Foodie Guide to Must-Try Street Food Experiences in Beijing

Must try Street Food in Beijing – Unique Experience for a Food Lover

Beijing, the capital of China, is a paradise for street food lovers. You will simply be spoiled for choices when it comes to trying out different kinds of street foods in this place. If you feel apprehensive about the small shops and the vendors selling these food items, just taste the food and all your disappointment will vanish in thin air. The eateries around school and university areas are particularly good as they offer great street food at amazing rates.

Along with this, special mention needs to be made of Beijing’s Wangfuijing Snack Street. Any visitor to China must make sure that they visit this place to enjoy best authentic Chinese street food. In fact, it is in this street that some exclusive traditional Chinese snacks are served. This street has food options for all kinds of taste buds – from the experimental ones to those who know what they want to eat and will stick to that no matter what.

Mentioned below are some amazing street-foods that are must to try in Beijing:

Fried insects
Do not sneer at the name of fried insects. It is a favorite street food in Beijing, particularly found in Wangfuijing Snack Street. You will be amazed at the varieties of insects that are served in the place. These include pupa, grasshopper and scorpion. Among these, pupa and scorpion are the hot favorites with local people as well as tourists to Beijing. Scorpion is extremely crunchy and resembles in taste to dried fish.

Steamed buns
Steamed buns are extremely popular with school and college going kids as well as with travelers to Beijing. In fact, these buns are regarded as popular traditional food in China. Flour is used in making the outer covering of the buns and the stuffing can be done with meat varieties – the most common options being beef and pork. For vegetarians, vegetable stuffing is also available.

Chuan’r
Popularly known as kebabs in other parts of the world, chuan’r comes on thin skewers. Meat is the main ingredient that is used; though sometimes vegetables like onions, capsicums, tomatoes etc are also added to the skewers. When surveyed, it was found that this street food in China is enjoyed by travelers and tourists as midnight snacks as well as by local people on regular basis. The taste comes from the varieties of spices that are added in the dish. These include pepper flakes, cumin, sesame etc. after the meat and vegetables are put on the skewers, they are grilled to perfection in make-shift grills that are set up by the street side.

Beijing pancake
Also known as the Chinese street crepe, this street food is widely enjoyed in the mornings for breakfast. Filling as well as tasty, this snack is great for everyone. A flat and thin pancake is made using eggs and flour and then it is stuffed with different kinds of Chinese vegetables including mug bean sprouts, Chinese cabbage, lettuce and carrots. Meat stuffing in the wrap can be with chicken, pork or duck. Herbs like parsley are used for seasoning the filling. A sweet and salty brown sauce is spread on the crepe for better taste.

Stinky tofu
If you are in Beijing and you haven’t tried stinky tofu, you are missing out something. Don’t be scared of the name ‘stinky tofu’; it does not stink at all. This is basically a dish made from fermented tofu, which is thoroughly fried. When serving, some kind of mixed sauce is put on the tofu along with some chopped fresh coriander. Toothpicks are given with the snack, so that you don’t have to use your hands in eating.

Tanghulu
Tanghulu is a very popular street food in Beijing. Basically these are different kinds of fruits which are covered with a firm sugar coating. The fruits are pierced into a stick in a line and then immersed in sugar syrup. The sugary coating that forms on the fruits gives them a shiny appearance. Usually the fruits that are chosen for this item include grapes, strawberries, Chinese hawthorn, pineapples, mandarin oranges etc. The fruits have tangy taste and the sugar syrup is sweet. When eaten as a whole, the dish has amazing taste.

Suan Mei Tang
Also known as syrup of plum, this drink is very popular in China. This variety of plum juice is sweet and sour at the same time. Local Chinese people prefer drinking this syrup during the summers as thw drink helps in cooling down the system. Presently, this drink has become extremely popular with tourists visiting Beijing as well.

So now that you have information regarding some of the best and most popular roadside snacks in Beijing, make sure that you definitely taste some of them while your travel in the city. The experience is surely going to be a great one!

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About The Author: The author, Sam, is a culinary expert and loves to taste dishes of various countries and regions. He has expertise on Chinese cuisine as he has visited the country many times with China visa. All the procedure regarding visa to China is handled by the ChinaVisaDepartment.