Street food & snacks · Beijing / Tianjin
Jianbing
煎饼果子 — The breakfast crepe that runs the northern half of China: mung-bean batter, egg, crisp fried cracker, chili and fermented paste, folded hot off a street…
A jianbing stall announces itself by smell — the batter hits the flat iron with a hiss and the vendor paints on egg, scallion and cilantro while you point at the toppings. The crisp centre (baocui) is the heart of it: the whole point is the crackle against the soft crepe, which means eating it within a minute, standing on the pavement.
Tianjin claims the pure original (fruit-only filling, no vegetables), Beijing takes a looser approach with lettuce and sausage. Either way it is the best one-dollar breakfast in the country and an honest answer to "what do locals actually eat in the morning".
Where to eat it
- Street carts at morning rush hour
- Qianmen and hutong breakfast markets
Named tables that do it well
- Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) — Michelin 3 Stars
- Chao Shang Chao — Michelin 3 Stars
- Jing Ji — Michelin 2 Stars
- King’s Joy — Michelin 2 Stars
Routes that eat their way here
More dishes to know
- Oyster Omelette (Ou Ah Jian) (海蛎煎)
- Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancake) (葱油饼)
- Peking Duck (北京烤鸭)
- Zhajiang Noodles (炸酱面)
- Tanghulu (冰糖葫芦)
- Dumplings (饺子)