4 Best Restaurants in Beijing to Shanghai, China

On the grounds of the Kiessling Beidaihe Hotel, this popular restaurant, originally opened by Austrians, mixes a few Western dishes in with the menu's predominately Chinese fare. Its European-style café-bakery, on the main street, does a brisk business in freshly baked walnut cakes.

One of the town's most upmarket options, Wang Yang Lou serves tasty local seafood and an array of family-style Chinese dishes in a large though somewhat characterless dining room. There's no menu—order at the open kitchen to the left of the entrance by pointing at things swimming in the tanks, or at the displayed photos of dishes themselves.

At this quintessential seafood place, one of many on or around Minjiang Lu, rows of tanks swarm with live sea creatures, with prices marked per jin (about 500 grams, enough for two to share). Order the Qingdao signature: clams fried with chilis and garlic (gala in the local dialect), which pairs perfectly with Tsingtao beer, or try the scallops served suanrong fensi (steamed with garlic and vermicelli noodles).