Beijing Journals

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Eating Beijing

A travel journal to Beijing by TianjinPaul

Quote: Food in China's capital

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The Hidden Tree

Restaurant | "Not Really Worth Finding"

Quote: As a bar, I have always found the Hidden Tree to be deeply, deeply over-rated. Guide books and local expats all wax lyrical about its selection of imported beers and hand made pizzas. However, despite visiting several times, I could never quite see it. Every visit would seem to follow the same pattern. My friends would ask me there. I would refuse. They would push and push, and finally I would relent, hoping that maybe I missed some indefinable factor that made the Tree great. Every time I would be disappointed.
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Member Rating 2 out of 5 by TianjinPaul on June 11, 2025

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The Den

Attraction | "Cause and Effect in the Den"

Quote: Rarely in life are the causes and cures of a problem so closely linked as they are at the Den on Gongti Bei Lu in Beijing. To explain my opening comment, let me set the scene. It is Sunday morning in Beijing and I am suffering from a hangover. The reason behind my throbbing head and churning stomach was the previous evening I had spent at the Den. From 5pm unitl 10pm it is happy hour and glasses of frosty Qingdao come in at a very reasonable 12rmb. Such value for money, coupled with four big screen TVs showing international sport and a crowd of sociable expats ensured that I would almost never be there for just one or two beers.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 by TianjinPaul on June 11, 2025

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Old Beijing Noodle King

Restaurant | "Touristy, but Great"

Quote: The Beijing Noodle King is unabashedly and unashamedly dedicated to the tourist market. It is certainly not the type of place you would find too many local Beijingers dropping by for lunch - you would not even find too many local expats in their either. However, if you can get past this, the food on offer and the atmosphere in which to enjoy it are first rate.
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The Noodle King is situated at the northeast corner of the Temple of Heaven, about 100m from the north gate and 50m from the Pearl Market. This particular locale is one of the main reasons it is so popular with tourists. Many sightseers, myself included, combine a trip to the Temple of Heaven with lunch at the Noodle King - this is certainly no bad way to pass an afternoon if you ask me.

As you might expect from a restaurant aimed predominantly at tourists, the majority of the menu at the Noodle King is taken up by standard Chinese favorites - Beijing Duck, Sweet and Sour Pork, Kung Pa Chicken. The Kung Pao and the Sweet and Sour will certainly not offer anything new, but they are executed to perfection and are truly delicious. The Pork in Beijing Style Sauce is also good and adds a little local flavour to the menu. There are also two or three very good duck dishes and the Beef with Black Bean Sauce is also excellent.

Even though some of the other dishes are truly fantastic, as the restaurant's name suggests, the main attraction is the noodles. There are several varieties, but the house special are the best known and most delicious. These come served alone in a large white bowl. Circling that bowl are lots of smaller bowls containing, sauces and chopped vegetables. The waiter dumps these in into the noodles in quick succession to create a tasty mix. At just 8rmb per bowl these are excellent value and are almost enough to form a meal in themselves.

The Noodle King certainly caters to the tourist dollar with the food it puts on the menu - you could quite easily be at your local Chinese restaurant at home. It also does the same with the decor and atmosphere. The dining room is set out in traditional style with low dark wood tables and simple benches. The walls are covered in calligraphy and traditional art. The staff too fit into this image. Not only are they dressed in the style of imperial servants, but they also announce the arrival of new diners by shouting out across the room, which creates a fantastically welcoming feel.

The Noodle King is a fantastic place to eat. Dinner is less than 100rmb and it can easily be combined with a trip to the Temple of Heaven. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 by TianjinPaul on April 21, 2025

Old Beijing Noodle King
Chongwei Ji Beijing, China
+86 6705 6705

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Tian Hai Can Ting

Restaurant | "Fighting the Developers"

Quote: Over the course of my four year stay in China, my thoughts on the raison d'etre of Tian Hai Can Ting fluctuated dramatically. However, one thing that never changed was my love of the food, the ambiance and the setting.
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On my first trip to China, when I arrived with my over-sized backpack, sweaty hiking boots and my copy of the comically inaccurate Lonely Planet guide, I saw Tian Hai as a deeply authentic Chinese dining experience. After, I had taken up residence in China, I began to see that much of this 'authenticity' and 'tradition' - such as faux imperial art and faux 1930s posters - were simply ways of attracting tourists. By the time I was ready to leave China, my view had changed again. I was still under no illusion that Tian Hai represented an authentic taste of Beijing - its Lonely Planet write-up pasted on the door and the shop selling pirate DVDs next door certainly suggested it was no beacon of tradition. However, I began to understand that Tian Hai was the type of small business that was being swallowed up by Beijing's vast pre and post Olympic modernization. And, for that reason alone, was something to treasure. Although, its food was pretty good too.

Tian Hai is situated in a hutong just a few hundred meters from Tiananmen Square. Because of this, it is in prime tourist country. In the past five years, the whole area has undergone some sweeping changes. Huge tracts of old buildings have disappeared to be replaced by modern shops and hotels. Tian Hai has survived because it was a tremendously popular haunt, but much of the surrounding area was disappearing or changing. The owner of Tian Hai was clearly intimately aware of the perilous situation with which his business was faced. As a consequence the walls of the restaurant were plastered with scores of black and white photos - all taken by him - of life in the disappearing hutongs. On more than one occasion after my friends and I offered him a glass of bai joiu, he would embark on an impassioned argument as to why the modernization of Beijing was wrong and why the hutongs and local businesses should be left alone.

I was no expert on the whys and wherefores of Beijing's modernization, process. However, I was 100% sure that the food at Tian Hai was fantastic. For this reason, almost every visitor who came to see me in China was dragged there - all of them left astounded and satisfied. The menu offers most standard Chinese favourites - Kung Pao Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork etc. However, it also includes some fantastic other options. Chief amongst these is the fried rice, which comes served in a small barrel and is topped by a fried egg. Diners pierce the egg with their chopsticks and allow the yolk to drain down into the rice below.

Dinner for a group of three or four at Tian Hai rarely comes to much over 100rmb. It is certainly worth checking out just for the food and cheap beer - 2rmb a bottle!. However, the photography of the disappearing hutong areas is also very much worth seeing, as is the Hutong on which Tian Hai is situated. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 by TianjinPaul on April 21, 2025

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Traktor Pushkin

Restaurant | "Seriously Heavy Cuisine"

Quote: Traktor Pushkin has long been a favourite of those keen on inducing a serious heart condition at an early age. The Russian restaurant on Dongzhimen Nai is renowned by most expats for some of its hearty, artery clogging fare. However, it is also well known for delivering a great meal at very good value.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 by TianjinPaul on April 21, 2025