654597 Thu Sep 24 03:29:47 -0700 2009 4 46 China 0 5054382 I've only been here about a week and I haven't started language lessons so I can't do much with a Chinese menu....yet......Between the many work related dining invites I've had and the plethora of fast food options, I haven't had to do much fending for myself thus far. But, now that I've got myself a home, I'm on a quest to do some culinary exploration. My main focus at the moment is dinner when I get out of work. I live near the Dongzhimen subway station, towards Sanlitun (near the two western groceries -- Jenny Lous and April Gourmet). I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for reasonably priced and tasty dinner options for a solo but adventurous NY girl. I love all sorts of Chinese food and have no fear of spicy. There's been quite a bit of pointing and pantomiming thus far, and results have been a bit hit or miss... I'd love your ideas! Thu Sep 24 03:29:47 -0700 2009 12948 skigirl 1 5055218 The main issue is that Chinese dining isn't conducive to solo dining and, beyond that, you live in an area that is heavily foreign influenced. There's Mala Youhuo (麻辣诱惑) in Sanlitun Village, Middle 8th a little up the street, and Dongbei Ren (东北人）on dongzhimen wai, all of them I'd consider "reasonably priced" (with Middle 8th at the higher end), but none of them are good for a solo diner as 1 dish is probably plenty. Small local spots will typically offer smaller portions of meat dishes over rice, designed for solo/budget diners. There's a decent local spot with basically every kind of food imaginable (though specializing in hand pulled noodles and northwestern food) across from Workers Indoor Stadium, though that's a 20+ minute walk from where you live probably. Your apartment is most likely bombarded with multiple delivery menus each week, you can try some of those spots or ask neighbors which they'd recommend. Being where you are, I'm sure there are foreigners living in your complex. You can try http://www.howtoorderchinesefood.com/ to help you with deciphering menus. Sorry I don't have more, don't live in that area and so I typically head to that area to eat at the larger restaurants, not the dives, though you'd be well served just peaking your head into a number of the small local places, some will be okay, 1 or 2 are sure to be great, and no matter what, you probably won't spend over RMB25 per meal. Thu Sep 24 10:01:37 -0700 2009 5054382 1094099 modernleifeng 2 5127143 you probably know this by now, but a good word to know is "gaifan" which I think of as "single person's Chinese food". Rather than ordering a main dish and rice or noodles, you get a single portion of a dish served over rice or noodles. Sat Oct 24 06:42:41 -0700 2009 5055218 1118778 lwebster20 1 5145627 You should try the Raffles Mall basement - a lot of good options there, and the supermarket has prepared foods as well Sat Oct 31 15:09:34 -0700 2009 5054382 1120704 alex.b 1 5146282 Welcome to the neighborhood! I live in the same area (and am also from NYC!), and there are loads of places to go for solo food. If you don't speak Chinese, it's a bit harder, but if you're a bit outgoing, and willing to eat whatever come to you, you'll be able to get good food by going in to some of the places nearby and just pointing at things that other diners are eating. For example, there's a great Chengdu Xiaochi (Chengdu Snack) place on the same street that April Gourmet is on, a bit closer to Chunxiu Lu and on the north side of the street. There, for Y5 or so, you can get a bowl of dan dan noodles (dan dan mian in Chinese) or other one-dish meals. In fact, since nothing on the menu is "challenging" (no guts or weird things) you could really just point at anything at random on the menu and do just fine. Sun Nov 01 02:29:33 -0800 2009 5054382 10106 James G