1. Pingwa Sanbao

A popular chain with branches across the city, our favourite location of Pingwa is just south of Sanlitun Bar Street, across from the equally famous 24-hour Haidilao hot pot. The two-storey space is a maze of staircases, tables, low-hanging beams and tiny waitresses hawking skewers of grilled lamb, roast pork sandwiches, bowls of chewy Shaanxi noodles and Lanzhou beef ramen. Feeling adventurous? Pick your own fresh clams, sea snails and other live shellfish from the tanks at the door.

2. Shan Mian Wang

An old favorite at Time Out Towers, owing largely to the fact that the original location is conveniently located just across the street, Shan Mian Wang, or Shaanxi Noodle King, serves up classic snacks from Shaanxi province including thick chewy belt noodles like you po che mian sprinkled with pork cubes and chilli powder and the epically wide, hand-pulled biangbiang mian, famous for using the most complicated Chinese character in its name.

3. Jin Ding Xuan

Famous all over Beijing as that ‘neon casino-looking place’ at the south gate of Ditan Park, Jin Ding Xuan serves food on a scale unlike any other. The flagship branch is a multistorey mammoth and packed at all hours. It serves up decent dim sum and noodles alongside Cantonese soups and roast meats that don’t impress. But at 4am, even our standards slip in exchange for the opportunity to do some impromptu KTV in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

Source: timeoutbeijing.com