Restaurants around Wangfujin/Dongdan (Parents Visit)

[ChTTay]

My parents are going to be staying in the Wangfujin Street / Dongdan area at the Park Plaza Hotel. It is near The Hilton and The Regent hotels I think...

Actually it looks close to 灯市口 subway station. The place looks like it's just off 东单北大街 on 金宝街.

If anyone works, lives or has stayed round this general area can you recommend any places to eat? A short walk, bus, subway ride would also be okay. I'm really look for convenient places nearby for them.

I have had a look on the Beijinger but just turned up higher end kind of places (200+RMB per person each) some of which are in the other hotels round there. I'm trying to track down some more mid-range places that might be good for lunch or more casual eating. I couldn't really take them anywhere too dirty looking and my Mum can't eat spicy food.

Thanks for your help!

I'm going to have a walk around that area before they come but be good if I had a few places to check out first.

C

[roddy]

You probably want to be heading north and west, up towards Gulou. It's a nice hutongy kind of area, tons of restaurants, cafes to drop into if you need a rest, souvenir shopping. It's can drift into full on tourism (I'm looking at you, Nanluoguxiang) but you don't need to get far off the main strips to get a much more laid back feel.

Specific places... too many to recount, and many I remember may not be there any more. 馅老满 for dumplings though, that's got to be an essential. Right, Imron?

Actually, that may be a little far if you're looking for places they can pop out to. I was getting all wistful for my old haunts...that Guizhou place round the back. The noodles place that kept on poisoning me but I kept going back. Oh, that other noodle shop that never poisoned me, but was a slightly longer walk.

Oh, maybe this one? If it's still there. Please God let it be still there.

[Scoobyqueen]

Has anyone found Tripadvisor is a bit poor on reviews in China? Whenever one suggests a restaurant it always takes ages for it to be entered. The reviews are also scarcer than what I would expect from a city this size and sometimes the same restaurant is entered several times, defeating the object.

Maybe there is a succesful equivalent in China already? Or is this the Beijinger.

[roddy]

Dianping, which I link to above, is fantastic if you can read Chinese. Sign up with your mobile phone number and you can get the address, recommended dishes, and vouchers, all sent to your phone.

[imron]

馅老满 for sure, even if it's too far just for dropping in, you can still go there as a once off. Just brush up on your Chinese menu reading skills before you go.

[Mindmaxd]

Try 大众点评,you will enjoy it,Very very helpful!

[gato]

I third 馅老满!

[ChTTay]

Can anyone give me a map link to this? Or address?

馅老满

Thanks!

Any other suggestions? Anyone know a good "homestyle" dish kind of place without it being a hole or obviously a fast food type place? The dead cockroaches in the place i go would probably not go down well... At least they are dead eh :-)

[gato]

Try Baidu or google maps.

[imron]

Dianping is probably better, and will also have a map. That link is the one I've been to on several occasions, but when searching for it just now on Dianping, it turns out it's a chain with quite a few stores around.

Anyway, that one is just a 5-10 minute walk south from the Andingmen metro station.

[gato]

That was just another way of saying "let me baidu that for you"

[roddy]

There is a branch nearer where your parents will be staying, I think. I suspect they'll have an English menu - they do at the original branch anyway, it's a big guidebook favourite now, deservedly.