Eating out in beijing

Beijing has more than 1,000 restaurants serving food from all over the world. Although famous for Peking Duck and noodle-based dishes of the north, the city can also provide a taste of just about every other regional cuisine, including Shanghainese, Hunanese, Cantonese, and Sichuan. As for Western cuisine, France is represented by Maxim's of Paris. All large hotels offer cosmopolitan fare, from Mexican at the Sara Hotel to German at the Great Wall Sheraton. When dining in beijing, remeber that people eat early. Lunch hour is 11am.-2pm. and dinner 5pm.-8pm. Restaurants are packed at lunch. Hours in hotels and smaller and privately run establishments are more flexible.

Donghuamen Night Market(off Wangfujing) is a good option when you want to try one of the local dishes. This area is packed with numerous food stalls and market stalls. You can also give it a shot at Yong An Li vegetable market. Beijing also has an impressive array of restaurants suited for the international business people. Be prepared to find a pleasant restaurant where you can enjoy, in an authentic setting, one of the northern Chinese meat dishes. For those who want to know: yes ,McDonalds has also found its way to China's capital.

Locals offer this sage advice: Do not eat at an empty restaurant. They are right.