Vote now! Polling Begins in the Beijinger 2011 Reader Restaurant Awards

Are Maison Boulud and Da Dong still the best restaurants in Beijing?
Would you vote Fatburger “Beijing’s best burger”?
Who really makes the best pizza in the city?

It’s your turn to dish it out – voting is now open in the Beijinger’s 8th Annual Reader Restaurant Awards!

Cast your votes here!

This year’s Reader Restaurant Awards is the biggest, fattest, most ambitious survey to date, with:
44 categories, more than ever before
A record 253 restaurants nominated
New categories including Spanish, Best New Restaurant (Chinese and non-Chinese categories for each), Afternoon Tea and Culinary Event of the Year
New sub-categories – we’ve divided competitive, controversial categories like Italian, French and Cantonese into “high-end” and “affordable” denominations
The revival of categories like Russian, Korean and Outdoor Dining

A few of this year’s key battles:
Restaurant of the Year (non-Chinese) – Can last year’s winner, Maison Boulud, hang on to the crown in the face of tough competition from the likes of Capital M, Modo and Bei?
Restaurant of the Year (Chinese) – Seriously, have you gotten over the Da Dong fixation? Hot pot restaurants, Yunnan contenders and more join forces to challenge Beijing’s most famous duck roaster
Pizza – can delivery outfit Gung Ho! topple the dominance of The Tree and Kro’s Nest? Is La Pizza as good as our friends over at Time Out say it is?
Italian (affordable) – Can anyone stop Annie’s? Anyone?
Spanish – Will it be a Nali Patio shootout between Agua, Carmen, Migas and Niajo? Or will Olas or Ole break fortress Nali?
Burger – Is Let’s Burger still the best, or have you been won over by Blue Frog’s Monday two-for-one burger deal? What about Fatburger?
Service – Haidilao’s noodle-dancers face up to the elegant precision of the Maison Boulud ranks – who comes out on top?
Vietnamese – Luga’s Vietnamese joints up against the likes of Muse, Nuage and Le Little Saigon in one of the tightest categories

Voting started at noon on February 16 and carries on until March 14. The winners will be announced online and at the awards ceremony on March 21.

The nominees were selected by a panel of 200 Beijing residents, including food experts, long-term residents and randomly selected voters from past surveys. Each nominator was given a blank ballot and asked to choose their favorites in over 60 categories. Their picks were then distilled, the 44 most compelling and competitive categories were selected and the top nominees in each category were placed on the ballot.

the Beijinger Reader Restaurant Awards are widely recognized as Beijing's most comprehensive and legitimate. Over 5,000 votes were cast in the 2010 poll – we expect to top that figure this year, so get voting now!