Top Ten Food to Try in Beijing

No list of the top foods in Beijing is complete without Peking duck, the city's most internationally famous dish, with deep roots in China's imperial culinary tradition.

The duck is roasted until the skin turns exceptionally crisp while the meat stays tender, then carved at the table. Wrap a few slices in a thin pancake with sweet bean sauce, cucumber and scallions. Some restaurants serve the first pieces of skin dipped in sugar, a traditional first bite.

If Peking duck is Beijing's star restaurant dish, zhajiangmian is its everyday classic: thick wheat noodles topped with a rich sauce of fried fermented soybean paste and diced pork.

Fresh vegetables such as cucumber, radish, bean sprouts and soybeans arrive separately around the bowl, and you mix everything together yourself. It is the perfect introduction to northern China's wheat-based cooking.

When temperatures drop, few meals beat Beijing lamb hot pot. Unlike the fiery Sichuan and Chongqing styles, the Beijing version uses a simple broth in a traditional charcoal-heated copper pot, letting the lamb take center stage.

Paper-thin lamb slices are swished briefly in the broth, then dipped in a savory sesame sauce often mixed with fermented bean curd and chive-flower paste. Add vegetables, mushrooms and tofu, and share everything around the table.

For one of the best Beijing breakfast foods, look for jianbing, a savory crepe made fresh at street stalls. Originally from neighbouring Tianjin and Shandong, it is now a Beijing breakfast staple.

The vendor spreads batter on a hot griddle, cracks an egg over it and adds scallions, cilantro, a sheet of crispy fried dough, pickles and chili sauce, then folds it into a portable, crunchy breakfast in under two minutes. Watching it being made is half the fun.

Dumplings are one of the most important foods in northern China. Fillings range from pork and chives to vegetables, shrimp and lamb, and they can be boiled, steamed or pan-fried (guotie, with a crispy golden base).

Jiaozi are tied to family gatherings and especially Chinese New Year. Order several fillings to share, and dip them in vinegar, garlic, soy sauce or chili oil.

For one of the most unusual traditional Beijing foods, try douzhi: a greyish, fermented drink made from the liquid left over when mung beans are processed into starch. Its sour, pungent flavor is famously polarizing, even among Beijingers.

It is traditionally served hot with jiaoquan (crispy fried dough rings) and salty pickles, a classic old Beijing breakfast. Order a small portion and treat it as a cultural experience as much as a culinary one.

For something sweet, look for tanghulu: fruit on a bamboo skewer coated in a hard, glossy shell of crystallized sugar. The classic version uses tart Chinese hawthorn berries, and the sour-sweet contrast is what makes it special.

Today you will also see strawberries, grapes, kiwi and other fruits. Tanghulu is especially associated with winter; eat it right away, while the coating is still crisp.

A much more adventurous choice, luzhu huoshao combines pork intestines and other offal, fried tofu and pieces of wheat bread (huoshao) simmered in a rich, savory broth.

It is deeply rooted in Beijing's working-class food culture: hearty, filling and full of contrasting textures. Not the best first order if you are new to organ meats, but a true taste of authentic local cuisine.

Despite its name ("stir-fried liver"), chao gan is a thick stew of pork liver and intestines in a glossy, garlic-forward sauce, traditionally eaten for breakfast alongside steamed buns.

Old Beijingers sip it straight from the rim of the bowl rather than using a spoon. If you enjoy offal, it is an authentic glimpse into old Beijing's food culture.

A more approachable choice is men ding rou bing, a small, round meat pie named after the decorative studs on Beijing's imperial gates.

Traditionally filled with seasoned beef, a nod to Beijing's Hui Muslim food heritage, it is pan-fried until golden and crisp while the inside stays juicy. Eat it hot but carefully, as the filling holds a lot of heat; pair it with a simple soup for a full meal.