If you want to know more about the specifics of authentic cuisine - ask a local. We did just that. Especially for those planning to go to China, Dong Chang, one of the main roles in the film How I Became Russian (released in Russian cinemas on January 17, 2019), talks about the dishes that must be tried in the Chinese capital, and where is it better to do it.
Sheng yong xing
There are as many as eight culinary regional cuisines in China, but everyone has probably heard about the famous Peking duck. You cannot visit China and not try it. There are tons of duck restaurants in the capital, but I would recommend Sheng Yong Xing. Their trick is that they bake the duck at a higher temperature than is customary, so it is not as fatty, but at the same time tender. The finished duck is served directly to your table and expertly cut before your eyes (this is a special art - there should be at least a hundred pieces). The duck is accompanied by traditional sauces, garlic paste and sugar (it is customary to dip pieces of crispy duck skin in sugar).
Did you know that duck's head and brain also go into action when cutting and go to the most honorable guests at the table?
In addition to the main dish, at Sheng Yong Xing you can taste, for example, an amazing duck crust with fish caviar on top. By the way, there is a good selection of wine, which is not often the case in such restaurants.
Address: 5, Xindong Lu, Chaoyang district
The southern fish
If you are into spicy food, head to The Southern Fish in Xicheng District. The cuisine of the Hunan province reigns there, and its main feature is a large, and by European standards, just a huge amount of hot pepper. I remember in this establishment a dish where hot green peppers are ground in a mortar with canned eggs and fresh coriander leaves. It looked like an unusual spicy cream cheese.
You probably won’t surprise you with pickled spicy vegetables, but the fish's head in red pepper flakes ─ duojiao yutou - you have hardly tried it, because this is an ancient Chinese dish. The fish is steamed for him, finely chopped red pepper, ginger and onion are added to it ─ it turns out very aromatic. The restaurant also serves wonderful slices of beef fried with garlic, onions and peppers. There you can taste Chinese-style eggplant with green beans. In general, Hunan cuisine is “not for weaklings,” but in this restaurant it is somehow cooked in such a way that you come out full of strength and cheerfulness. Maybe it's all the same in hot pepper?
Address: 49, Gongmenkou Toutiao, Xicheng disctrict
Country kitchen
The restaurant is located on the 3rd floor of Rosewood Beijing Hotel. They prefer simple country food. Country Kitchen is always lively. The kitchen is a part of the interior: cooks are busy near the stove, there is a rumble of dishes, steam from noodles is pouring from pots, waiters perform "acrobatic acts" in front of your eyes. All in all, this is a restaurant where you can watch how the Chinese eat traditionally.
Here they cook hand-made Chinese noodles, all kinds of "jiaozi" (something akin to Russian dumplings), poultry, meat, fish and seafood. By the way, about the sea reptiles. Here you can taste the local specialty ─ sea cucumber. It is believed in China that it is very beneficial for health. Different cuisines use different parts of it, dry it, boil it, and fry it, while Country Kitchen serves it whole and raw to preserve the freshness and flavor of the sea. Top it with a sauce of caramelized barley and finely chopped leeks.
Address: 3F, Rosewood Beijing, Jing Guang Center, Hujialou, Chaoyang district
Cai Yi Xuan
If you want to experience the ultimate restaurant chic in Beijing, then this is Cai Yi Xuan at the five-star Four Seasons Hotel. Perhaps this is the place I would choose for a romantic honeymoon dinner. The restaurant's interior features marble and onyx. Here, Cantonese delicacies are prepared, which are served in the most exquisite form. The very process of food preparation remains out of your sight, which is very unusual in China. Try the xioalongbao dish here with an almost impossible amount of crab meat. The grilled prawns with black garlic and coriander are incredibly tasty and very filling. The brisket with abalone and black truffle sauce melts in your mouth. Jiaozi steamed with shrimp and young bamboo shoots, I would eat endlessly. It is quiet, luxurious, expensive and very cozy here.
Address: Second Floor Four Seasons Beijing 48 Liangmaqiao Lu Chaoyang
Samadhi Vegetarian Restaurant and Teahouse
My vegetarian friends love to meet at the Samadhi Vegetarian Teahouse. It is a cozy, tranquil place with gourmet vegetarian food, great service and tea aromas in the air. There is an atmosphere of respect for each other and for the food process. The waiters wear white kung fu clothes. The walls are decorated with Tibetan scrolls and mandalas, the statue of the Chinese Guanyin (the Goddess is the embodiment of Buddha) sets you in a meditative mood. Here you can taste the "chrysanthemum soup" ─ with egg tofu cut into a flower and goji berry in the middle. Every day, mushrooms of all kinds from the southern provinces are brought here. For example, they make delicious transparent soup. The stalks of bamboo are somehow magically cooked to taste like a sea cucumber. And, of course, an important part of this place is the widest variety of Chinese teas that the whole world knows about.
Address: 2nd floor, Shifanghaoting Building, 16 Xinyuan Nan Lu, Chaoyang district
Aimo town
A small restaurant serving fine dishes from Yunnan province ─ from mint salad to grilled goat cheese. The cuisine of Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, has absorbed the diversity of neighboring countries. She is famous for her pu-erh tea, which only gets better (and more expensive) over the years. But you should definitely try their most famous dish Guoqiao mixian or Crossing the bridge noodles (过桥 米线 guòqiáo mǐ xiàn ─ rice noodle soup). This is an unusual soup made from rice noodles in chicken broth with slices of meat or poultry, eggs, vegetables and tofu. Unlike other such soups, the ingredients are served separately and are mixed just before the meal. Why is that? Legend has it that a devoted wife prepared dinner for her husband and each carried food across the bridge to the island where he studied. The soup cooled down on the wayand then she poured the broth into an earthen jug, poured oil on top, which warmed the liquid along the way, and carried the rest of the ingredients separately. When she came to her student husband, she mixed everything together, and the husband was very pleased.
Address: 46 (7-8-9) FangjiHutong, Dongcheng district
Photo: archives of press services
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