Beijing

Beijing’s culinary identity is shaped by its history as the seat of Chinese imperial power for over five centuries, and nowhere is that legacy more deliciously apparent than in its food. The city’s most famous dish – Peking duck, roasted in a wood-fired oven until the skin is lacquered and impossibly crisp – has been served in the capital since the 15th century, and dining at a historic duck house like Quanjude or Da Dong remains one of the great food travel rituals in Asia. Beyond the duck, Beijing’s cuisine draws on the flavours of northern China: wheat rather than rice, robust seasonings, slow-braised meats, and the deep umami of zhajiangmian – thick wheat noodles topped with fermented soybean paste and shredded vegetables.

The city’s hutong neighbourhoods – the ancient alleyway districts that thread between the modern boulevards – are where Beijing’s most authentic food culture lives. Here, lamb skewers smoke over charcoal braziers, jianbing (savoury crepes filled with egg, chilli, and coriander) are assembled at breakneck speed by street vendors, and small, unlabelled restaurants serve hand-pulled noodles and braised pork belly to locals who’ve been eating at the same table for decades. The Donghuamen Night Market and Wangfujing Snack Street offer a more theatrical experience – snacks on skewers, everything from quail eggs to starfish – but the real Beijing food adventure is found in its quieter corners, away from the tourist trail.