Beijing Restaurant Tips by sugarpuff

Restaurant Name: Afunti Uighur Restaurant

I first found out about this place about 6 years ago. I went there again a month ago and found that although the area of the restaurant was the same, they have now packed in many more tables.

Afunti is a cross between a beer hall and a kebab house! All the long tables are tightly packed together because once everyone has eaten, you're allowed to get up on them and dance! The highlight of the evening comes when a pretty slim Uighur woman appears on stage in an exotic costume with a snake wrapped round her neck to perform a stunning Arabian Night dance!

The crowd cheers her on and not long after the host invites people on stage to dance with her. There are various competitions in which you can act the fool, have fun and maybe win a hat to take home with you...no, unfortunately...the girl doesn't come with it!

Favorite Dish: There are so many dishes to choose from and some of them can be quite expensive, so I suggest you choose one of the set meals they offer. The cheapest starts at 100yuan per person and it is wonderful food! Middle Eastern pasta with veg in tomato sauce, roast lamb on skewers seasoned perfectly, fruit platters, fish, pitta bread , and anything youre not too keen on from the set menu, can be swapped with an equivalent valued dish from the main menu.

There are also different types of beers, soft drinks, spirits and cocktails.

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Theme: Middle Eastern
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: (0086)(10)65272288 / 65251071
Address: 2A Houguaibang Hutong...
Directions: No.2 Hou Guai Bang Hutong, Chaonei Street, Dong Cheng District.

Its down a small street,and many taxi drivers get lost!Its best to give your phone to the taxi driver and let the restaurant people tell him where it is!
Website: www.afunti.com

Restaurant Name: Asian Star

This is a fairly large restaurant on the third east ring road opposite what was TGI Fridays, but is now a building site and near Hard Rock Cafe too. It is popular with both locals and westerners so it makes for a good atmosphere. But you have to get there early as the place fills up very quickly.

Due to its large surroundings it doesnt feel very intimate, but there are a few tables on the side for couples, so it IS possible to take your loved one there for a bit of spice and good food! It can get pricey however, so watch what you order!

I just so happen to have taught the Assistant General Manager from this restaurant English a couple of years ago, and she is lovely. She is always at the restaurant so if you are stuck for what to order, she'll be around to recommend several dishes!

Favorite Dish: I really cant remember the names of the dishes, but I do remember having a creamy vegetable green curry and a meat red curry and thinking they were both delicious! We also had naan bread and a cup of very sweet condensed milk tea...which was actually to die for! I would go back just for that actually!

The menu is BIG and you have cuisine from all over India, Singapore, Malaysia and Canton so you wont be stuck for choice. In fact just talking about it makes me think I'll ring up and make a reservation sometime next week. Anyone care to join me?

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Theme: Pan-Asian and Pacific Rim
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: (0086)(010)65825306 / 65825281
Address: 26 North East Third Ring Road, Beijing, 100026
Directions: Beijing City, Chao yang District, Bai Jia Zhuang, Dong San Huan Bei Lu, 26 hao.

Restaurant Name: 1001 Nights

ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!! A mecca for vegetarians and meat lovers alike! I eat meat and so does my boyfriend, but the two girls we were with didn't! But this didn't prove to be a problem whatsoever! The menu clearly states which dishes are veggie and which ones aren't, and believe it or not, I think the majority were meat free! You can sit both inside or on the big terrace outside. We chose outside as it was a very warm night. The atmosphere was great, the service was impeccable and the food was magnificent! What more could you ask for?!

Favorite Dish: We had an array of dishes and shared them all, as that way we'd get to taste many different things. We had falafels, hoummous, a sour cucumber dip with warm pitta bread, cheesy filled pastries, a mouth watering salad with spices galore and a tangy vinagrette, a small but very tasty fish and some chicken wings.... And this was all topped off with cocktails and beers! Oh my goodness my mouth is getting all excited just describing the dishes...I want to go back...I have to go back...I NEED to go back!!!!

