Beijing Eating Out

Guided China Tour Beijing Eating Out China tours will typically involve eating out as well as other evening entertainments, this is making China is a food lover’s delight. Visitors will have plenty of opportunity to explore the local cuisine for themselves. The amount people are prepared to experiment, especially if it is their first China tour, will vary dramatically! The advice from Go Travel China is to be adventurous! Due to the increase in visitors in recent years, you will find the menus in Beijing are often presented in English. Dishes are generally superb in the city and most dishes do sound like the same as your local Chinese but in Beijing can be quite different. Do feel free to ask if you don’t see on the menu because chef is usually quite happy to help. Don’t feel that English menu indicating an expensive tourist trap; nowadays an English menu is representing a sophisticated and modern establishment. Having said this, Beijing cuisine is still not as refined as that of Cantonese cooking found in the Southern China. Quite often the food in Beijing is served as ‘tapas style’. Usually cold dishes served first but for guest’s advice, you must use your discretion with uncooked food in this part of China, where hygiene standards may differ from those at home. Use your common sense and take a hint from the surrounding when you choose your order. You should consider what you plan where and what you are going to eat. There will be endless choice and you might find a very helpful waiter has managed to suggest the most expensive dishes for you. One of the golden rule - ‘don’t be afraid to ask’! The local will eat a far wider range of animals than the westerners are used to and even to the adventurous some dishes might come as a surprise at best, but a waste of money at worst. Unlike our restaurants in the West, desert is not a Chinese speciality. You will find all the usual meat, fish, alongside the less usual, as well as tofu, which is popular in Beijing. You will also find the soup course served after the main food; similarly the rice is also often served at the end of the meal. Once again don’t be afraid to ask and remember what is usual to you and you must double check or request in Beijing. Food cost is very reasonable in Beijing but it is worth checking the price of tea if taken with the meal. There are varieties of tea on offer and some can be very expensive. Having said that tea lovers will be in for a treat! Tip is at your discretion at the end of your meal and it is not a custom in Beijing except in bigger hotels. Worth to remember when you are eating alone, ask for a single portion as otherwise dishes can be large in size.