All this month, we’ll be introducing 50 picks for some of the best family-friendly restaurants in Beijing. These reviews originally appeared in the January/February 2013 issue of beijingkids (see end of post).
Tianchu Miaoxiang 天厨妙香
Type of cuisine: Chinese, vegetarian
English menu? Yes. There are several funny translations, but the pictures are very clear.
General kid-friendliness of menu: Portion sizes are small in general, but there are a few particularly good kid dishes (mentioned below). Spice values are listed clearly, but substitutions would be difficult without Chinese language skills.
Best dishes for adults: American vegetarian steak with mushroom and tomato sauce (蘑菇汁牛排/番茄沙司牛排, RMB 30), boiled asparagus (young shoots of the “chayote” vine or 清吵龙须菜, RMB 25), Hangzhou West Lake Water Shield Soup (西湖莼菜汤, RMB 22/26)
Kids’ menu? No
Best dishes for kids: Fried vegetarian sausages (炸素腊肠, RMB 30), vegetarian spaghetti (红酱意大利面, RMB 25), taro with pumpkin casserole (香芋南瓜煲)
Kids’ play area? No
Play areas nearby: The Place
Kid-friendly staff? Yes and very attentive, but with minimal English.
Bathroom: Extremely clean sit-down, but outside the restaurant. No changing table
Seating: Tables and chairs. A basic plastic infant seat available upon request.
Price: RMB 300
Credit card accepted? Only Chinese cards
Parking available? Parking is available underground at RMB 9 for just under two hours
Must-order item: Their white and/or brown rice, which is non-GMO
In a nutshell: Decorated in a very traditional Chinese manner with a small fountain in front, carved wooden tea shelves and soft curtains on the glass windows, there’s a sense of serenity in this space – a perfect complement to its fare, which excludes any meat, eggs, alcohol, or foods made with “the five pungent roots.” They also do not use MSG, items containing trans fats or hydrogenated vegetable oil, and they also claim to use only GMO-free ingredients. The first page of their menu outlines the brand names of rice and soy sauce that they use, and they also offer an open kitchen for customer visits and inspections – as well as cooking classes. There’s a free vegetarian dining guide at the entrance, too.
Also try: Baihe Vegetarian
Photo by Sui