Beijing Food Markets

If memorable for anything other than pure commerce, smog and the Great Wall, China has great food markets where one can find anything–seriously–anything and beyond. Both on major thoroughfares and hidden in and around the back alley hutong which populate the crowded capital, the best of Beijing is not to be had in touristy restaurants, but rather, as is usual across Asia, on the street. During a recent trip to Beijing I happened on two of the most interesting, crowded and completely different markets which mark the bustling metropolis as a gastronomer’s paradise: the relatively expensive and touristy Dong Hua Men Night Market and the locals only Sihuan Day Market, both located within one kilometer of one another, yet residing worlds apart.

The Dong Hua Men Night Market is located adjacent to the Forbidden City off Wangfujing road in the heart of the tourist center, hence the high(er) prices than one might pay for a meal at any one of the great local restaurants specializing in downhome Beijing fare. Known for its relatively exotic fare it attracts gastronomers ranging from the merely curious to the adventurous. Starting at five for the simplistic silkworm skewers add ranging up to fifty yuan for the tasteless snakeskin, it is a smörgåsbord of visually interesting yet generally tasteless–due to everything being deep-fried in the same salty wok oil–exoticisms. Though fun to take part in the boisterous atmosphere of the overwhelmingly red-clad touts (whose English ranges from the straightforward “Money!” to the ubiquitous “You snake buy now!”) the enjoyment stops when realizing a more satisfying and delicious meal can be had for pennies just a few subway stops north near the Xihai lake district of Xinjiekou’s Sihuan day market.