What is Imperial or Palace Cuisine?
Any idea what is imperial or palace cuisine? Beijing Imperial Cuisine, or Fangshan in Chinese pronunciation, as the
name suggests, consists of dishes once prepared exclusively for the
imperial family.
Imperial cuisine originated in the kitchens of the common people. After
entering the imperial palace, finer ingredients were chosen, the cooking
process became more meticulous and food styles, dinnerware and utensils
were given a more "imperial" flair. There was a rigorous selection
process for ingredients and careful and attentive preparation, giving
the dishes exquisite form. Fangshan Restaurant pays close attention to
creating nutritious food, taking the lead in developing new low-fat,
low-sugar healthy cuisine, with dishes such as "Assorted Bird
Specialties", "Assorted Seafood Specialties", "Assorted Meat
Specialties" and "Assorted Vegetables Specialties".
In its former life, Fangshan Restaurant was known as Qing Dynasty's
imperial kitchen, preparing meals exclusively for the emperor. There are
two locations:
- one on the eastern side of Tiananmen Square (which is the one I had my palace cuisine) AND
- another
under the verandah at Beihai Park.
Interior inside the restaurant:
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Here you will find some of the authentic imperial cuisine in Beijing.
Spamming you with some foodies that I had at Fangshan restaurant:
1)
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| Not sure what is this though |
2)
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4) Simple steam egg
5) Simple stir fry veggies
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How to get here?
Tian-An-Men Fangshan Restaurant
Address: No. 37 Dong Jiao Min Xiang The East of Tian An Men Square Beijing
Tel: (010) 65233105
Fax: (010) 65233106
Post Code: 100006
By bus: Take Bus No. 22, 120, 20, 8, exit at Tiananmen East
Average price per pax: ~RMB100 to ~RMB800 depending on the selections
My personal opinion: It's not really worth the value as the price is quite expensive but the dishes is kinda too simple though to me to be a "imperial cuisine" or maybe my expectation too high?
For more information on my Beijing & Chengde itinerary, please checkout the link here.