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Theme: Middle Eastern
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 010-65327243 010-65324050
Directions: BEIJING Opposite of Zhaolong Hotel, East end of gontibei Street. It is set back from the street.(east end of Worker's Stadium street).
Website: http://www.1001nights.com.cn

Restaurant Name: Ashandi

A small but cosy restaurant. The menu was fairly Spanishy but not a true Spanish menu like I'm used to back home. The prices again were quite high, and the food wasn't the best! It's a shame because I was taking my language partner who was studying Spanish at university for an 'authentic' Spanish meal, and it was slightly disappointing. Oh well...You can't win them all! The chef was actually Spanish, but he can't surely have grown up in Spain learning how to cook the real Spanish way....I know better places in Spain where you get three courses for 6 euros and the food is better!!!!

Favorite Dish: I went here 5 years ago so unfortunately I don't remember what I had, and it can't have been very memorable anyway!!! There aren't very many Spanish restaurants in Beijing which is a shame because it truly is great food...maybe better than the Italian cuisine!!!! I think there may be three of four Spanish restaurants in the capital now, so it's worth trying them out, and of course this place may have changed since I went there, along with the chef...I hope so for your sake, if what you're going there for is authentic Spanish food. The food is nice, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't do the country any justice!

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Theme: Other
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: (0086)(10)6416 6231
Address: 168 Xinzhong Jie
Directions: Opposite the Worker's Stadium, Chaoyang District.

Restaurant Name: SUBWAY (sandwich place)

Well just about everyone will already have heard of the chain 'restaurant' SUBWAY, so I
wont go into too much detail! It's a sandwich place. You go in, choose the filling and the
type of roll you want...bran, white, wholewheat etc and then they make it for you on the
spot! I first heard of it when I came to China in 1998 and thinking it was a Chinese thing,
was so surprised to see it in England when I went back the year after! It's just a small
cafe style place where you can sit to eat or takeaway. I tell you something..when youve
been eating Chinese food day in and day out, coming to a SUBWAY is like heaven!!!!

The staff in every SUBWAY I've been to in China aren't really up to international standards however, and service is slow, the staff mess around whilst you're standing right in front of them and they never have the free tokens you can collect to save up for a free SUBWAY. And when you ask them what they will do about it, they say, 'sorry, nothing!' Well that's not good enough in my opinion!

Favorite Dish: There are all different kinds of fillings, from meatball filling and BLT's to veggie ones.
The cheapest one I think starts at 12yuan....80p!!! And that gets you a salad roll with cheese and ham. You can get combos, where a drink and a packet of crisps are included for just a few yuan more! You can get a 6" sub (as they call it!) or a 12" one. You choose!!! And of course throughout Beijing, SUBWAYS have a promotion usually on Mondays or Tuesdays,where it is buy one 6" and get another 6" for free!!!!

Just as a funny anecdote...on my travels around town a few months ago I saw a Chinese
copycat version called 'Tube Station'! Doesn't quite have the same ring to it!!!

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Theme: Deli
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Directions: You can find them throughout the city in main shopping areas and near the Beijing train station. This one is opposite The Worker's Stadium however.

Restaurant Name: Greasy Spoon

This little hole in the wall is a sight for sore eyes, and you probably almost certainly wouldnt go in there if you were just on holiday...but being old timers in Beijing, we launched in! Ive had takeaway dumplings from there a million times, but it was my fist time to sit in there! The floors are dirty, the tables are dirty, but the most important things (chopsticks, plates and glasses) are all clean! The woman who works there cleans round your feet whilst you sit and eat and there will be someone slurping beside you on a huge but very inexpensive bowl of noodles! The man and woman who obviously own it didnt mind us taking photos of them, and also didnt mind overcharging us! He asked for 10 kuai for two baskets of jiaozi...but it said on the board that they were 3 yuan each! We brought this up with the guy and it was only then that he gave back the money he owed us!!!

Favorite Dish: Well the huge menu mainly consists of different types of noodles they have. There is also a regular menu too, but it takes longer to come. There are many types of noodles but i chose the jiaozis as I hadn't had them in ages ...and my oh my were they great!!!

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Theme: Chinese/Dim Sum
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Directions: Right opposite The Pearl Market by Tian Tan Park (The Temple of Heaven).

