…is next to impossible, I have discovered. It seems that when eating out during the next two weeks, you need to carry not only a ton of cash, but also a stiff jaw that doesn’t drop upon receiving the final bill.
I understand prices always rise during such high-profile events, and I’m sure in Athens, Torino, and Sydney more than a few locals simply stayed home more than usual. But I was ((and still am) determined not to become a hermit during the biggest party in China’s 5,000+ years of history.
So I have sucked it up and tried to forget the almost doubling of prices at my local (albeit quite famous) Peking duck place. And the $12 Carlsberg and $11 Evian on “Sanlitun Super Bar Street” I just attributed to the area being a tourist magnet. But two nights ago we headed to Duck de Chine, an elegant new Peking duck restaurant whose bird a trusted foodie friend said was on par with my current favorite Da Dong’s, and about the same price of around 200 RMB ($29) per duck including pancakes and condiments.
After we got seated, however, we learned that they were only offering 3- to 4-course set menus for the duration of the Olympics, at the equivalent of $124 a person (!!!) In China. For New York prices.
If you wanted a whole duck, you would need to order it on top of the required set menu, which had almost nothing appealing enough to warrant the high prices. I said a flat-out no and simply walked out. I can stomach doubled prices for China’s coming-out party, but not 5 times what I expected the evening to cost. I could find a cheaper set meal at Beijing’s Daniel Boulud.
We did finally eat, at the nearby Noodle Bar. The decor was muted, reminiscent of a small sushi bar, with 1 or 2 chefs in the center hand-pulling noodles to order. The set meal was 42 RMB for a large bowl of brisket and tripe noodles, edamame and seaweed sides, and oolong tea. Even the vegetable prices were at pre-Olympic levels. It wasn’t insanely cheap, but certainly doable, considering the Noodle Bar was also at the glamorous new 1949:The Hidden City development. The noodles hit the spot, and as I imagined it, better than the set dinner that would have cost as much as a round-trip train ticket to Hong Kong.
I may return for the duck after the Games. For the time being, noodles and chua’r will be my main sustenance outside of home.
The Noodle Bar
Inside 1949:The Hidden City, Gongti BeiLu
(across from the south entrance of Pacific Century Place)
Sanlitun, Chaoyang District
Beijing
This is on my list of where to eat in Beijing! Thanks by the way for all the great reviews. I’ve used your site a lot to write my recent list of where to eat for October, which is why I’ve passed on the Brilliante Weblog Premio 2008 Award onto you!
I wish I was there in Beijing for the Olympics! Thanks for the guide anyhow.
That’s a shame that they’re raising prices like that in Beijing. Glad you found another place to eat.
Not sure where you were eating and drinking, I didn’t find any place, midpriced or high end, that have raised their prices during the Olympics. Sanlitun’s prices were also the same as always. I’m not a fan of the 1949 complex and am pretty sure it won’t be around in a year or two. None of the restaurants are really appealing and the “hidden” location means that very few people are actually eating there. Don’t bother with Duck de Chine, it’s not worth it, even at regular menu prices.
b. cheng – Huajia
Yiyuan raised their prices by about 1/3. Which was pretty
evident…almost every item on their menu has a newly stickered price
covering up the old price. My favorite cheap chuar place on Guijie also
raised their prices by about a third. The prices on Sanlitun and
Nanluoguxiang also seem higher than usual. If you know of restaurants
where prices stayed the same, do share.
South Beauty, Na Jia Xiao Guan, S’Silk Road, Hatsune, Tairyo, and Da Dong (to name just a few). I’m not sure about the row of identical bars on North Street, but most of the main spots at Sanlitun stayed the same (though few were cheap to begin with). I only stopped at Xiao Xin’s, Fish Nation, and Pass By at Nanluoguxiang, but they didn’t change things either.