In Chinese, the word 好吃 (hao chi) means tasty or delicious, and is made up of two characters: good and eat. And let me tell you I have been doing a lot of good eating since I arrived in Beijing.

The variety is endless.
Within a 15 to 20 minute walking radius from my apartment I can have it all. I can eat any kind of western food you can imagine (with the accompanying price tag). There are two or three Starbucks on every block, good European bread, Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, and fine dining restaurants.
Far more interesting and less expensive are the endless options of Chinese food. I don’t know where to begin to describe the variety of dishes and restaurants we’ve experienced in the last week. It’s so easy to try new foods when the choices surround us and it is very inexpensive.

Noodle dishes with various sauces are popular for lunch.
Most subway stations have snack shops next to them and this is where many people grab breakfast on the way to work. You can buy three meat- or vegetable-filled buns or grab a Jian Bing (one of our favorites) for less than a dollar.

Snack shops near the subway are a convenient, cheap option for breakfast. This one sells a variety of buns and congee.

Jian Bing, a popular street food item, is A savory pancake with an egg, sauces and various toppings. The average price is about one dollar.
Most shopping malls have food courts which is also a great way to try a number of dishes for a small amount of money. Most of the time we don’t know what we are eating but it doesn’t really matter – we just choose whatever looks good and share it. After a while some of the dishes begin to look familiar and you can find your favorites.

Lunch or dinner in a food court is a great way to try many dishes and costs about 2 to 5 dollars per person.
Wok-fried cauliflower, beef and green peppers and Cantonese-style eggplant are a few of the popular dishes we have come to like. I’ve even tried to cook a few things myself.

Trying to replicate our favorite eggplant dish.

Cooking is fun with so many fresh ingredients.
Sometimes we prefer a sit down meal, which is also very affordable. There is no tax or service charge so it works out to about 5 to $10 per person for lunch or dinner. Sometimes the menus have English translations which may or may not be helpful. Sometimes there are pictures. Sometimes we just guess and point to things on the menu.
At lunch yesterday they brought a timer to our table after we ordered. We weren’t sure if this meant the amount of time we would have to wait for the food or that’s how much time we had to eat before we were supposed to leave.

The timer arrived shortly after we ordered.
A friend later explained that some restaurants do this and if they don’t bring all of the dishes out before the timer ends, your meal is half-price.
In Beijing there are certain streets that are called snacks streets because they have many little shops selling all kinds of different snack foods. These are really fun places to explore. Some of them have hundreds of years of history behind them.

The signs on this snack street illustrate the various trades of the food vendors.
Popular snacks include yogurt, candied or preserved fruit, and freshly cooked breads and buns.
My rudimentary Chinese skills have come in handy. I am able to ask a few basic questions.
What is this? Is it sweet? Can I taste it? What kind of meat is this?

Donkey meat-filled buns are popular and actually quite tasty.
There is so much more to tell you about the food scene here but I’m getting hungry. I hope I’ve given you a taste of the magnificent variety of food here in Beijing. Exploring all of these options has been one of our favorite things so far about our new home.
Susie
June 25, 2019 at 6:46 am
Wow! Way to be super adventurous with your food!!! Do you think you will eat out a lot more in Beijing because food is so much less expensive or are you hoping to start cooking more? Does the Western style food taste the same as here in the states? Are the boys just as adventurous? Last question…I know this is your blog.., 😊 Bit will you ever be able to share any of Michaels experiences of doing work there? Hugs! Susie
Kirsten Harrington
June 25, 2019 at 11:25 pm
Hi Susie, I am trying to cook more but we are in a temporary place where cooking is challenging. We are trying though because by the time Mike gets home if we go out it can be quite late. But yes I’m sure we will eat out more especially at lunch while the boys are on summer break. They are super adventurous eaters! I’ve only eaten at Subway because I’m not a fan of fast food but it tasted pretty good.
I will post more about Mikes job when information becomes public. Right now everything is kept pretty quiet. Thanks so much for following our journey.
Alison Madrid
June 25, 2019 at 12:56 pm
This is so interesting and exciting! I’m in awe that you have figured out how to order and I love the adventurous eating! Wow
Kirsten Harrington
June 25, 2019 at 1:00 pm
Thanks Alison. It helps that I’ve been here a few times and that the boys are willing to be adventurous too. It’s a pretty exciting place but overwhelming sometimes !
Evaleen
June 25, 2019 at 1:19 pm
Love reading about your adventures….especially all the yummy food! My daughter would stop at the noodle man three times a day if she lived there.
Kirsten Harrington
June 25, 2019 at 11:16 pm
Ha ha, I can relate. It’s a challenge to not overindulge! Thanks for following our adventures.
Terri Buzzard
June 25, 2019 at 7:41 pm
I bet it is amazing
Kirsten Harrington
June 25, 2019 at 11:15 pm
Yes it is, so many choices.
Frances
June 25, 2019 at 7:42 pm
Are you keeping notes on the food? It will make a wonderful book to own and read! 🙂 Happy munching….
Kirsten Harrington
June 25, 2019 at 11:14 pm
Thank you, trying to jot some things down here and there.