Too many of Beijing's restaurants open and close in any given month to offer an accurate count, but it is difficult to imagine a city with more eateries per square mile, or a more exhaustive variety of Chinese cuisines. The short life span of the average restaurant in Beijing can create headaches, but the upside is a dynamic culinary environment where establishments that manage to stick around have generally earned the right to exist.

Affordable Chinese food is everywhere in Beijing, and not all of the places serving it are an offense to Western hygiene standards. Our senior manager Vivian has done it all and seen it all and is now ready to give you the inside scoop on what makes this Olympic City really tick.

Northern Style is dominated by wheat-floor foods.
Central Style also known as Xian Cuisine characteristics are being hearty and salty with strong flavors.
Southern Style known as Shanghai cuisine uses braising and stewing for a soft flavors and mellow fragrances.
Spiciness Style or Szechuan Cuisine is famous for sourness and spiciness.

Her recommendations are based on:

1) location and environment - You want to eat in a clean environment in and outside of a restaurant.

2) hygiene -- This is a quite common problem with Chinese restaurants. You want to eat safely.

3) service - Needless to say. This will make your dining happy or not.

1) The Herbal Café (草本工坊). -- Located in the Jianguomen area, close to Sitech Mall. Also is in the Sanlitun Shopping Mall, the 3rd Floor. Features great Hong Kong food.

2) Haidilao Hotpot (海底捞). -- Located in Chaoyao Road and also in the Viva Center Mall, the #1 rated hot pot place in the city. Featuring superior customer service, we had our company dinner there.

3) The Peking Roast Duck (全聚德和平门店). -- Go to Quanjude in Hepingmen (Peace Gate) downtown. This is where the most authentic and best Peking duck is served. This is what CNN said about its Peking Duck:

"The maltose-syrup glaze coating the skin is the secret. Slow roasted in an oven, the crispy, syrup-coated skin is so good that authentic eateries will serve more skin than meat, and bring it with pancakes, onions and hoisin or sweet bean sauce. Other than flying or floating, this is the only way you want your duck."

Alternative dining place: Dadong Duck House (大董) features the new generation Peking duck founded by an MBA graduate Mr. Dong. With his relentless research of technology, his ducks taste crispy while not as oily as the ducks served at Quanjude. Location: Subway Line 10 at Tuanjiehu (团结湖) Station or Changhongqiao (长虹桥).

4) Nanjing Impressions (南京大排档) features Nanjing style delicious dishes.

Begin with yangzhou lanhuagan (扬州兰花干, 5RMB), a small piece of beancurd artfully cut and sauced. It looks better than it tastes and is a nice lead-in to the diguo xiaogongji (地锅小公鸡, 42RMB), tender chicken with bones served in a pot lined with sesame dressed bread, best shared among large groups. Try the jizhi yeshanjun tang (鸡汁野山菌汤,28RMB), a delightful soup that complements the mushroom well. That same soup also reappears in the laojitang xiaohuntun (老鸡汤小馄饨, 6RMB), afloat with small pork-filled gems and slices of green onion.

Elsewhere, a popular yaxue fensi shaguo (鸭血粉丝砂锅, 22RMB) arrives as a mixed bowl of duck blood, pig’s liver and rice noodles that’s simply overrated. We preferred the jiuniang chidou yuanxiao (酒酿赤豆元宵, 6RMB), a sweet fermented rice bean soup, or sweet taro cooked in the traditional way (古法糖芋苗, 6RMB) – a Nanjing favourite.

Order some Nanjing rainflower green tea (雨花茶; 30RMB per pot) for live performances of Suzhou Pingtan (every evening, Tuesday to Sunday). A pipa accompanies two or three storytellers, who, in Suzhou dialect, recite quotations from classic novels. It’s a perfect opportunity to steal a piece of southern tranquility in the midst of busy, northern city life.

Nanjing Impression is conveniently located in Shimao Department Store at Sanlitun.

5) Bellagio Cafe (鹿港小镇). Website in English http://www.bellagiocafe.com.cn/children/1_en.html. The newest branch is on the 4th floor of "amp Plaza" in Wangfujing, where Apple Store is located.

5) Kro’s Nest Pizza-- A 10 minute walk from exit B of the Liangmaqiao Subway. This Beijing pizza institution features enormous pizzas, deep-fried jalapenos and other pizza innovations like pizza sliders. You'll even find hyper-caloric desserts like funnel cake and Rocky Road Rice-Krispy Pie.

6) Baoyuan Jiaozi Wu 宝源饺子屋-- Located near the Agricultural Exhibition Center. Ever wished dumplings had exteriors to match their mysteriously exciting fillings? Then head to Baoyuan for a healthful rainbow of dumplings, their dough dyed with vegetable and fruit such as spinach, carrot, blueberry and grape.

7) Dali Courtyard 大里院子-- This charming little courtyard restaurant off Gulou Dongdajie is one of the city’s most unique outdoor venues and perfect for warm weather months. Dishes include ru bing (grilled goat cheese), grilled chilli fish, spicy stir-fried mushrooms, spicy Yunnan-style dumplings, crossing-the-bridge noodles (guoqiao mixian), fried shrimp and stir-fried wild vegetables (ye cai).

8) Tianchumiaoxiang (Heavenly Delicious) Vegetarian Restaurant. -- No Egg No MeatNo Smoking. No AlcoholNo MSGUse Branded Cooking Oil Organic Vegetable for raw-eaten dishes. This is one of Beijing's top vegetarian restaurants. Website: http://liaofan.com/English.

9) TGI Friday’s -- For those who really miss Western food, here’s a list of where Terrence also goes.

Outback

Sizzler's

Hooters

Rainforest Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe

and ...

Papa John's Pizza

Pizza Hut

Do we even need to mention McDonald's and KFC?

Hooters Beijing at Sanlitun, by Worker's Stadium (newly renovated).

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