Even though my Chinese ID says my hometown is in Chengdu, I have only been there for vacation; even though I was born in Suzhou, I was only there for the first 100 days of my life; even though I have lived in six cities (including the current city I am in) in my life, none of the cities can be compared to Beijing when it comes to my personal connection with the city.
One major aspect I have missed about Beijing is the food. In this article, we will be covering most of the foods I miss in Beijing and where to get them.
1: Tube Station Pizza
This may sound basic, but perhaps it is because I ate it almost every weekend I spent rehearsing the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play at Beijing City International School (BCIS) that not eating it for over five months is difficult for me. I have been on a hunt for the same type of pizza in Guangdong, and the pizzas I found were either too expensive or simply not good enough. Tube Station has a special place in my heart, and there are quite a few locations around Beijing. My favorite Tube Station pizza is (and will always be) the classic cheese pizza, but they have options for everyone – pepperoni, Hawaiian, and their popular “Garbage Bin” pizza, which is basically a pizza with all the toppings imaginable on it (like how a garbage bin would have everything on this planet imaginable stuffed in it). All in all, if you are a pizza lover, Tube Station is a must-try in Beijing.
Find it:
27, 6/F, Joy City, 101 Chaoyang North Road, Chaoyang District
朝阳区朝阳北路101号大悦城6层27号
(Tube Station has multiple locations in Beijing)
Opening Hours: 10am-10pm
2. Annie’s Italian Restaurant
Not only has not eating a satisfactory pizza in over five months been a big issue for me, but not finding a good Italian restaurant is also an issue. Annie’s used to serve breakfast in the mornings on Sundays, and my family used to have breakfast there before Covid. Not only do I miss that, Annie’s also has the best pesto pasta, Margherita pizza, and most importantly, the absolute most delicious mozzarella sticks on this planet.
Find it:
1/F, Ruisai Business Building, Bldg 19, Nanlang Home, South East Third Ring Road, Chaoyang District (opposite Fanyue 108)
朝阳区东三环南路南朗家园19号楼瑞赛商务楼1层（梵悦108对面）
(They have multiple locations in the city)
Opening Hours: 10.30am-22.30pm
3. Rong’s Cuisine (荣小馆)
This is a Chinese restaurant that was right next to BCIS, and their food has also been on my mind for a while now. What I miss the most about them is their breakfast – their crispy fried dough (yóutiáo 油条) dipped into the savory soy milk is simply a heavenly combination. I usually have that with a glutinous rice roll (nuòmǐ fàntuán 糯米饭团) that is filled with 油条 yóucài, pickled veggies, and some other stuff that just makes it so yum. Not only do they have delicious breakfast items, their eggplant stew (shāo qiézǐ 烧茄子) and chili belt noodles (yóupō miàn 油泼面) are also incredibly fragrant and unforgettable. Not to mention, they also have free, unlimited cold dishes like black bean tofu strips, pickled radish, and potato sticks on rotation every day, which are also super flavorful.
Find it:
The northwest corner of the intersection of Baiziwan South 2nd Road and West Dawang Road, Chaoyang District
朝阳区百子湾南二路与西大望路交叉路口西北角
(They have multiple locations in the city)
Opening Hours: 7am-9.30am, 11am-2pm, 5pm-9pm
4. Nanjing Impressions (南京大排档)
There are a few restaurants around me that serve food traditional to the Jiangnan region, but the dishes served at Nanjing Impressions are unmatched. Their duck blood vermicelli noodle soup (yāxiě fěnsī tāng 鸭血粉丝汤), osmanthus glutinous rice cake (guìhuā lāgāo 桂花拉糕), fried dumplings, turnip shrimp fritters (luóbosī duānzǐ 萝卜丝端子), and savory fried glutinous rice cakes (cíbā 糍粑) make the restaurant what my mom and I would choose to go to for dinner if we have no idea on what to eat, given that the price of one portion is usually below RMB 15 (not referring to the soup and meat dishes of course).
Find it:
77-81, B1/F, Huamao Shopping Center, Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District
朝阳区建国路华贸购物中心B1层77-81号铺
(They have multiple locations in the city)
Opening Hours: 10.30am-9.30pm
5. Kempinski Deli
As someone who spent the first seven years of her life living in hotels, I know what good pastries should taste like, and the Kempi Deli is honestly the perfect representation of that. To be frank, I have not tried a lot of their menu items, but their muffins are simply some of the best I have ever tried. They have discounts if you go after 8pm, but the muffins are gone by then, guaranteed. One time, my friend’s mom bought me a smoked salmon croissant sandwich, and that, my friend, was one of the best sandwiches I have ever had.
