. Expect to pay around 150-200rmb per person for a semi light meal (no alcohol inc.).

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Of course there’s the Café’s in WuDaoKou

 'Charlie Brown' Cafe    'The Bridge'

‘The Bridge Cafe’ is the most popular of them all and I can understand why. When my nephew told me you would definitely want to take your laptop to Beijing and hang out The Bridge. I didn’t understand what he meant and why would I want to be around a bridge with a laptop? I thought the bridge may have something special like an outdoor establishment to connect to the wifi, then I found out he meant a café named ‘The Bridge’.

The Bridge is a European French styled café, with comfortable sofas and many tables and chairs with a table lamp to study. It’s a great place to meet up with language partners. I also spent some days studying here, eating lunch and dinner here too. The cakes are definitely worth coming for especially the apple pie and carrot cake – hmmm… I miss that place whilst I write. The soup and pasta are worth having too.

Other cafes dot around WuDaoKou train station. 'Charlie Brown' cafe has outdoor seating, try the hot chocolate it's yummy!

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'Biggest Burger ever at Laowai's'

Other places in the WuDaoKou area that I think are worth going to is LaBamba and Laowai’s both which have pool tables, if you eat or drink at the establishment you can play for free. Monday, Wed, Friday are 10rmb lunch days for sandwiches, burritos and 5rmb drinks. Laowai’s I suggest for a quieter more comfortable seating compared to LaBamba, they also serve larger portions of food. My favourite at Laowai’s are the pasta and tuna salad.

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 Japanese 'Yi Xin' (一心)

One more place I must recommend is the ‘Yi Xin’ translates as One Heart Japanese restaurant just a bit from TouLesJous bakery. The branch here is more comfortable and they serve ½ price sushi all day. 22rmb-35rmb set meals.

 Bruce Lee Cafe - Not a joke!