non-smoking restaurants in Beijing?

[Guest Fionas_Fiance]

Another Holiday Inn in Beijing?

 

 

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/6c/1/en/hr/pegch

 

 

The Patio Restaurant

Location: In Hotel - Lobby

Serves: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

 

Asian and Western Dinner Buffet plus extensive a la carte menu selections.The Patio Restaurant is open 24 hours and sits up to 175 diners (115 in smoking section and 60 in non-smoking section).

 

Pinocchio Italian Restaurant

Location: In Hotel - Third floor of Lido Place

Serves: Lunch | Dinner

 

Traditional Italian style trattoria serving great pasta, pizza dishes at great price. Open from 11.30am to 02:30pm and from 05:30pm till 10:30pm.Sits up to 118 diners (76 in smoking section and 42 in non-smoking)

[Guest Fionas_Fiance]

Indian/Thai.

 

Hmm! Indian restaurants are almost sure to have lots of vegetarian dishes. :-)

 

 

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/entertainmen...neweats_2004_17

 

Victor's Place

 

Victor's Place is one of a cluster of shops and restaurants in the development adjacent to the Eurovillage in Shunyi district. The immediate area will soon boast a complex of deluxe apartments. The interior is non-fussy but striking. Red and pink walls and shimmering purple curtains set off the dark wood furnishings and traditional Indian and Thai framed prints. It's a welcoming, medium sized restaurant in an L-shape that accommodates a more secluded non-smoking section. There's also a play area in one corner to keep the kids occupied while the adult folk tuck in.

 

The menu is approximately two-thirds Indian and one-third Thai food. There are no surprises or house specials, but nonetheless the choice is full of familiar favorites including a good range of veggie and seafood options. We enjoyed a hearty sizzling Chicken Tikka starter (Y20), closely followed by a tender lamb and creamy spinach curry (Y30) with saffron rice (Y15) and a Keema naan (Y12). From the Thai selection, we sampled a platter of assorted appetizers (Y50) gigantic fried prawns with garlic and chilli (Y70) and a fresh mango salad (Y15). Not that we needed another bite, the Kulfi (Y18) was exceedingly good. The sauces really were tasty - highly flavored without losing any of their subtlety or masking the taste of the meat. There's a fair selection of beers (Y25), including Kingfisher, and wine by the glass (Y25) and bottle.

 

We found Victor's Place to be a fine Indian restaurant, and the Thai menu is a happy compliment. The service was fast, efficient and friendly. Tasty though it certainly is, you might, if you live within the third ring, want to pay close attention to the location before embarking out; unless you're, a) already in the vicinity, or , wanting to flex your appetite by razzing up the airport expressway a good stint. Open 11-2.30 for lunch and 5-10.30 for dinner.

 

 

Food: 4 out of 5

D¨¦cor: 3 out of 5

Service: 5 out of 5

Price: Y220

 

Address:

8 Lai Guang Ying Dong Yu, Chaoyang District

(Outside the Gate of the Western Academy)

³¯ÑôÇøÀ³¹ãÓª¶«Â·ÄϲàºÅ³Æ(¾©Î÷ѧУ¸½½ü)

8470-1306

[Chinese Wife!!!]

Have you tried an advanced search on restaurants in BJ with non smoking?

 

Hey, this was a good idea!

Hey Ben,

I figured chinapulse and shanghaiexpats was not in your area of interest BUT maybe you can find a Bejing expats site. (That is if you are still looking for more places.) I seem to remember reference of one or two them existing there. Sometimes these sites have restuarant listings and/or reviews or posts about such.

[tonado]

Ben,

 

I hope you can get a non-smoking hotel room too. Getting one can be difficult. Never mind. You are staying with your fiancee. I hope her family members don't smoke.

[beijingjenny]

Hey Ben - sorry for ragging, you're right that people like different things, I just meant that I hope your fiance is as happy there as you are.

 

Anyway, thanks for sharing your story - your proposal was really lovely and the strange things you descibe are exactly why I love it here!

 

Moving on though - actually before your post I was thinking about a friend I had in college who was allergic to cigarette smoke and wondered what she would do in China. I haven't heard of any of these specific restaurants (I'm not often in these foreigner/foreigner concentrated areas since it's halfway across town), BUT these *kind* of restaurants are everywhere. Near any big hotel there are plenty of restaurants catering to foreigners. Where will you be staying?

 

One thing just occurred to me - most restaurants (even the simplest) have private rooms. Sometimes you pay an extra 10 kuai for it, sometimes nothing. If you're not there during peak hours, should be no prob for you two to get your own room. It may have residual smoke, but noone will be smoking in your face.

[beijingjenny]

For "events", to see if anything interesting will be going on in BJ during your time, check out www.cityweekend.com.cn and www.thatsbeijing.com

 

They also, esp That's Beijing, have lots of listings in the mag (like restaurants) that aren't online, so pick up a copy when you get here (at lots of places, like hotels, around town for free).

[Mengxin]

You did hit gold. Congrats, and thanks for the links. Did you hook up with any tour/hotel packages or are you playin' it by ear?

[jkobman]

The Lido in Beijing is nice. BUT, my experience with "westrn" rest. in China is that they are "semi-western" you can get an omelette or fried egg in a western breakfast, but everything else is Chinese. The Ramada at Shanghai Pudong is a western hotel, but again the food is semi-western. Good food but only slightly western.

 

There are some tourist-oriented markets across from the Lido and they will dicker about the price.

[Guest Fionas_Fiance]

remember, "San Diego Sucks!"  Let it be your mantra.

 

Ya yer right again Ben. If I were contemplating hurting myself or anyone asked me for a recommendation for bridges to jump off of, I would have to point them to the Golden Gate, than the Coronado. Coronado is a nice bridge and all... but the Golden Gate is really much more famous.

