Food, Honorable Food
Have you eaten ma?

Fish gotta swim, you gotta eat. Though Beijing's not exactly magical in the culinary department, there are plenty of hidden gems if you know where to look.

Fortune Cookie

Welcome to the home of Chinese food, and let me tell you, it's going to blow your mind. We're talking literally thousands of dishes, 98% of which you've never heard of. But that's totally okay, because you'll probabaly never order them. Dishes such as Braised Cow Nose, Stir-Fried Duck Tongues and Roasted Snake will remain untasted, but again, don't fret because that 2% will still be enough to keep your hunger at bay. But be aware, this is not your local Chinese Take Out. Flavors in the north (of China) are much stronger, running the gamut between spicy, sweet and sour and every combination thereof.

On the flip side, it's sad to say, but there's plenty of bad Chinese food in China. Don't get me wrong, there're plenty of great ones but it's true. I was absolutely stunned the first 37 times it happened to me. I mean, I just can't imagine going to Rome, jumping out the taxi and heading into a little hole-in-the-wall ordering and receiving anything less than the best most perfect bowl of pasta I've ever tasted. I'm not saying it's all bad, but first of all, every restaurant does have it's specialties, so it could be they just suck at the dish you want. And if you have a bad experience, then keep trying. After all, this is China, for every bad restaurant there's bound to be ten better ones. So once you've found the perfect spot, stick to it. And let me know.

An interesting angle on this is that there is truly thousands of dishes here, and hundreds of styles. Hunan, Sichuan, Imperial, Cantonese; a true connoisseur can tell them all apart. And Beijing being the capital, it tends to attract waves of whatever food is trendiest at the time. First it was Dong Bei food, then it was Sichuan hot pot, after that Shui Zhu Yu (ridiculously spicy boiled fish). Now it's anyone's guess. And of course it's hard to say whether the chef of any given restaurant is actually from the province in question.

Foreign Student Staples

Following are some stereotypical student favorites. It's pretty damn rare to go to a gathering of international students and not see at least one of these on the table. Don't feel bad though, they're favorites for a reason.

Gong Bao Ji Ding (Kung Pao Chicken)
The most popular dish by far; bits of chicken stir-fried with chilli and peanuts

Tie Ban Niu Rou (Hot Plate Beef)
Decent size slices of beef slathered in some kind of tomato/BBQ sauce served sizzling on a hot-plate

Tang Su Li Ji (Honey Chicken)
Otherwise known as Number 17, just like Grand Wok cooks it back home

Hong Shao Qiezi (Red Sauce Eggplant)
Okay, I've never been a fan of eggplant, but the Chinese really know how to cook it. They've got the knack, plus it's pretty much vegetarian

Suan Rong Xi Lan Hua (Broccoli Sauteed in Garlic)
My favorite actually, and probably the only green vegetables I eat

Baozi & Jiaozi (Dumplings)
Tasty, and really really cheap. Baozi are round noodle or occasionally bread based steamed dumplings filled with pork or veggies though a zillion kinds exist. Buy them by the long, or steamer, which is generally works out as 6. They're also a traditional New Year family food, so if you're in homestay over Chun Jie, then you'll probably have a chance to learn how to make them

Fast Food Nation
by Rich Akers

So you don't like Chinese food? Well obviously the first thing to do is to take your plane ticket back to the agent and, I don't know, go get another two stamps on your Wendy's Burger card. But, if you feel yourself getting sick of rice and rice with a serving of mifan (rice), then Team America is here to save the day, yeah.

McDonalds, one and a quarter billion served, baby, is the biggest franchise in China. Throw a rock in any direction and you stand a very good chance of braining ol' Ronnie but good. Interesting note: Ronald McDonald is known as Maidanglao Shushu in Chinese, which basically translates as Uncle McDonald. Which, even if you've never had a weird uncle is still pretty creepy. Nothing special on the menu, straight classics plus the Spicy Chicken Burger. Oh and standard international sizing too, so no super-size buckets of coke or shovel-sized servings of fries.

Perpetually number 2, world-wide, is KFC, serving generous helpings of fried chicken conveniently housed in buckets. I have no idea what Colonel Sanders is called in Chinese but look out for Chinese breakfast food chain the face of which bears an uncanny resemblance to the Colonel. A couple of extras here, including a Peking Chicken Wrap. Is it good? Who knows, I haven't tried it.

Generic pizza stores abound, though if your tastes do run in that direction, they're are plenty of other options than submitting to the Attack of the Pizza Hut Clones (Big Pizza, Mr. Pizza, Originus), Pyro for one. And it delivers. Funny thing about Pizza Hut in Asia: apparently it's quite the classy date option. Plan on dropping at least three bills and waiting if you haven't made a reservation. I'd draw the line at tipping the maitre'd though. If you're doing a tour of duty at Bei Da, there's a handy Papa Johns just south of the West gate.

So that's pretty much it for the junk food. I'm pretty sure it'll be enough to get you by. And if not, I hear there's a new Burger King at the airport. It's only 40 minutes away.

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Vegetarian

It's not that they don't like you, they just don't get you. Their idea of vegetarian is that you're just trying to lose weight for some reason. Most people will have heard of the standard foreigner tip of just saying:

"Wo shi xin fo de"

Which basically means "Hey, I'm a Buddhist" (Buddhists don't eat meat) but it doesn't always work. They're more likely to smile and nod while pouring a little more animal fat into the wok. But if you're really serious about your herbivoral tendencies then the solution is not far off. Buddhist restaurants are actually in the middle of a revival. and the number and quality of such restaurants is definitely on the rise. Plus, they do this thing where they make vegetables taste like meat. Crazy.

Check out a list of vegetarian options here.

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