Food in Beijing is first and foremost one thing: great. After the first course you have a pretty good idea that the stuff that you are getting served as ”Chinese food” in western countries is not more than a pale shadow. In Beijing was really something completely different. More spicy, far better flavour, more ”complete” and an enormous variety of different courses from the different parts of China. In Beijing that includes of course the famous Beijing Duck, although my favorites are still the various incarnations of dumplings. And the prices are usually very affordable. My eating speed was a bit impaired though, as I’m not used to workwith chopsticks. But my motivation was usually quite high, so I managed…
A great tradition: when you go out in a group, you usually share the food. It’s served on a big rotating glassplate that is installed in the middle of the table and then everybody helps him- or herself when an interesting looking dish passes by. A perfect way to sample 10 or more dishes during the course of a meal. Works for me! 
The only serious drawback: there are no real, good desserts. Only some fruits at the end of a meal…
And of course: the tea. Just marvelous! Green tea as it should be. A tea-menu instead of a winelist. That’s a concept that should be implemented in Swedish, German, whatever.. restaurants.
The shot above is taken from the red lantern street (Gui Jie Street), where there is one restaurant after the other. Open long into the night, and always a sight to see. What you can also see: the traffic. I mean, it’s just an ordinary smaller street in Beijing – and still, crossing it is certainly an adventure. And that you find 5 taxis in the frame is also nothing unusual. Being rather cheap, they are one of the major means of transportation around the city.
Thomas