When Hunger Strikes: Quick Guide to Take-Away Food Options in Beijing

When Hunger Strikes: Quick Guide to Take-Away Food Options in Beijing
By Sarah Hansen , eChinacities.com

Beijing has an explosive range of foods to cater to all tastes and requirements. With thousands of restaurants lining virtually every street in Beijing, you can rest assured that hunger is never a long-lasting sensation in this city. In addition to a dizzying selection of sit-down restaurants, there are also hundreds, if not thousands, of take-away food options in Beijing. Below, we ambitiously congest the expansive list to a handful of solid options, proven to be popular among the expat community.

When Hunger Strikes: Quick Guide to Take-Away Food Options in Beijing
Photo: vimeo.com

1) Tavalin BagelsView In Map
Masterminded by American Julian Tavalin, Tavalin Bagels brings this New York specialty to the heart of Beijing and cooks the bagels the way they traditionally should be (boiled and then baked) so that you bite into a harder shell and softer inside! There are rotating flavors that are baked daily and you can also make it a complete meal by adding salmon, veggies, eggs, or cream cheese.  

Add: No. 29 Nan San Li Tun, 201 (Opposite the DVD store on the West side of Yashow Market)
地址:北京市南三里屯29号楼201(雅秀服装市场西边对面)
Opening hours: Mon-Fri, 08:00-20:00; Sat-Sun, 08:00-21:00

2) Two Guys and a PieView In Map
British, Australian and Kiwi expats can rejoice at the availability of ‘pies’ in Beijing. These are similar to British pies and not too much bigger than the span of your hand, but quite filling. The pastry is filled with meat, vegetables or fruit (for the dessert pie) and can be topped with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas and of course, gravy. Those can all also be ordered as sides. The Sanlitun location is easily accessible and the late hours make it a good place to choose after a long night out.

Add: 32 Sanlitun Nan (behind Yashow Market, across from Friend Bar)
Chaoyang District
地址:北京市朝阳区三里屯南32号(雅秀后边朋友酒吧对面)
Tel: 138 0106 9721
Opening hours: Closed on Mon, Tue-Thu and Sun 11am-11pm, Fri-Sat 11am-4am

3) WagasView In Map
Drink your fruit and veggies in a smoothie for a quick afternoon pick me up. Wagas is a popular salad, sandwich, pasta place in Sanlitun that is generally packed with customers. However, you can order one of the delicious smoothies to go, have a healthy snack and avoid the crowd!

Add: S833, Bldg 8, 3/F, Sanlitun Village South, 19 Sanlitun Lu
Chaoyang District
地址:北京市朝阳区三里屯路19号三里屯Village南区8号楼S8-33
Opening hours: Daily, 08:00-22:30
Tel: 010 6416 5829

4) Qing Feng Baozi View In Map
Baozi are steamed buns with a wide range of filling options. These are perfect when taken on the go and can make a good snack or even a full meal depending on the size. You can order meat, vegetable, egg, and sometimes even sweet fillings (like rose or red bean).  Baozi are usually served from very small spaces that can be easily missed, or at the front of a restaurant. Look for the round steamers that will be stacked on top of each other. Qing Feng is a well-known and respected baozi chain that can be found all over the city. Some locations have an actual restaurant to sit inside of and others are to-go stalls only.

Add: Shuangjing branch, 31 Guangqu Lu, opposite Carrefour, Chaoyang District, Beijing
地址: 北京朝阳区广渠路31号家乐福对面, 庆丰包子铺(双井家乐福店)

5) Local street food
Trust it or fear it, Beijing’s street food is part of the multi-faceted fabric that makes up Beijing’s dining culture. When hunger strikes and there’s no time to sit down, you can always count on the mobile food stalls peppered along busy pavements to come to the rescue. A quick breakfast staple is the Jianbing, a crepe-like pancake filled with egg, a crispy layer of deep fried dough, chives and various sauces. Jianbing makers can be found outside most subway stations or transport hubs, and usually cost less than five kuai. Night-time snack staples found all over the city include the steamy street-side barbeque vendors serving a selection of chuan’r (meat skewers), vegetables, barbequed buns and offal; Roujiamo is a bread-like pancake filled with piping hot meat and vegetables straight off a griddle with a splattering of sauce in-between. These can also be found in street-food hot spots and again, only cost a couple of kuai.

5) Import Supermarkets and bakeries
If the above options aren’t viable, consider heading to one of Beijing’s import chain stores like April Gourmet or Jenny Lou’s. April Gourmet has a deli-counter that serves a selection of sandwiches, soups, lasagna and baked goods. Moreover, some branches of Jenny Lou’s allow you to create your own sandwich using the sliced deli meats and cheeses available in the deli section of the store. Meanwhile, Western-style bakery chains like Tous Les Jours and Paris Baguette have mushroomed across the city. These chains offer decent take-away coffee and hot drinks as well as a passable selection of baked goods. You’re not going to write home about the quality, but when it’s an emergency and you need a quick pick-me-up, they tend to do the job.

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Keywords: take-away food options in Beijing

1 Comments

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hunypink

Classic. This Hunger Strike option has not received even one comment.

Jun 12, 2014 12:07 Report Abuse