Restaurant Name: The Taj

This is a place that I have walked past many times before but have never had the opportunity to go into, due mainly to its high prices! It is situated at the bottom of The International Trade Centre in Beijing, so is in a great location for businessmen, who are the ones with the company account!!!!

Anyway, a friend of mine recently invited me to dinner there with four other friends and I was really excited! The weather outside was atrocious...one of the worst spring days yet this year, sand blowing around in the air, trees rustling like crazy and a feeling that armageddon was about to attack!

Anyway, the restaurant was nice and cosy with great smells and a very 'real' ambiance. The carpets were traditionally Indian style, pattern and colour and the fact that the place was just full of Indian people gave it brownie points for convincing its customers that it has REAL Indian food!!! The waiter staff was friendly and were good at recommending various dishes. They dress in traditional Indian clothes and through the glass you can see the chefs working in the kitchen!

Favorite Dish: We had an array of dishes, although i cannot remember what we had. I know we had Jogan Rosh, Chicken tikka masala, naan bread and butter naan bread, delicious mango yoghurt drinks, samosas and a few other dishes, but i think no matter what you try here, its all going to taste scrummy!!!

My friend, fellow VTer Maysue was getting very snap happy and so I joined her as I thought i had to add new pages to my Beijing VT page too, so the two of us must have looked a little crazy!!! We must have caught the manager's eye as he then began giving us very special attention after that believing we were someone important! It was quite fun!!!

I must add that the manager was a very nice man, and would walk round all the tables throughout the evening asking people if they were ok etc...it was very good service, no wonder there was a queue of people waiting to eat there. His name in case you wish to eat there is M H Pastakia.

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Theme: Indian
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 6505 5866 OR 6436 7678
Address: China World 1 (west side)
Directions: China World Trade Centre, L128 West Wing Office Block, No. 1 Jianguomenwai Ave., Beijing 100004, China. OR

Holiday Inn Lido, Lido Place, Level-3, Beside Bowling Alley, Jichang Road, Jiang Tai Road, Beijing 100004, China
Other Contact: E-mail: ahuranet@public2.bta.net

Restaurant Name: Purple Haze

I had heard about this restaurant a long time ago through our fortnightly magazines brought out in Beijing, but never had the right occasion or the money to go eat there. Technically, 90% of foreign restaurants in Beijing are not expensive compared to western countries, but alongside Chinese food, it is sometimes four times the price. Anyway a friend was in town and he was on a company account so i chose this restaurant to go!

Not in a great location but definitely easy to find is Purple Haze, a gorgeously decorated restaurant and cafe with foreign books to browse through. Unlike the majority of foreign restaurants in Beijing, this place had a little bar so you could have a drink whilst you wait for your table..and yes..if you dont book at the weekend, be prepared to wait! We had some 25 RMB drinks at the bar (standard price) and waited about 20 mins. I re-visited it two weeks later and this time went fairly early at around 6pm on a weekday. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have a happy hour every day from 5-7pm on all cocktails and mixers, but not on wines. This was a great thing to take advantage of as it was the drinks last time which had made our bill shoot up!

Favorite Dish: The waiters are very friendly and try to speak English. The menu is fairly long and has all the favourites such as different style curries, spring rolls, pineapple rice and Tom Yum soup....hhhmmm, i love it...and the smell that whisked around the room was delicious!

I had the chicken red curry on one occasion and it was simply divine! The spicy beef green curry is also to die for, depending on what your tastes are! The spring rolls are maybe the best Ive tasted anywhere before and of course our two for one drinks were just perfect!

We even had enough to take home in a doggie bag for lunch the next day....bargain!!!

Hhhhmmm..I want to go back NOW!!!!

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Theme: Indian
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: 6413 0899
Directions: In the small lane opposite the Worker's Stadium north gate, behind the ICBC Bank.
Website: www.purplehaze.com.cn
Other Contact: E-mail: purplehaze2008@yahoo.com

Restaurant Name: Fei Teng Yu Xiang

This place looks SO Asian from the outside with big fluorescent lights against the big white wall backdrop...chinese characters SO big that it would be hard to miss...Its written in pinyin as well in case you cannot read chinese characters!

