Tasty treats for Chinese New Year

[Photo provided to China Daily]

Just look at their names and you'll know what they make - Feng's quick-boiled tripe, Wei's cheese, Qian's rice cakes, Ma's lamb head, Bai's bean curd, and Li's fried flour tea, to name just a few.

A total of 22 traditional Beijing snack shops will participate in the food festival. They will make and sell more than 100 traditional foods on the spot. If you are curious about what aiwowo, "donkey roll over", and baggy cake taste and look like, it's a good chance to check them out.

Some other snacks worth trying are white bean rolls, deep-fried flour cakes with beef and lamb filling, "cat-ear" dough balls, and steamed and deep-fried dumplings.

On the other hand, one can choose to dine at a decent Beijing-style restaurant on Lunar New Year's Eve or during the holiday.

Ji Family Banquet, a newly opened restaurant along the East Third Ring Road, offers a fusion of Chinese cuisine styles with an eye on health.

The owner claims to be the eighth generation of Ji Xiaolan, a renowned Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) scholar who has become even better known because of a popular TV drama about him in recent years.

The restaurant is decorated nicely in Suzhou garden style, with a pond and bridge at the entrance. The interior is elegant looking, with roofs decorated with gray tiles and wooden window panels.

The restaurant uses fresh river seafood from Jiangsu transported to Beijing on the same day. It promises to offer good-quality foodstuff at reasonable prices.

The foods are a fusion of Beijing, Huaiyang, Cantonese and Shandong cuisines.