Speaking of Jinfang Snack Bar, every old Beijinger knows it. The eatery originated in 1926, specializing in beef and mutton at that time. It developed into a Beijing-style snack bar, and eventually changed its name to Jinfang. The original location was on Chongwenmenwai Dajie, where many old Beijingers went to enjoy breakfast. Recently, Jinfang opened a new eatery at the southwest corner of Ciqikou.

Although I entered the eatery around 3 pm, there were still many people savoring unique snacks with relish. The decoration is simple and very approachable. Nearly 40 kinds of snacks are displayed in showcase. To order, simply point at the displays.

There are many popular items inside. One is Nai You Zha Gao, a fried cake with golden cream topped with sugar. It tastes crispy outside and soft inside. Another is Yuan Xiao, sweet dumplings made of glutinous rice flour.

You can also sample many savory traditional snacks like Mian Cha (Seasoned Millet Mush), Zhima Shaoping (Baked Sesame Seed Coated Cake), and Tang Huoshao (Baked Wheat Cake with Brown Sugar).

Prices are cheap in general. Breakfast should cost you less than RMB 10. And any other meal would not be much more expensive than that. So please try these old Beijing snacks when you get a chance.

What I appreciated

Traditional Beijing snacks, inexpensive prices.

What customers appreciate

Traditional Beijing snacks, inexpensive prices.

If you walk along the Forbidden City to the east, a Beijing specialty shop on the north side of Donghuamen Dajie awaits you to drop in. Actually, it’s an outlet of Beijing XiHongXuan Foodstuff Company, which specializes in Beijing traditional snacks.

The shop looks like a corridor, and a great many local products are displayed on both sides, including preserved fruits, roast duck, cooked food, and bread. Beijing has long been famous for the first two items.

There is a wide variety of preserved fruits for you to select, such as apricots, cherry-apples, hawthorns, peaches, and jujubes. They come in small boxes of 200 grams each. All are made with fresh fruits and taste great. If you wish to sample them all, get a box of assorted preserved fruits, which cost 28 yuan per 400 gram box.

Beijing roast duck, which has been famous for more than a century, is also sold here. It’s vacuum packed in case you can’t make time for having it in a restaurant. The meat is tender and not greasy at all. A bag of a two and a half pound duck costs 58 yuan.

What I appreciated

Beijing specialty, traditional snacks

What customers appreciate

Beijing traditional snacks, reasonable prices

If you walk around the Wangfujing Food Street, you will see brightly colored red fruits on sticks. These are sugar-coated haws, or “Bingtang Hulu” in Chinese.

Sugar-coated haw is a traditional snack of Beijing. As a local, I used to see peddlers selling sugar-coated haws on streets and lanes. So a stick of sugar-coated haws is not only a treat for my taste bud but also a treasure of the past.

The venders make the haws on the spot, so you can see the whole process yourself. They stick nine haw fruits onto a stick, bath them in sugar syrup, and then leave the syrup to harden into a shiny coating. When it cools off, the sugar coat becomes crispy, transparent and golden yellow.

A stick of sugar-coated haws only costs RMB 4. In addition, you can choose sugar-coated strawberries, orange, and pineapple, priced at RMB 8. Give this sour and sweet snack a try! I hope you like it.

What I appreciated

Sweet and sour traditional Beijing snack

What customers appreciate

Traditional Beijing snack