Fuwuyuan, I’m hungry!

Before leaving Montreal, my mother, as any concerned parent would do, asked me worriedly, “But… What will you eat?” Ah mummy. If only you knew.

Embracing a city and its culture definitely involves embracing its cuisine. Being a foodie (luckily, with an extremely high metabolism), Beijing is like seventh heaven for me! From a Western perspective, it is easy to believe that one could get rapidly bored with the cooking here, since at home we have access to such an international menu. Well, New York’s got nothing on Beijing! An international city itself, Beijing offers its visitors a variegated list of dishes to try, to please the unadventurous, as well as the audacious foreigner.

First, being a Montrealer, it has been quite striking for me to notice so many food trucks here. Indeed, since food trucks had not been allowed in Montreal until very recently, and are now permitted in restricted areas only (unlike New York or Toronto), the difference in the urban landscape is massive. Highly conscious that food safety in China has become a growing public policy concern, I hesitated for a couple of weeks before trying the appealing brochettes prepared live by the numerous unregulated street vendors. However, in China, street food is more than just a way to fill one’s stomach; it is an integral part of the food culture! And once you try it, you start understanding why! Besides the popular sausages on sticks that you will find at every corner, egg pancakes with meat are also widely sold on the street, especially in the morning, as people tend to buy breakfast on their way to work. I tried one of these Beijing pancakes with chicken and it was extraordinarily filling! If you are not that hungry so early on, you can try a porridge, again with eggs or not, which is a much tastier version of our conventional oatmeal. The incredible thing with street food is the fact that you will enjoy a delicious and complete meal for about 5 RMB (not even one Canadian dollar!).

As of April 2013, Beijing enacted a new law regulating the selling of street food, requiring the vendors to obtain licenses to operate within fixed locations and at designated times, thus providing a basis for enforcement efforts. If the vendors violate this regulation, they may face a 500 RMB fine. Yes, it is an imperfect system, but let’s face it: street food is here to stay, as, first of all, there is a great amount of migrants seeking livelihood in a big city, and, secondly, workers from all social classes seeking inexpensive, delicious and convenient food. Regulation could never get in the way of basic microeconomics, so this “supervise, not ban” regulation notion seems to be the most efficient, and realistic, policy here. Customers should therefore be inspired by Beijing regulators when tempted by street food: observe for a few days your targeted truck to analyse if it respects the regulation and is operated in a fixed location; carefully watch for any obvious unhygienic practices before buying; supervise the cooking and do not hesitate to ask for more time on the grill if necessary when ordering meat; and, finally, enjoy your meal, enjoy it as if it were your last time eating! Here is a tip: I read that stalls operated by married couples tend to be more reliable as their products support an entire family. If you follow all of these steps and eat outside in moderation, you may feel safe about this culinary experience.

If you want to sit down and enjoy a full meal, Chinese restaurants will please you. Fellow North Americans: no, you will not find General Tso Chicken (Orange Chicken) in Beijing! The locals do not know what it is and have never heard of this dish before. I was also shocked to discover that my colleagues from Italy, the UK and Australia had never heard of it before either!

However, you will find a complete selection of hot meals, cold meals, vegetables, dumplings and pancakes to share on a turning table. This is very practical when you want to try various items on the menu! When you are ready to order, just call the “Fuwuyen”, which means Waiter/Waitress, and list everything that your friends and you want to try. I have noticed that it’s normal to leave some food on the main plate at the end of the meal, which is very different from home where wasting is perceived differently. But if you want to take the rest with you to go, don’t be surprised if the fuwuyen puts the food directly in a bag and not in a box, it is common here! Moreover, just like in typical Chinese restaurants at home, white rice is served in a bowl separately and will rarely be an accompaniment to a dish, so one shall not forget to order it. And be careful with water! Here, restaurants will usually provide you with boiling hot water instead of cold water, so you might get a surprise if you do not specifically ask for it! As a now-true Beijinger, as mentioned in my last blog post, I have come to enjoy the hot water when ordering!

My favourites? I will go with Kung Pao chicken! Also, since I work in an area where Korean restaurants are very prevalent, I frequently enjoy their beef soup or bibimbaps, here in Beijing! Being a spicy food aficionado, I definitely need to retain my excitement whenever we go to the Hunan Style restaurant located on the second floor of the building where I work! Their fish is incredible! The Hot Pot, which can be found in the popular restaurant chain Xiabu Xiabu, can also appeal to just about anyone, since you choose your sauce, your raw meat, your vegetables and your spices and cook it yourself in the metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. Did you know that the Chinese hot pot has a history of more than 1,000 years? Our well-known fondue, that we tend to only eat on special occasions, is therefore a variation of that traditional and widespread dish here. Of course, I could not write about food without mentioning the breathtaking Beijing Duck! Tender on the inside, crispy on the outside, I cannot believe that I have never experienced something so unique before! If I were a vegetarian and was allowed to cheat on my diet with just one dish, it would undeniably be with Beijing Duck. Yes. This is how unforgettably delicious this duck is.

Finally, when (even with such variety) you are tired of Chinese food, international food is everywhere! In China, KFC has surpassed McDonald’s as the most prominent American fast-food chain, since it has adapted its menu to the Chinese culture! I admit that it indeed tasted different from home! McDonald’s, however, is trying to compete with dishes that we cannot find at home, like the McSpicy Chicken Wings, that I truly enjoyed! For a great burger, please have a sit at the Blue Frog, a chain whose main franchise is located in Sanlitun, the trendy neighbourhood for foreigners. Want a coffee? You may try Costa Coffee, since this international coffee chain that was founded in London, UK, has not yet opened a store in North America, and is way more popular in Beijing than its main competitor, Starbucks. My fellow Canadians, I even heard that we could find poutine here in Beijing! I will keep you posted on that item when I manage to taste it!

And well, if you do not feel like going out, why not order from Annie’s? Annie’s is a popular Italian restaurant that defies the traffic to deliver your favourite pizza or calzone right at your door! And, of course, if you have lovely Italian CRCC roommates, you may enjoy different kinds of pasta, risotto, salami, dolce… But that is another story ;).

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