Beijing 100

My description of the non-tourist restaurants I visited in Beijing is that they are a cross between a restaurant and a zoo! I'll try and see if I've still got the directions to a place in a hutong, one wall was cages with small, animals, reptiles, snakes etc. against it as well as a great variety of fish in tanks. At least it's fresh :-)

There are no English menus in such places and you'll very unlikely to find anyone who speaks English. No problem, the Chinese are very friendly so you walk around looking at what other diners are eating and then point to the dishes you like the look of. Produces lots of merriment but at least you get to eat.

If you choose a fish from a tank be prepared to have it cooked whole and then eat it with chopsticks alone, or take your own knife and fork.

Peking duck isn't served the same way as in the UK, it's cooked whole with the head still on. The waiter then holds it by the head, as if it were an umbrella with a duck's head handle and carves thin slices with a very long bladed knife. I brought one of these knives home with me.

One non-food tip for getting around Beijing. Ask at any Western style hotel for them to write down the name of where you want to go in Chinese. You show that to a taxi driver and never have a problem. I've done this lots, had a wander around then popped into any Western type establishment and asked them to wrote down my next chosen place. No one has ever refused to help like this. Also stay in a true Chinese hotel, it's worth the inconvenience of not being able to read the legends on anything, to get a real flavour of China and the Chinese.

Enjoy Beijing.

Malcolm