Find it:
1/F, Kempinski Hotel, Beijing, 50 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District
朝阳区亮马桥路50号北京凯宾斯基饭店一层
Opening Hours: 7am-9pm
6. Kerry Center Sandwiches
The discovery of this place was quite unexpected, as my mom and I were spending the entire morning around the area running errands, and before we knew it, it was lunchtime, and we decided to try out the sandwiches at the lobby café, and it blew our minds. Their cheesy tuna wraps that melt and pull when you heat them up, the kimchi beef cream cheese sandwich (they only had that for a while), the salmon egg sandwich, and the beef sandwich have made up for the loss of the long-lost lox bagel. After 6.30pm, they offer a BOGO discount for their sandwiches and some of their pastries (and salad bar, I think, but I haven’t tried that before), so it is also worth waiting until then!
Find it:
1/F, Kerry Centre, 1 Guanghua Road, Chaoyang District
朝阳区光华路1号嘉里中心嘉里商场F1
7. 唇辣号 (Chongqing Hotpot)
I am connected with my Chengdu roots, as I usually visit Chengdu annually, and hotpot is still a food that my family and I eat once a week. Luckily, we found a tasty hotpot place in Beijing that satisfied our hotpot cravings. We would usually have the yuānyāng guō 鸳鸯锅, which is the type of pot with two sides that can have two different soup broths to boil the meats and veggies in. The tomato and spicy chili base is usually our choice, and the dishes we would order are the house-made tofu plate, lamb, and veggies like kelp and sweet potatoes. The restaurant also has a buffet of fruit, snacks, and, of course, just like any other hotpot restaurant, a million different dipping sauces to choose from.
Find it:
East District, 5/F, New World Department Store, 93 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区建国路93号院新世界百货5层东区
(They have more than one location in the city)
Opening Hours: 10am-11pm
8. 果蔬好 Grocery Store’s 煎饼果子
This place is technically not a restaurant at all, but their hot food and breakfast selection basically makes them a restaurant. My favorite from them is the jiānbing guǒzǐ 煎饼果子, which is a savory pancake that usually has an egg and black bean sauce on the pancake, some lettuce, a crispy fried dough piece, and sometimes sausages or Spam, and I used to have that every week. I have also been craving 煎饼果子 for quite some time now, and the one from the grocery store is perhaps one of the best I have ever had. They also have an array of baked goods and pastries, and Chinese jiācháng cài 家常菜 (common household dishes), which makes them one of the reasons why I miss Beijing so much.
Find it:
The second basement floor of the Silk Street Building, 8 Silk Street, Chaoyang District
朝阳区秀水街8号秀水街大厦地下二层
(They have more than one location in the city）
Opening Hours: 7am-10pm
9. The Cheesecake Factory
Oh my goodness, I could go on all day about the Cheesecake Factory. I only knew about them a year before I left Beijing, and my parents and I have only been there three times, but they have made the list because of their ginormous portions that they sell at reasonable prices and, most importantly, their incredibly delicious taste. The most memorable menu item from them is their vegetarian burger, which is made with a brown rice patty, and I would argue that it tasted better than all the other burgers I have ever had in my entire life. Other dishes like their nachos, red velvet cheesecake (I did not have that because of my sugar allergy, but my mom said it’s really good), pizza, and spaghetti are all incredible dishes that make me salivate whenever I think about them.
Find it:
415, 4/F, East Block, Wangfu Central, 269 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District
东城区王府井大街269号王府中环东座4层415号商铺
Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 11am-10pm, Sat to Sun 10am-10pm
10. Butterful and Creamorous
When I first saw the décor of the bakery outside their shop, I thought they were this fancy, high-end, expensive place that sold stuff that tasted mediocre. However, the truth is that not only are the prices reasonable, but the bagels and pastries are also incredibly tasty. They have a few locations in Beijing, but I have so far only visited the one in Hopson One.
Find it:
14A, 101, 1/F, Hopson Hui, Bldg 1, Courtyard 22A, Xidawang Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区西大望路甲22号院1号楼合生汇1层101内，14A号
(They have more than one location in the city)
Opening Hours:11am-10pm
11. 方砖厂炸酱面 (Beijing Fried Sauce Noodles)
Last but not least, the classic Beijing fried sauce noodles (zhá jiàng miàn 炸酱面). This dish is incredibly popular among locals and tourists, and 方砖厂 Fāngzhuān Chǎng serves some of the best in the city, given that it is a Michelin-recommended restaurant. Sometimes, 炸酱面 can be either too salty, too oily, or have an overly pungent pork flavor. The version from 方砖厂 is different – it is not too salty, not too oily, and – probably because I pour out the extra oil in the sauce – the pungent pork flavor is reduced significantly (just another tip if you don’t like pork like me).
Find it:
81, B1/F, Block 2, Huamao Shopping Center, Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District, exit H of Dawanglu subway station
朝阳区建国路华贸购物中心2座B1层81号铺，大望路地铁H口出
(They have multiple locations in the city)
Opening Hours: 10am-9.30pm
Images: Dianping, Margaret Yang
