Beijing served as capital of more than 800 years, a very special cooking style formed gradually in Beijing, in this long period, we call it royal court cooking style. Now ordinary people in Beijing can easily enjoy food of this cooking style, which was formerly reserved for royals only. The royal court food is famous not only because of the super high quality of raw food but also because of great ambiance and decoration of the dining rooms.

Beijing Fangshan Restaurant is an old and famous shop operating palace cuisine and has a history of nearly more than 80 years up to the present. In October of 2009, Fangshan Restaurant ‘Qing Palace Imperial Court Food’ manufacturing process was approved as Beijing municipal intangible cultural heritage.

Imperial court pastries are famous for their exquisite quality and taste. The most legendary pastry at Fangshan is Wandouhuang, a kind of pea flour cake. Wan Dou Huang was originally mentioned in the novel far back in the Ming Dynasty and became listed in the loyal cuisine in the early reign of Qianlong, Qing Dynasty. Served throughout the spring, it is also a popular snack in the annual temple fair in Beijing.

To make the fragrance of wandouhuang linger in your mouths require finished techniques as the ingredients include only the yellow split peas and white sugar. To make the best wandouhuang, the chef needs to follow the rules of the then imperial kitchen. He needs to pick up the most fresh peas at that year before sifting them with very fine sieves. The sieved peas will then be stir-fried with white sugar to the point when the two ingredients stick with each other. At last, they will be cooled in a mold. As to the taste, it is no exaggeration to say that the fragrance lingers as long as you walk from the restaurant to the east gate of Beihai lake though they melt as soon as they are sent to your mouth.

Location: Near East Gate of Beihai Park, Jingshan West Street, Xicheng District

Tel: +86 10 6404 2573 or 6401 1889