Traditional Beijing Noodles

To westerners, the most popular Beijing dish has to be the Peking duck, To the Chinese, however, ZhaJiangMian (炸酱面) is just as popular when it comes to traditional Beijing cuisine. As an added bonus, ZhaJiangMian is not nearly as expensive.

The traditional ZhaJiangMian is cooked with wide hand-tossed noodles, soybean paste, radish pieces, cucumber pieces, cabbage pieces and other vegetables. You would then personally mix the ingredients together to eat.

One of the best places to eat ZhaJiangMian is at Old Beijing Zhajiangmian (老北京炸酱面).  You simply cannot miss the huge red sign if you visit its branch on the North 3rd Ring Rd. The interior makes you feel you’ve traveled back to the Qing Dynasty, with wooden tables and stools, and waiters serving in traditional gowns of ancient times.

Besides Zhajiangmian (RMB 10), Old Beijing offers traditional and modern dishes, like Sweet & Sour Lotus Roots (糖醋莲藕) priced RMB 12 and fruit salad which costs RMB 10. The waiter also recommends plum juice (酸梅汤) to go with the noodles.

Dish prices range from RMB 8 to RMB 40.

What I appreciated:

Traditional Beijing dish

What customers appreciate:

Tasty Zhajianmian, atmosphere of old Beijing