Old Beijing Dinner Tour
Description
Beijing’s dinner time cuisine is so much more than the crowded tourist markets featuring bugs and mystery meat on sticks! Join this small group food tour as you explore delicious, traditional dishes shoulder-to-shoulder with Beijingers in a traditional Hutong neighborhood. You’ll meet your bilingual guide and small group at a convenient location, then head out to try traditional dishes that Chinese chefs have been perfecting for thousands of years.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Our walking culinary tours are designed to get visitors off the beaten path and into authentic local shops where they can eat shoulder to shoulder with locals. Since 2010, UnTour Food Tours has taken thousands of guests to our favorite mom-and-pop-owned shops. Beijing’s dinnertime cuisine is so much more than the crowded tourist markets featuring bugs and mystery meat on sticks! Instead, join our small group food tour and explore delicious, local dishes shoulder-to-shoulder with Beijingers in a traditional Hutong neighborhood. You’ll try authentic dishes that Chinese chefs have been perfecting for thousands of years, and learn about the history and culture of Beijing along the way.
Head deep into the hutongs with us as we explore some of the best food in the city. These wandering alleyways are bustling with local neighborhood life, and some of the best mom-and-pop shops are buried deep down the lanes.
Historians believe rice wine (mijiu) was first brewed by the Chinese in 1,000 BC. The rice wine method then spread from China to other parts of East Asia; in Japan it was made into sake, in Korea, cheongju and makkoli. We'll head to a modern, local boutique mijiu producer to try a six-cup sampler of their craft rice wine. The delightful flavors range from osmanthus to rose to the beguiling original flavor.
Meet your guide at the end of Guijie, or Ghost Street, and see why this is one of the most popular streets in the city to come to for snacks.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking advanced notice is required to be able to cater to any dietary restrictions.
- Standard group size is 8, but in some cases groups can be up to 12 people with a second guide
Reviews(379)
I am very well traveled (over 30 countries) and have done food tours and cooking classes all over the world so I’ve encountered quite a range of good to not so great experiences while “chasing food” and I would say that this food tour ranks among the most enjoyable and well put together food experiences across any that I can remember in the last 25 years - delightfully unpredictable or unpredictably delightful would be my caption. We spent the evening with Jesus and not only was he engaging and quite fun conversationally, he had put together very unique and unexpected approach to a culinary walk in Beijing and it far exceeded all expectations and I just can’t recommend him and UnTour strongly enough. I now can’t wait to go back to Shanghai and see what awaits me there with UnTour.
Hi Michael, thank you for the incredible review! It means a great deal to hear that this stands out among so many food experiences from your travels. We’re so glad you enjoyed the evening with Jesus and appreciated the unique approach to exploring Beijing through its food. We look forward to welcoming you to Shanghai someday!
Rita and Jesus were fabulous hosts. A fantastic night wandering around trying very interesting foods
Hi Darren, thank you for the great review! We’re so glad you enjoyed your evening with Rita and Jesus. Exploring Beijing one bite at a time is always an adventure, and we’re happy you had such a fantastic night with us.
When we saw that the guide was named Jesus and found out he was American doing a Beijing food tour we were a bit sceptical. We could not have been more wrong. We have done multiple food tours in Asia and Europe and Jesus was far and away the best guide we have had - warm, generous, entertaining and very knowledgeable. There was an interesting combination of food experiences - not all to our taste but that is the point of a tour like this - and some great rice wine tastings which was unexpected but a highlight.
Hi there, thank you for the wonderful review! We’re so glad you gave the tour a chance and that it exceeded your expectations. It’s great to hear you enjoyed the variety of dishes, the rice wine tasting, and the stories along the way. Thanks for joining us!
Excellent tour guide His Deep knowledge of the city, very friendly had a great time
Hi Hayley, thank you for the lovely review! We’re so glad you had a great time and enjoyed learning more about Beijing. Thanks for joining us!
We did a food tour with Jésus and Lime. It was SO much fun! Everything was organized meticulously. The food was delicious (and bountiful), and the company was excellent :) We were introduced to many foods we had never tasted before. I learned a lot and enjoyed every second. I left very full & happy! I would recommend this tour (with these guides!) greatly. Thank you Jésus and Lime!
Hi Arden, thank you for the amazing review! We’re so glad you had such a fun evening with Jesus and Lime. It’s great to hear you enjoyed trying so many new dishes and left both full and happy - that’s our goal!
We had a great experience on this food tour with Erik Chong. He was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide who shared a lot of interesting information about Beijing, Chinese food culture, and local traditions throughout the evening. The tour had a really relaxed atmosphere and felt more like exploring the city with a group of friends than being on a typical guided tour. There was a great variety of food, drinks, and places we visited. We got to try many different local dishes that we would never have found or ordered on our own, and the selection was well balanced. We have been on many food tours around the world, and this was definitely one of the better ones. We would happily recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and authentic food experience.
Hi Susanne, thank you for the wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear the tour was a highlight of your time in Beijing. Thanks for the recommendation!
We thoroughly enjoyed our first Untour Food Tour and Xian was an excellent host full of interesting and funny background stories.
We’re so glad your first UnTour experience was such a positive one. Hope to see you again on another adventure soon!
Great tour! I learned a lot and tried new things despite having lived in China before and having been pretty adventurous with trying food then. I also better understood Chinese culture better from what our tour guide shared. When I am back in Beijing I hope to do this again and would also like to try some of their other tours.
Hi Shannon, thank you for the great review! We love hearing that even someone familiar with China can discover new dishes and new perspectives on the culture. We’d be delighted to welcome you back for another tour on your next visit!
Had an amazing food tour last night with Untour Beijing. Sian was such a great guide — super patient, passionate, and really thoughtful with everyone’s dietary needs and preferences. Loved how she explained the history behind each dish and showed us around parts of Beijing too. The hand-cut noodles with fresh garlic were unexpectedly one of the highlights of the night. Highly recommend this tour if you’re visiting Beijing. Two thumbs up!
Fantastic group photo and thank you for the fantastic review! We’re so glad you enjoyed the mix of food, history, and local culture with Sian. And we have to agree, those hand-cut noodles are pretty hard to forget! Thanks for the recommendation.
Jesus and Sian were incredible hosts. So knowledgeable and friendly. I loved this tour SO much, would thoroughly recommend it. We had a group of 16 people, and had the best time. Would never have known about some of the treasures we stopped at had it not been for their knowledge and relationships with the vendors. Thank you for the memories!!
Thank you for the amazing review! We’re thrilled your group had such a memorable evening with Jesus and Sian. It’s always special to share some of our favorite local spots and hidden treasures. Thanks for joining us!
