Beijing 2009 - Beijing Food Part I

Before I went to Beijing, I did a lot of research on the net on Beijing Food. It seems the most famous Beijing dish is still the Peking Duck - a must have if you visit the city. Besides that, there doesn't seem to be a typical Beijing Cuisine. I guess Beijing has been at the crossroads of China for so long that the food has become as varied as the people who pass through and settle down in the region.

Our tour of Beijing was a pre-arranged tour with our own itinerary. Most of the meals were included, so we didn't really know where we were going for lunch or dinner. It adds a bit of mystery, don't you think ?

Overall I must say the food was of a reasonable standard. There was always a balance of meat and vegie items, with a bit of soup. Unlike Cantonese cuisine which is generally savoury, the food in Beijing has a mix of sweet, salty and spicy taste, reflecting the influence from many regions of China. My only complaint was the food tends to be quite oily, and salty.

We had these deepfried prawns on quite a few occasions. They are seasoned with a spice mix, simple and very tasty.

I believe these are green pepper cut into strips and stirfried with dried chili and chicken. Another dish which I really liked.

Stirfried roast duck with celery. This dish was a bit salty, and the duck tasted a bit "tired", maybe sitting in the fridge too long ?

Another dish which was really good - stirfried eggplant with bean paste and salted fish.

Steamed local fish. I didn't like this very much. The fish was fresh, but obviously farm-raised and didn't have much taste or sweetness.

Steamed Chinese cabbage and mushrooms.

Stirfried cucumber with black fungus and egg. This was too salty to my taste.

Steamed clams with a black bean sauce and ginger. Yummy !

Look out for more dishes in Part II of my post.