![<p> </p> <p><strong>Sichuan: Gongyuan Shulou</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Can you handle the heat? Sichuan is home to perhaps the most famous of Chinese cuisines because of its strong spices and hot flavors. The provincial government's restaurant, Gongyuan Shulou, is located at Gongyuan Toutiao. It provides proof that Sichuan's famous food is not confined to the southwest province. It's advisable to book ahead, as lunch and dinner hours usually see few spare tables.</p> <p> </p> <p>Guo Kai, the restaurant's Sichuan-native manager, said the business attracts customers for many different reasons. We have ingredients and seasonings delivered from Sichuan directly. By doing this, we preserve the original tastes of Sichuan cuisine, Guo explained.</p> <p> </p> <p>Sun Chengcheng, a female customer from Hebei Province, was among customers at Shulou with her family. They ordered fish filets drizzled in a spicy chili oil and ribs served with sticky rice. Compared with other Sichuan restaurants I've been to, the tastes here [at Shulou] are more genuine, Sun said between mouthfuls. I think it's because others add sugar to their dishes, while here the focus is on spices. Sun advised washing dishes down with a refreshing pot of chrysanthemum tea, which can help neutralize some of the spices.</p> <p> </p> <p>Address: 5 Gongyuan Toutiao, Jianguomennei Dajie, Chaoyang district</p> <p> </p> <p>Contact: 6512-2277</p> <p> </p> <p>Recommended dishes: fish filets with hot chili oil, Chongqing spicy chicken, mapo tofu, Sichuan-style noodles with pepper sauce</p> <p> </p> <p>Average price per person: 50 yuan</p>](U371P886T1D10410F12DT20120316140054.jpeg "<p> </p> <p><strong>Sichuan: Gongyuan Shulou</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Can you handle the heat? Sichuan is home to perhaps the most famous of Chinese cuisines because of its strong spices and hot flavors. The provincial government's restaurant, Gongyuan Shulou, is located at Gongyuan Toutiao. It provides proof that Sichuan's famous food is not confined to the southwest province. It's advisable to book ahead, as lunch and dinner hours usually see few spare tables.</p> <p> </p> <p>Guo Kai, the restaurant's Sichuan-native manager, said the business attracts customers for many different reasons. We have ingredients and seasonings delivered from Sichuan directly. By doing this, we preserve the original tastes of Sichuan cuisine, Guo explained.</p> <p> </p> <p>Sun Chengcheng, a female customer from Hebei Province, was among customers at Shulou with her family. They ordered fish filets drizzled in a spicy chili oil and ribs served with sticky rice. Compared with other Sichuan restaurants I've been to, the tastes here [at Shulou] are more genuine, Sun said between mouthfuls. I think it's because others add sugar to their dishes, while here the focus is on spices. Sun advised washing dishes down with a refreshing pot of chrysanthemum tea, which can help neutralize some of the spices.</p> <p> </p> <p>Address: 5 Gongyuan Toutiao, Jianguomennei Dajie, Chaoyang district</p> <p> </p> <p>Contact: 6512-2277</p> <p> </p> <p>Recommended dishes: fish filets with hot chili oil, Chongqing spicy chicken, mapo tofu, Sichuan-style noodles with pepper sauce</p> <p> </p> <p>Average price per person: 50 yuan</p>")
Sichuan: Gongyuan Shulou
Can you handle the heat? Sichuan is home to perhaps the most famous of Chinese cuisines because of its strong spices and hot flavors. The provincial government's restaurant, Gongyuan Shulou, is located at Gongyuan Toutiao. It provides proof that Sichuan's famous food is not confined to the southwest province. It's advisable to book ahead, as lunch and dinner hours usually see few spare tables.
Guo Kai, the restaurant's Sichuan-native manager, said the business attracts customers for many different reasons. "We have ingredients and seasonings delivered from Sichuan directly. By doing this, we preserve the original tastes of Sichuan cuisine," Guo explained.
Sun Chengcheng, a female customer from Hebei Province, was among customers at Shulou with her family. They ordered fish filets drizzled in a spicy chili oil and ribs served with sticky rice. "Compared with other Sichuan restaurants I've been to, the tastes here [at Shulou] are more genuine," Sun said between mouthfuls. "I think it's because others add sugar to their dishes, while here the focus is on spices." Sun advised washing dishes down with a refreshing pot of chrysanthemum tea, which can help neutralize some of the spices.
