Beijing "Juqi" Restaurant

Beijing cuisine is by many measures a standard for Chinese food. To Chinese people of course, that is far from the truth because we know about or have even tasted the delightful offerings from all over the continent to know that Chinese food is much more than just Peking Duck. Still, the world has largely focused it's lens on Beijing ever since China has opened up it's policy to the world and with it, an influx of foreigners eager to understand it's culture. The first place they visit, naturally is Beijing, the home of the Forbidden City, the contentious Tian An Men square, and the hub of operations for the Peoples Republic of China.

Natives of Beijing, of which there are actually few and far between, like to pride themselves on their ability to transcend borders with their food, alluring the appetite of people from around the world, enticing them with illusions of the perfect roasted mandarin duck. Little do foreigners know, that true authentic Beijing food is actually more snacks than main dishes, and are more often sold by small shops or street vendors.

Most of the dishes considered to be Beijing food will use a combination of dark soy sauce, sesame paste, sesame oil, scallions and tofu. These together are usually fried but sometimes deep fried as well if it is a snack.

The soups are deceptively rich in taste, this despite the obvious liquid texture and lack of viscosity in a lot of soups from China. Soy chicken, deep fried rolls and green embellished cakes complete the initial starters followed by the first starter main, the sweet and sour prawns.

Notice how in China, dishes are served with minimal bone removal. People consider meat on bone to be more tasty than boneless and thus, Prawns are rarely peeled, and chicken is rarely served as a fillet.

Ginger soup is another revitalising dish. It is often used in Chinese medicine as the foundation / base, it's healing qualities have made it a regular on Beijing cuisine, often accompanying the first or starting course. Note that, in traditional Chinese dining, there is no real separation of starters, mains etc. Food is served all at once and can be consumed in any order. Up-market modern Chinese restaurants have begun serving food (even traditional food) the way westerners do in different courses.

Colour makes up an important ingredient of a well balanced dish in Beijing Cuisine. It is believed that a meal should have a multitude of colours, fearing imbalance of nutrients consumed, or over consumption in other cases. Red remains the dominant colour because of it's association with auspicious-ness.

Decorative and delicious at the same time. A thick viscous soup.

This board shows the specialities of the restaurant, listing the most popular on the wooden plaques.

This is a kind of 'fried rice' which is made with black rice grains and then made into a hexagonal briquet shape before lit up with fire and alcohol.

And finally a look of the venue. It is found within the confines of a Hutong, but is the more modern part that has been some what redeveloped. Overall, the restaurant is an excellent opportunity for westerners to taste true Beijing cuisine, and maybe stray into something that isn't Peking duck. That said, the restaurant has an excellent reputation for roasted duck, and you will also be educated on what is the appropriate way to eat it according to a local. All these elements mean that "Juqi" restaurant offers really good value.