Cuisine: Vegetarian (Chinese)
English Menu? Yes
Kids’ menu? No
General kid friendliness of menu: Simple, straightforward descriptions make it easy for diners of any age to order.
Staff: Very attentive. No bilingual servers, but the whole staff can understand simple orders in English. Bathroom: Clean Western style bathroom with sit-down toilet.
Best dishes for kids: Faux sausage made of ground yellow beans, pumpkin soup, deep fried coconut soft “heart” – a sumptuous golden batter stuffed with rich coconut cream.
Kids’ play area? None, but on Sundays from 9-11am, there are fun children’s pinyin and calligraphy reading and writing courses.
Seating: The open ceiling courtyard is ideal for summer evening dining. Classic style hardwood straight back chairs are offered to adults, baby high chairs and smaller baby chopsticks are given to youngsters.
Price: RMB 250-300
Accepts credit cards? Yes
Must-order item: Vegetarian spareribs
In a nutshell: Everything about this place is mysterious, from its hutong cranny location to the ancient style tiger paintings adorning the walls. The food is most enigmatic of all: what the menu dubs “mutton” is in fact carefully-carved mushrooms, and what appears to be fish is actually seaweed and beans. Baihe makes vegetarianism wildly fun.
Daily 10am-10pm. 23 Caoyuan Hutong (west of Dongzhimen Beixiaojie), Dongcheng District (010 6405 2082) 百合素食香草园,东城区东直门北小街草园胡同23号
This article is excerpted from the beijingkids Jan/Feb 2012 issue. View it in PDF form here or contact distribution@beijing-kids.com to find out where you can pick up your free copy.