Lotus Culinary Travel : Beijing Details

Beijing, China

Tour Details
Lotus Culinary Travel invites you on a tasting tour of the whole of China in Beijing. Here you'll find a taste of what we offer in this immersion introduction to regional Chinese cuisines. Select from a menu of culinary and cultural experiences to suit your interests, customizable from two to six nights.

As an example, our six-night Beijing immersion combines a full glimpse into the Middle Kingdom’s past and future with a full taste of its present through its diverse regional cuisines. Highlights include culture and architecture spanning the ages, from the ancient Great Wall to the imperial Forbidden City and Summer Palace to the communist Tiananmen Square and the futuristic Olympic Village. Start one day by practicing tai chi with a master at the Temple of Heaven and end one by watching a dazzling display of kung fu artistry.

Every meal will be an opportunity to learn more about the wildly differing cuisines of northern, eastern, southern and western China. Guided by a local culinary expert, you’ll take a pedicab tour of the traditional alleyway hutong neighborhoods, visiting a local family and learning to make Beijing-style dumplings. You’ll also shop for ingredients at a sprawling farmers market and prepare quintessential dishes from regional cuisines at a hands-on cooking class.

Cooking classes
Hands-on and demonstration classes are held at a beautifully restored hutong kitchen and cooking school. The staff of highly trained chefs lead guests through the preparation of quintessential dishes from a range of regional Chinese cuisines. Classes include Lotus Culinary Travel's Beijing Food Journal with recipes and shopping guide.

Markets and artisans

You'll get a thorough introduction to the full range of Chinese specialty ingredients at sprawling neighborhood wet markets, meeting artisans, farmers and cooks along the way and shopping for the dishes you'll make in class. Another possible visit is a wholesale restaurant-supply store with traditional woks, cleavers and cutting boards.

Meals
You'll have all of China on your plate in Beijing, and we know the very best places to sample the full range of styles and flavors, North, East, South and West: Peking duck, Shanxi noodles, elegant Shanghainese, ethnic Yunnan and more.

Host
Lotus Culinary Travel’s Beijing host is the city's top English-language restaurant critic and food writer. She recently published the definitive guide to regional Chinese dining in Beijing and knows who serves the best Huaiyang, Hakka or Hunan cuisine as well as Beijing's local delights.

Accommodations
We offer a range of accommodations, and our favorite place to stay is a lovely, traditional courtyard hotel adjacent to a happening hutong full of artsy, locally owned shops, cafes and bars. Slip down any side street and you're in the middle of authentic hutong residential life that's barely changed in centuries.

Car and driver
Private airport transfers and transportation in luxury sedans or small vans.

Guests’ responsibility
International and domestic airfare, trip insurance, alcoholic beverages and personal expenses.

Group size
We offer private and small-group tours for a minimum of four people and a maximum of eight.

Dates and prices
Our Beijing tours are available most dates on request from March through November for bookings of four or more people. Contact us for affordable pricing on customized culinary immersions in Beijing.