Zhengmingzhai

It's a time-honored, self-marketing shop that offers traditional Beijing-style cakes and pastries. Bobo (steamed bun) has been a tribute to the royal families, with varieties including stiff crust, deep-fried ones, puff pastry, cakes, and fondant. There are dozens kinds of delicate pastries, including creme cookie, dried vegetable mooncake, Sachima, honey cake, walnut cake, and buttered mooncake. All the sesame seeds used have to be peeled. The most renowned steamed buns of Manchu style here is Sachima.

Address: No. 1, Lucao Yuan, SanliheSuuth,Chongwen District, Beijing 北京市崇文区三里河南芦草园1号

Daoxiangcun

Beijing Daoxiangcun Foodstuff Co., Ltd. was established in 1895 (the 21st year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty). Sitting on Qianmenwai Street, its factory is behind the storefront which sells Southern Chinese flavor food although it is located in the Northern China. The distinctive shop was recognized as the first one that produced and sold Southern flavor food in Beijing. Now Daoxiangcun has a portfolio of 30-plus direct-sale stores, 100-odd franchised outlets, one food distribution center, one central factory of 140,000 m2, and one material processing base of 40,000 m2. It offers over 400 varieties of 12 series, including Chinese and western pastries, cooked food, frozen food, and snack food.

Pastries produced in Daoxiangcun are mainly Suzhou style, together with Cantonese style and western ones, including Meimao (eyebrow) meat pie (pastry dumpling), fried dough twist, shortening cake, rose cake, black sesame cake, and mooncake. Yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) with rose petals and spiced sesame seed is representative of Southern flavor yuanxiao.

Address: No. 48, Xisi North Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 北京市西城区西四北大街48号