Address: 5 Gongyuan Toutiao, Jianguomennei Dajie, Chaoyang district
Contact: 6512-2277
Recommended dishes: fish filets with hot chili oil, Chongqing spicy chicken, mapo tofu, Sichuan-style noodles with pepper sauce
Average price per person: 50 yuan
![<p> </p> <p><strong>Yunnan: Yunteng Shifu</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Elsewhere in southwest China, Yunnan Province is another favored home of one of China's most popular cuisines. A signature dish is guoqiao mixian (bridge-crossing rice noodles), but there's more than just noodles to sink your teeth into at the provincial restaurant of Yunteng Shifu. One of the restaurant's waiters, Qi Liegang, said that about 80 percent of wait staff hail from Yunnan. We also get our fresh ingredients direct from Yunnan because many of the mushrooms are not available in Beijing. Most mushrooms [from Yunnan] in Beijing are either preserved or dried, but we insist on fresh flavors.</p> <p> </p> <p>A Web user named Corrine 8311 commented on restaurant review website Dianping that, as a Yunnan native herself, Yunteng Shifu is her favorite Yunnan restaurant in Beijing. They have a great selection of dishes on the menu, including potted rice noodles, which are hard to find at other Yunnan restaurants. Even though the mushrooms used in their dishes add to the cost, the fresh flavor makes it worth it.</p> <p> </p> <p>Address: Inside Yunteng Hotel, 7 Donghuashi Beili Dongqu, Chongwen district</p> <p> </p> <p>Contact: 6713-6439/6713-6437</p> <p> </p> <p>Recommended dishes: bridge-crossing rice noodles, mushrooms, qiguoji (chicken stewed in a pot)</p> <p> </p> <p>Average price per person: 70 yuan</p>](U371P886T1D10410F14DT20120316140054.jpeg "<p> </p> <p><strong>Yunnan: Yunteng Shifu</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Elsewhere in southwest China, Yunnan Province is another favored home of one of China's most popular cuisines. A signature dish is guoqiao mixian (bridge-crossing rice noodles), but there's more than just noodles to sink your teeth into at the provincial restaurant of Yunteng Shifu. One of the restaurant's waiters, Qi Liegang, said that about 80 percent of wait staff hail from Yunnan. We also get our fresh ingredients direct from Yunnan because many of the mushrooms are not available in Beijing. Most mushrooms [from Yunnan] in Beijing are either preserved or dried, but we insist on fresh flavors.</p> <p> </p> <p>A Web user named Corrine 8311 commented on restaurant review website Dianping that, as a Yunnan native herself, Yunteng Shifu is her favorite Yunnan restaurant in Beijing. They have a great selection of dishes on the menu, including potted rice noodles, which are hard to find at other Yunnan restaurants. Even though the mushrooms used in their dishes add to the cost, the fresh flavor makes it worth it.</p> <p> </p> <p>Address: Inside Yunteng Hotel, 7 Donghuashi Beili Dongqu, Chongwen district</p> <p> </p> <p>Contact: 6713-6439/6713-6437</p> <p> </p> <p>Recommended dishes: bridge-crossing rice noodles, mushrooms, qiguoji (chicken stewed in a pot)</p> <p> </p> <p>Average price per person: 70 yuan</p>")
Yunnan: Yunteng Shifu
Elsewhere in southwest China, Yunnan Province is another favored home of one of China's most popular cuisines. A signature dish is guoqiao mixian (bridge-crossing rice noodles), but there's more than just noodles to sink your teeth into at the provincial restaurant of Yunteng Shifu. One of the restaurant's waiters, Qi Liegang, said that about 80 percent of wait staff hail from Yunnan. "We also get our fresh ingredients direct from Yunnan because many of the mushrooms are not available in Beijing. Most mushrooms [from Yunnan] in Beijing are either preserved or dried, but we insist on fresh flavors."
A Web user named Corrine 8311 commented on restaurant review website Dianping that, as a Yunnan native herself, Yunteng Shifu is her favorite Yunnan restaurant in Beijing. "They have a great selection of dishes on the menu, including potted rice noodles, which are hard to find at other Yunnan restaurants. Even though the mushrooms used in their dishes add to the cost, the fresh flavor makes it worth it."
Address: Inside Yunteng Hotel, 7 Donghuashi Beili Dongqu, Chongwen district
Contact: 6713-6439/6713-6437
Recommended dishes: bridge-crossing rice noodles, mushrooms, qiguoji (chicken stewed in a pot)
Average price per person: 70 yuan
Beijing is a melting pot of all kinds of cuisines, with competition fierce among restaurants. As sure as those that fail are destined to close, new ones are bound to open their doors with fresh optimism, hoping they can win over customers with their cuisine, decor and, of course, genuine tastes. There are dozens of varying Chinese cuisines on offer in Beijing, each representing different regions and different flavors. For the uninitiated, restaurants opened by liaison offices of provincial and regional governments provide a tempting shortcut to the best in Chinese food, no matter what regional delicacy your taste buds desire. Today, Lifestyle samples five of the best representative provincial restaurants.
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