One great meal in Beijing

[Lina]

I'm in Beijing for a week, but since I'm backpacking I've been eating at noodle houses and pretty cheap places.

However, I'd like to splash out one night and treat my hostess to a nice dinner. Any suggestions? She's an adventurous eater (I think) but has limited Mandarin skills and I have nearly none.

[Steve]

I adored 3 Guizhou Men near the Worker's Stadium. Guizhou food, on the spicy side. Menu has pictures and some translation. Fried ribs (quite a concoction) and fried eggplant were among the highlights, but every dish we had among a group seven people was at least very good. The place is attractively decorated with art from the three men. Certainly not an expensive place, but comfortable and beautiful.

[modernleifeng]

I think the best option is with the most famous of local dishes, peking duck, served at Da Dong. I also think it has the advantage of being an affordable "splurge" as it should be around US$50 or so (probably less, depending on what you order) for 2 people.

[Lina]

We actually had Peking duck for Thanksgiving, so probably won't do that again. That would be a good idea otherwise.

Steve, that place sounds good, I will check it out. Maybe should do something fancier for this, though?

[modernleifeng]

Chengfu Courtyard is an amazing restaurant and there aren't many fancier spots in the city. Though its getting colder, Dali Courtyard would be a nice spot and it has the advantage of not being too expensive, but pretty nice and unique. Some others to consider would be Tan Jia Ting in the Beijing Hotel, Wu Ming Ju, and even Ding Tai Feng. Red Capital Club would also be a really unique spot though the quality of the food is much debated.

[Steve]

3 Guizhou Men is a very 'classy' place, hip and a bit swank even. But it is not stiff or formal in any sense, so if you are looking for a 'fine dining' experience with rarified ingredients and presentation, then you should go somewhere else. Definitely go for the fried ribs and the eggplant dish.

This is from an old post by James G:

Guizhou Cuisine:

What, you never heard of Guizhou cuisine? Ever since three Guizhou artists opened up "Three Guizhou Men" in an alley near the Friendship Store a couple of years ago this cuisine has become relatively popular in the city, and now they have moved into nicer digs and opened at least one additional branch. But the best one for visitors is still the one off of Dongdaqiao Lu just north of Jianguomenwai Dajie, in an alley on the left hand side of the street (as you go north) with a big sign (in Chinese) across the alley's gate. There are so many dishes here to recommend, but among the standouts are 'beef on fire' (pieces of beef in hot sauce served over chives on a grid that sits on a burning bed of coals so the burning chives give it a smoky taste), lamb with mint hotpot, and their ribs. All excellent, very spicy, and great with beer.

[modernleifeng]

while 3 Guizhou Men is a decent, expat spot, its far from swanky or hip and it has nothing to do with the popularity of Guizhou food in the capital. It's the kind of place most expats would go once a week or so, far from a good "splurge" spot that's a once a year kind of place. As I said, I don't even think my own rec of Dali Courtyard fits in, though it's an interesting spot that's very unique. For my other splurge places (other than Din Tai Feng, though it could get expensive fast), price would be at least US$50/person and probably closer to $75+/person.

[Steve]

Well, for someone like me who is decidedly not hip, 3 Guizhou Men seems pretty hip. YHMV.