Many visitors find the Chinese breakfast of dumplings and glutinous rice served in canteens bland and unappealing, but jian bing guozi, the classic Beijing breakfast snack - vegetables wrapped in an omelette wrapped in a pancake - deftly assembled by street vendors in thirty seconds, is definitely worth trying (¥2). Most hotels offer some form of Western breakfast, or alternatively, head for a branch of DeliFrance for cheap croissants, Dunkin' Donuts for muffins or Starbucks for cake and a caffeine jolt. Beijing is one of the few places in China you can get a decent cup of coffee , but it's strictly a drink of the Western-aping elite - most Chinese can't stand it, so coffee shops are clustered in expensive areas.

 

For cheap and filling suppers , try street food like huntun, basically wonton soup, and xianr bing - stuffed pancake - or the diverse varieties of noodles. You'll find plenty of street food at the night markets , which begin operating around 5pm and start to shut down around 10pm. They're at their best in summer.

DeliFrance , Qianmen Xi Dajie (by McDonald's); basement of the Lufthansa Centre; Level 2, Sun Dong'an Plaza, Wangfujing. This great little French bakery chain has affordable pizzas, fresh croissants and cakes.

Donghuamen Yeshi night market , at the intersection of Wangfujing and Jinyu hutong, on the same street as the Palace Hotel - find it by heading west off Wangfujing close to Donghuamen Dajie. Stalls set up along the street offering xiaochi (literally, "small food") from all over China. Nothing is more than a few kuai, except the odd delicacy such as scorpion on a stick for ¥10.

Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin' Robbins , Jianguomen Dajie, next to the Friendship Store. These stores share their premises and are open 24hr. Watch your bags here as it's a popular place for thieves. There's another Dunkin' Donuts on Wangfujing, north of the intersection with Donganmen Dajie.

Duyichu , 36 Qianmen Dajie. This restaurant has been in business for more than a century, though you'd never guess from the bland modern decor, and has built up an enviable reputation for its steamed dumplings, which you can eat on the spot or take away. One of the best places in the area for a light lunch.

Goubuli Baozi , 155 Dianmenwai Dajie, just south of the Drum Tower. A branch of the Tianjin institution, this place sells delicious dumplings ( baozi) for a few yuan. You can eat them here - the downstairs canteen is cheaper than upstairs - or take them home, as most of the customers do.

KFC , Qianmen Xi Dajie, just south of Qianmen Gate. Opened in 1987, this was the first Western fast-food chain to colonize China, and has long been overtaken for verve and style by its nearby competitors. There's another branch in the Parkson Centre west of Xidan.

Mandlin Café Chateau , Everbright Building, 6 Fuxingmenwai Dajie; Beijng Concert Hall, Xidan. Comfortable little coffee shops with copious free magazines to take away.

McDonald's , Qianmen Xi Dajie (by the KFC); Xidan Bei Dajie (200m north of Fuxingmen Dajie); Nansanhuan Xi Lu (200m west of the Jinghua Hotel); Jianguomen Dajie (opposite the CITIC Bank); and more than fifty other branches across the city. The ever-popular, fashionable haunt for Beijing's bright young things.

Pizza Hut , 33 Zhushikou Xi Jie; Jianguomen Dajie (just west of the Friendship Store); 29 Haidian Rd; 27 Dongzhimenwai Dajie. Everything you might expect at home. The quietest branch is the one on Zhushikou.

SCITECH Building , Jianguomen Dajie. The basement canteen here, haunt of exhausted upmarket shoppers, is a good place for a snack.

Starbucks , First Floor, China World Trade Centre, 1 Jianguomenwai Dajie (just round the corner from the Friendship Store); COFCO building, 8 Jianguomennei Dajie. Offering the best, and some of the dearest, coffee in the city - a regular filter coffee costs ¥12, with fancier varieties more expensive.

Subway , Jianguomen, between the Jinglun Hotel and the China World; the Henderson Centre (opposite the International Hotel); 52 Liangjiu Lu (opposite the Kempinski Hotel). An American chain that opens till midnight and offers filling sandwiches.

Tourist Night Market , Jinyu Hutong, off Wangfujing, opposite the Palace Hotel on the east side. Some of Beijing's classiest restaurants have set up stalls here, offering an upmarket version of street food - everything from sushi to spaghetti - in a pleasant garden setting. Prices between ¥10 and ¥100.

Zoo Night Market , on Xizhimen, just west of the zoo and opposite the exhibition centre. Stalls offer cheap and filling food for a few yuan, though there's less variety than at Wangfujing.