 

Chargers? Padres? Navy base? ...These are also very valid reasons to dislike the city. I'm with you brother.

 

 

I think the Chargers probably account for 80% of San Diego suicides all by themselves.

 

Coronado is yet another San Diego hell-hole. That Hotel Del is so OLD. And rumor has it that it is haunted and cursed. Think of the some of the people who used to hang out there: King Edward VIII (abdicated throne for a woman he met there), Charles Lindberg (child kidnapped), Marilyn Monroe (suicide), Frank Sinatra (jilted by Lauren Bacall), Christopher Reeve (paralyzed), Kevin Costner (Waterworld) and eleven presidents (most of them are dead!).

 

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T VISIT THE HOTEL DEL CORONADO!!!

 

(though, as noted, the bridge is a nice place to jump

[Guest Fionas_Fiance]

Hey Ben - sorry for ragging, you're right that people like different things, I just meant that I hope your fiance is as happy there as you are.

 

Anyway, thanks for sharing your story - your proposal was really lovely and the strange things you descibe are exactly why I love it here!

 

Moving on though - actually before your post I was thinking about a friend I had in college who was allergic to cigarette smoke and wondered what she would do in China. I haven't heard of any of these specific restaurants (I'm not often in these foreigner/foreigner concentrated areas since it's halfway across town), BUT these *kind* of restaurants are everywhere. Near any big hotel there are plenty of restaurants catering to foreigners. Where will you be staying?

 

One thing just occurred to me - most restaurants (even the simplest) have private rooms. Sometimes you pay an extra 10 kuai for it, sometimes nothing. If you're not there during peak hours, should be no prob for you two to get your own room. It may have residual smoke, but noone will be smoking in your face.

 

 

These sound like good ideas. Thanks!

 

Re the ragging, it's already forgotten. ;-)

 

I don't know exactly where I'll be staying yet. Fiona just got her PhD and has started work at the Ministry of Finance (Chaoyang District?). She is looking for a place close to the Ministry where we can both stay.

[Guest Fionas_Fiance]

Did you hook up with any tour/hotel packages or are you playin' it by ear?

 

I'll be staying with my fiance so I don't need a hotel. Fiona went to graduate school in Beijing so I think she knows most of the tourist spots. So far I think we are planning on seeing the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, and the Forbidden City. Fiona said we might want to use a tour service to go to some of these places.

[beijingjenny]

Chaoyang is the foreigner-infested area Most of those restaurants you listed are likely in that area, and anything else you might need.

 

I was just researching some places north in the municipality where my husband and I can get away for a night or two, and when I ran across the mention of "beach volleyball" in this one article and thought of you...

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-07/...ent_1606738.htm

 

Scroll down to Yunfa Mountain Villa. What weather will be like and what will be in operation when you're here's another question though. Fall is descending (though it's the only nice season of the year and lasts only a few weeks). A storm is brewing as I write. But you can check it out, or your fiance can try to call.

[Guest Fionas_Fiance]

Chaoyang is the foreigner-infested area Most of those restaurants you listed are likely in that area, and anything else you might need.

 

I was just researching some places north in the municipality where my husband and I can get away for a night or two, and when I ran across the mention of "beach volleyball" in this one article and thought of you...

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-07/...ent_1606738.htm

 

Scroll down to Yunfa Mountain Villa. What weather will be like and what will be in operation when you're here's another question though. Fall is descending (though it's the only nice season of the year and lasts only a few weeks). A storm is brewing as I write. But you can check it out, or your fiance can try to call.

You used an interesting choice of words hen referring to Chaoyang: "foreignor infested." Fiona keeps trying to teach me this song,

 

"wo de shi hai-chiu, wo de shi hai-chiu"

 

or something like that. She said it means "we are pests, we are pests..."

She says Chinese people love to teach this to foreigners and have

them sing it! At first I thought she was pulling my leg but she sings it

with such glee when she tries to teach me, it seems it must be true in

at least some parts of China.

 

Today she was looking for an apartment for us through an agency and the agency said that not every apartment building will allow "pets or foreignors." So we may have to pay a little extra money to find a place where I am allowed. I hope they don't make me wear a flea collar.

[Guest Fionas_Fiance]

I was just researching some places north in the municipality where my husband and I can get away for a night or two, and when I ran across the mention of "beach volleyball" in this one article and thought of you...

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-07/...ent_1606738.htm

 

Scroll down to Yunfa Mountain Villa.

 

Hmmm, somehow I accidentally deleted my response to your link on Yunfa Mountain Villiage (at one point I hit the Add Post key instead the Preview key, and i had done some cut and pasting), so I will repeat it here.

 

 

OHMYGOD WE GOTTA CHECK IT OUT!!! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

- Ben

 

ps. Yesterday I played EIGHT HOURS of volleyball. Today I can't move, of course, but...

it was worth it.

[Guest Fionas_Fiance]

The Lido in Beijing is nice. BUT, my experience with "westrn" rest. in China is that they are "semi-western" you can get  an omelette or fried egg in a western breakfast, but everything else is Chinese. The Ramada at Shanghai Pudong is a western hotel, but again the food is semi-western. Good food  but only slightly western.

 

There are some tourist-oriented markets across from the Lido and they will dicker about the price.

 

Thanks for the input.

 

I'm not specifically looking for western food, I'm quite happy eating chinese veggies. In fact, I love them. I'm mostly just looking for western accomodations, i.e., decent non-smoking sections.

 

The thing I missed the most when I was in China before was salads. Finding a place with good salads would be way cool, but ... as some people have pointed out, I might want to think twice before eating them.