What kind of store would you imagine when you hear its name is Beard Papa? I never would’ve guessed that it’s a store that sells cream puffs. Yet Beard Papa is exactly that, a popular international brand puff eatery with stores all over East Asia.

As a trendy destination for school-aged kids, Beard Papa has opened many shops in supermalls all over Beijing. I visited the one located in New Gate City plaza,

A waitress introduced me to their puffs, which come in original flavor, special flavor, and ice cream puffs. She told me that all their puffs are made with only natural ingredients.

I ate an original Beard Papa puff (RMB 6). It's a small flour dough filled with creamy vanilla custard inside. The custard really did melt in my mouth. I also liked its light level of sweetness, which suited my own taste.

Like the original flavor, special flavors also use the small flour dough. However, the filling changes to flavors like green tea, chocolate, coffee, and milk tea (RMB 7). Their ice cream puffs are rice cakes on the outside, and your choice of 4 different ice creams on the stuff. (RMB 10)

The eatery also offers a quiet space to rest for the customers, so you don’t have to eat your puffs on the go. Although prices are fixed, you may occasionally find discounts. Servers can speak simple English to communicate with foreigners.

What I appreciated:

The original cream puffs

What customers appreciate:

Good taste, reasonable price

As you arrive at the 2nd floor basement of the New Gate City Plaza, you'll find a caricature of kung fu movie star Jet Li in a pose. This is the entrance to the chain fast food restaurant - Real Kung Fu.

At first glance, it does not make any sense. But a closer look at the Chinese name explains everything. It’s a Chinese name, Zhen Gong Fu, sounds similar to Zheng Gong Fu, which means ‘great ability to make steamed dishes.’

According to a waitress, the steam dishes are served in a special bowl, with an aluminum container inside. You can order individually, or as a combo. Some popular dishes, which also comes with rice, includes Japanese eel (RMB 28) and curry chicken (RMB 24).

In general, the combos cost between RMB 20 to RMB 30, and individual items range from RMB 5 to RMB 20. The menu is in both English and Chinese, so you won’t have problems ordering.

What I appreciated:

Taiwan thickening meat mixed rice, pudding

What customers appreciate:

Clean eatery, good taste

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

Located near the famous Tsinghua university, Reno Cafe in Wenjin Hotel features gorgeous chandeliers, golden interior decoration, all culminating into a luxurious dining atmosphere. Inside, you’ll find their open kitchen where your delicious meals are made. The restaurant serves breakfast and lunch buffets featuring offers Spanish, Japanese, and Indian cuisines. At night, you can order a-la-carte, cakes, and Chinese-style snacks.

Business Lunch Buffet costs RMB 68, but you get anRMB 20 lunch coupon for your next meal. The Buffet line includes appetizers, hot dishes, soups, desserts, soft drinks, plus the main courses: grilled beef tenderloin, fish fillet, chicken breast, or lamb chops. Southeast Asian cuisines dinner buffet costs RMB 98 net, and includes seafood, cold dishes, desserts, and entrees.

All the staff there speak basic English and are ready to serve you a perfect dinner.

What I appreciate:

The Southeast Asian dinner buffet

What Customers appreciate:

Various worldwide cuisines and the luxurious dining atmosphere

First opened in here in 1995, Subway has been in Beijing for 12 years, and since spread to other cities around China. For the Chinese, it’s a nice change of pace to the normal Chinese meal.   For expats and foreign tourists, it’s a rare venue for old-fashioned authentic sub sandwiches. Especially in a city you cannot find the best sandwich ingredients to make one yourself.

According to the hospitable server, Subway features a daily special each day. Following her recommendation, I ordered the special for that day, a Roasted Chicken Sandwich for a special price of RMB 15. All your favorite vegetables, condiments, and freshly baked bread are available. I personally chose cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and honey mustard myself.

Prices range from RMB 10 to RMB 30 in 6 inches, and RMB 20 to RMB 45 in 12 inches. For drinks, choose from fresh soups and fountain drinks. They also have ice creams for dessert. In fact, the ice creams are buy-one-get-one-free on Tuesdays.

What I appreciated:

Fresh sub sandwiches, quiet atmosphere

What customers appreciate:

hospitable waitresses, authentic Subway subs

On their way to explore Beijing, foreign visitors want to taste the various styles of Chinese cuisines. Richang Cantonese Restaurant, situated between the North 3^rd Ring and the North 4^th Ring, is a favorite eatery for gastronomes.

There are several reasons why Richang has become so popular in the capital: its authentic Cantonese cuisine is prepared by chefs coming from Hong Kong, and its delicious menu harbors reasonable prices. According to a waitress (who could not speak English) the restaurant is always full from 6 pm to 9 pm. the same waitress told me a dish named Baozai rice (Baozaifan 煲仔饭) is a customers’ favorite. A serving of Baozai rice in preserved ham taste costs RMB 25. Milk tea (RMB 10 ~ 15) and Cantonese soup (RMB 5 ~ 15) are also on the repeat gastronomes’ favor lists.

Compared with other Cantonese restaurants, Richang is also a nice place to spend some quiet time. Its business hours are from 10 am to 23 pm. Outside of lunch and dinner times, patrons can meet there and chat with friends while sipping on a cup of Cantonese milk tea.

The fare is approximately RMB 40 per person.

What I appreciated:

Baozai rice in preserved ham taste

What customers appreciate:

Authentic Cantonese taste, good reputation, reasonable prices

Many younger Beijingers enjoy a quiet and warm place to chat, read, and rest. And if they also want some pizza, they go to Tube station, which makes some very tasty original recipe pizza.

According to the shop assistant, their base their recipes on American style pizza, but adjust it to cater to the Chinese customers. The current trendy dish is the tuna pizza (RMB 19 for 9’ and RMB 29 for 12’). I feel the tuna pizza is a bit salty, but otherwise delicious and unique. It is definitely less greasy than Pizza Hut or Dominos.

In addition to pizza, the restaurant offers sandwiches, snacks, various beverages, and a relaxing environment for patrons. If you just want some snacks, try their Hongdoubingshan (RMB 7), a red-bean iced treat popular in the summer. If you bring your laptop, you can surf online for free using their WLAN service.

The shop assistants speak decent English, and since many foreign customers come here, the shop owner provides free English magazines with lots of information on Beijing.

Located on the Beiwa road, YaYaLi is a one of DaYaLi chain’s restaurant, very famous for its Peking Duck. Customers can enjoy the authentic Peking Duck along with other traditional Chinese home style dishes in a homely atmosphere.

What sets this place apart is the quality of service and also the quality of the duck. The duck and the way they serve it is different from many other places. Here you get a lot more condiments to add variety to your duck pancake. The roast method YaYaLi use also takes away a lot of the grease. . The price for one roast duck is RMB 68. The chefs there have very specific ideas on how the ducks should look and taste like, and they roast them very well.

The prices for all other dishes range from RMB 8 to RMB 128. Though the waiters cannot speak English, you can still easily order using the large pictures on the menu.

What I appreciate

Delicious Peking Duck

What customers appreciate

Delicious Peking Duck and good service