Walked in on a Saturday night without having booked a table, which is always a bad move but especially for this restaurant as it is newly opened and so EVERYONE wants to go there, or at least be seen there!

I arrived with a table for eight to book. I was ushered to the waiting area and given a number. I don't know how they sort them out but there is a letter in front of each number so you’re either in section A, B, C or D. I was very fortunate because it is harder to get a table for fewer people, so i was called to a table within 15mins! But of course my friends didn't turn up for another 15mins..ha ha!!! As it turned out only five of us were there in the end so we were moved to a smaller table!!!

Favorite Dish: We had quite a few dishes as the menu looked wonderful. We ordered 'shui zhu yu' which is a spicy fish cooked in hot oil. Not good for the hips I'm sure, but who cares at this stage when you're starving and you're mouth is watering! We also got some wild mushrooms with fried pork which was outstanding, some little buns which you stuff yourself with minced meat and vegetables, some green veg, fried aubergines and fried noodles...hhhmm, yummy! Their spicy fish was possibly my favourite dish. Its hard to find a good place that does it well as sometimes the fish have way too many bones, or the oil they cook it in tastes several days old and way too greasy. But here it was just right!

The menu is in English and Chinese with photos of most dishes, so there should be no confusion as to what you're ordering!

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Theme: Chinese/Dim Sum
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: 64153764 / 64174988
Directions: No. 1 Gongti Bei Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100027, China..
Website: www.ftyx.com

Restaurant Name: Sizzler (Steak, Seafood, Salad)

The march of the American chain restaurants continues in China, as Sizzler opens its third location in Beijing next to the St. Regis. Starting in 1958 in California, Sizzler boasts great steaks, seafood and salad.The decor is typical of an American chain; booths with a large California wall mural featuring the Bay Bridge - very faux Americana.

The giant sized menu features large pictures and many combination platters - pork, chicken, steak and seafood can all be mixed and matched with a choice of rice, French fries or baked potato as a side dish. One of the biggest draws is the all-you-can-eat salad bar included free with every meal. Fresh asparagus and snow peas brighten up the mayo-slathered pasta, potato and Waldorf salads.

The burgers and steaks are good choices to quench a Western food craving, but sadly the prawns were a disappointment, tasting as if they've gone from frozen to boiled, not fresh to grilled as the picture suggests. Upon unwrapping the hard-to-find-in-China American baked potato, the tinfoil was folded back to reveal not a baked potato but a boiled potato. Strangely, a distressing smell appeared. Immediately blaming the baby at the next table, plates were moved away, but the foul smell persisted. It wasn't that the baby needed a change, it was the potato - be it the white sauce on top, the tinfoil or the potato itself, something was wrong. The friendly staff removed the stink bomb, but the dinner was ruined. Lesson learned: while steaks are a good bet, be wary of baked potatoes in China.

The above was taken from City Weekend, a fortnightly magazine for the english reading population of Beijing and Shanghai. I however think very much the same as the author as i was asked to eat there last week with my Chinese student!

Favorite Dish: I looked at the menu and was not surprised to see it was exactly as I thought it would be....expensive prices and cheap looking food! To top it off....FRIED cheap looking food! I asked my friend if she came here often and she said twice since it opened which i guess isn't that often, but the fact that she went back to it again seems to offer up some questions! WHY? Being the main question! The food starts off at 55RMB for a burger and then jumps to 70RMB for most other things. The menu consisted of burgers, fried chicken with awful smelling pineapple as a garnish, fish with garlic and lemon sauce...fried...and almost anything else they could get their hands on that could be fried! I ended up having the buffet salad which normally carries the price of 40RMB for an adult which is atrocious, but as a promotion it was just 29RMB...so I went to town! The salad in my opinion was the best thing going for the restaurant! The funniest thing to watch was that half the Chinese people there couldn't really use a knife and fork! And to top it off I saw a mother and her young son order four dishes acting as if it was Chinese food where you must have a variety and can't have just one! There's no way they would have got through all that food! There are about five of these restaurants around town, so walk on by if you see them!!! Ha ha!

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Theme: American
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Directions: Fuchengmen Subway. Come out of Exit A and walk east for about 100m. The restuarant is on a corner and faces East.