Grandma’s Kitchen
Cuisine: American
English menu: Yes
Kids’ menu: The kids’ menu offers the same options as the main menu, but in smaller servings.
General kid-friendliness of menu: Very kid-friendly, if a tad unhealthy.
Kid-friendly staff? The English-speaking staff love kids, but be prepared to repeat your order on occasion.
Bathroom: Located on the second floor in the adjoining office building. Though not always clean, they do have sit-down toilets.
Best items for kids: Small stack of blueberry pancakes, vegetarian omelet, and for a treat, a burger with fries is large enough to share.
Kids’ play area: No play area but kids are regulars here and the staff is happy to let them roam around.
Seating: Standard chairs, highchairs available.
Price: RMB 200
Accepts credit cards? Yes
Must-order item: A full egg breakfast with bottomless coffee for mom and dad, and a fresh juice for the little one.
Award: Best Old-Fashioned Favorites
In a nutshell: Comfortable, affordable and kid-friendly. You’ll be hard-pressed to find something kids won’t want to eat. Grandma’s Kitchen is perfect for lazy weekends. IK
Daily 7.30am-11pm. 0103, Bldg B, Jianwai Soho, 39 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Chaoyang District (5869 3055/6); 朝阳区东三环中路39号建外SohoB座0103. See Directory for more locations.
Fizztastic Brunch,Hilton Beijing Wangfujing
Cuisine: Chinese and Western buffet
English menu: Yes
Kids’ menu: Kids’ buffet provided
General kid-friendliness of menu: Very kid-friendly
Kid-friendly staff? English-speaking staff are willing to play with boisterous kids
Bathroom: Bathrooms are squeaky-clean and large.
Best items for kids: Sushi rolls, pasta made-to-order and lots of fresh fruit to counteract the delicious and expansive dessert selection.
Kids’ play area: The kids’ playroom, dubbed "Kids Paradise," is set apart from the main dining section and is very clean. While you brunch, kids can enjoy classes from My Little Mozart and 3i Art Centre (available until March 18, 2011). Alternatively, an ayi will watch over the kids as they watch DVDs, play with soft toys and eat their way through the snack station.
Seating: Standard chair-and-table set up, highchairs available and there are couches scattered throughout.
Price: RMB 388 (free-flow champagne), RMB 288 (wine, cocktails and soft drinks), RMB 258 (soft drinks and juice), RMB 129 (6-12 years), free (kids under 6). All prices are subject to a 15% service fee.
Accepts credit cards? Yes
Must-order item: Lobster or smoked salmon.
Award: Best Family Treat
In a nutshell: The quality of the food is what makes this buffet stand out, with fresh seafood featuring heavily. Extra points for a great kids’ playroom and fun craft activities. IK
Sundays 11.30am-3pm. 5/F, Vasco’s, Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, 8 Wangfujing Dongjie, Dongcheng District (5812 8888 ext 8411); 东城区王府井东街彺8号希尔顿北京王府井洒店5层
CCSweets
Carol Chow, owner and mother
Where did you grow up?
New Jersey (US).
What was your favorite food as a kid?
Chocolate chip cookies. At CCSweets, we make a great chocolate chunk cookie with 72 percent cacao dark chocolate.
What do you miss about old-fashioned home cooking?
I loved bake sales. My friend’s grandma made the most amazing chocolate chip cookies. I can still remember the crisp edge and chewy center.
What is your best-selling family-friendly cupcake?
My most popular flavors are chocolate and chocolate buttercream, vanilla bean cake with vanilla frosting and red velvet with cream cheese. We make a red velvet based on the original recipe which uses real beets. I also have a sugar- free pumpkin cupcake made from homegrown pumpkin.
Almost all my ingredients are imported, except for the eggs and milk. I use Wonder milk, New Zealand butter, pasteurized eggs and vegetarian-fed eggs, which you can supposedly eat raw. We also use pure Madagascan vanilla beans and a variety of premium chocolates from Belgium and France, including Valrhona.
What is the healthiest cupcake in your shop?
Probably the gluten-free red velvet. I also have a gluten-free chocolate chunk cookie with buckwheat flour and I am working on other gluten-free recipes with organic buckwheat flour. Buckwheat is good for the cardiovascular system – it lowers blood pressure and is rich in the antioxidant flavonoids. It has high levels of magnesium and helps control sugar levels, which is beneficial to people with diabetes.
Daily 10am-8pm. Shop 109, Tower 11, Central Park, 6 Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (cchow68@gmail.com) www.ccsweets.cn; 朝阳区朝外大街6号新城国际T11.109店.
See Directory for more locations.
The Ritz-Carlton
Andreas Krampl, Executive Chef and father
Where did you grow up?
Böblingen. It’s a small town of around 80,000 people in the south of Germany near Stuttgart.
What was your favorite food as a kid?
