Morning - Breakfast the Beijing way
Beijing breakfast is a street business. At a corner stall your guide orders jianbing, the savoury crepe spread with egg and brushed with fermented bean sauce, wrapped around a sheet of crisp fried dough; then baozi steamed in bamboo tiers, and a bowl of warm soy milk. You eat standing, as the neighbourhood does, and learn what each stall is known for.
Mid-morning - Hutong snack crawl
Walk a stretch of old lanes and taste your way through the morning: candied haws (tanghulu) strung on bamboo, sesame balls, sweet pea-flour cakes, and luzhu - a slow-braised stew of pork, tofu and offal that has been a Beijing breakfast staple for generations. Your guide explains which snacks came from the imperial kitchens and which began as cheap food for carters and workers.
Lunch - Noodles and dumplings in a family restaurant
Zhajiangmian, the thick wheat noodles with fermented soybean sauce, is the northern answer to a bowl of pasta. It is served with shredded cucumber and radish and eaten after a brisk mix at the table.
Afternoon - Markets, tea and douzhi
Continue to a food market where you compare dried goods, sauces and preserved vegetables, and try douzhi - fermented mung-bean milk, sour and slightly fizzy, which locals either love or cannot finish.
Evening - Dinner on a snack street
Finish along a night food street with grilled skewers, griddled dumplings and Beijing-style yoghurt, choosing your own dishes with the guide's help.
Meals
Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation
Day tour - no hotel night included.