My absolute favorite was pflaumenknödel – a potato dumpling stuffed with a sweet fresh plum, simmered in water for five minutes and then rolled in toasted crunchy sweet breadcrumbs, and finally dusted with icing sugar. This dish is traditionally done with apricots and comes from Austria.
Can you find that dish in Beijing?
No, but I make it once in a while.
What do you miss about good old-fashioned home cooking?
I can reproduce all the items my mom cooked for us at anytime anywhere around the world but the most important thing is sitting at my mom’s table and eating the food she made with lots of love.
If you could bring over one dish from Germany to Beijing, what would it be?
I can reproduce most dishes that I have a craving for – the quality of ingredients and availability of products here in Beijing is great. Maybe some of the cold cuts from my favorite butcher in my hometown, but Schindler’s German Food Center has a great selection of cold cuts so most of the time I get it from there.
The Ritz-Carlton. China Central Place, 83A Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District (5908 8888); 朝阳区华贸中心建国路甲83号
Navéna Café
Cuisine: Western café
English menu: Yes
Kids’ menu: Aside from the kids’ pizzas (choose any two toppings), we recommend bypassing the kids’ menu and opting for the main menu.
General kid-friendliness of menu: Very kid-friendly, with an emphasis on pizza and sandwiches.
Kid-friendly staff? Most staff speak basic English and are used to kids.
Bathroom: A single very clean sit-down toilet.
Best items for kids: Ham and veggie sandwich; chicken, cranberry and camembert sandwich; and any of the thin-crust pizzas. Fresh-squeezed juice also available.
Kids’ play area: There’s no playroom, but Central Park’s grassy outdoor areas are right outside.
Seating: Standard chairs and tables, booths, highchairs, as well as outdoor seating in warm weather.
Price: RMB 250
Accepts credit cards? No
Must-order item: Apricot and chicken thin crust pizza or any of the funky vegetarian pizzas with toppings like avocado and spinach.
Award: Best All-Rounder
In a nutshell: Formerly Nasca Café, Navéna contineus to offer the same family-friendly fare with a cozy café vibe. Floor-to-ceiling windows make it the perfect spot to grab a bite to eat while watching the kids play outside.
Daily 10am-11pm. Bldg 12, Central Park (next to Etonkids), 6 Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District; 朝阳区朝阳门外大街6号新城国际12号楼
Xiao Wang Fu
Cuisine: Chinese
English menu: Chinese/English menu with photos.
Kids’ menu: There’s no kids’ menu, but you won’t need one.
General kid-friendliness of menu: Very kid-friendly, with lots of Chinese favorites. The food isn’t oily and you can request no MSG.
Kid-friendly staff? Staff speaks Chinese, but you can get by with simple English. The staff is happy to accommodate kids – sometimes to the point of ignoring the adults.
Bathroom: They are clean with sit-down and squat toilets. A couch outside the bathrooms serves as a makeshift change table.
Best items for kids: Try the crystal shrimp or tofu. Picky eaters will be content with fried rice, kung pao chicken and cucumber and garlic.
Kids’ play area: There’s no indoor play area but kids will love climbing up their stairs to the rooftop terrace. Ritan Park is right on the doorstep, so kids can run around to their heart’s content post-meal.
Seating: Standard chairs, highchairs available.
Price: RMB 200
Accepts credit cards? Yes
Must-order item: Peking Duck, of course.
Award: Best Eat-and-Play Combo
In a nutshell: The interior is fancy but scratch below the business lunches and you’ll find this restaurant offers delicious and healthy fare with the bonus of being located inside one of Beijing’s prettiest parks.
Daily 11.30am-2pm, 5.30-10pm. Inside the North Gate of Ritan Park, Ritan Lu, Chaoyang District (8561 5985); 朝阳区日坛路日坛公园北门内. See Directory for more locations.
The Fig Tree
Lin Zhong, pastry chef and mother
Where did you grow up?
Shanghai, China and New York City (US).
What was your favorite food as a kid?
Shanghai shengjian mantou [crusty pork dumplings].
Where can you find that favorite childhood dish in Beijing?
At the Shanghainese restaurant Lu Lu, Ciyunsi branch (鹭鹭酒家,慈云寺店)
What do you miss about good old-fashioned home cooking?
I miss the sense of family when we make old-fashioned food. The cooking is not nearly as important as the family time spent together.
If you could bring one dish from the US to Beijing, what would it be? Cannoli.
What is your best-selling family-friendly dish?
Birthday cakes.
What is the healthiest item you bake?
Pierre Herme’s dark chocolate cake with 45 minutes of jogging three times a week.
Unit 202, Bldg A, Chaowai Soho, 6B Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (139 1056 6742, info@thefigtree.cn) www.thefigtree.cn; 朝阳区朝阳门外大街乙6号朝外Soho702室A座
Editor’s Note: Crystal Jade was mistakenly included in the print version of this feature ("Beijing’s Best Family Dining," Jan/Feb 2011) — the restaurant is closed. We apologize for this mistake.