Jintai Lu and Hongmiao-金台路红庙

Cheap, tasty dim sum is on offer at this oddly decorated Joy City restaurant.

A small studio that hosts dance groups of all kinds.

Ain't no thing like a chicken wing at the three branches of this hole-in-the-wall barbecued wing and skewer joint. Wings come in four flavors (spicy, original, sweet honey and garlic) and the menu offers a host of other skewered delights - corn on the cob, lamb, shrimp and rice cake, among others. Grilled scallops and oysters are also available, as is a selection of down-home favorites including fried rice, tofu and thousand-year-old egg and the ever-popular pai huang gua (smashed cucumber). Wash it all down with a bottle of Yanjing or Tsingtao.

This restaurant features home-style Sichuan and Cantonese dishes with unique Thai and Tibetan touches. Some dishes showcase hard-to-get ingredients, such as purslane (a succulent with a sweet-sour flavor and a chewy texture), ageratum (another Sichuan herb) and mint, while others are garnished with caraway (a spice often used in Tibetan cuisine) or even handmade sugar rose-petal sauce. Popular dishes include purslane salad (酸辣马齿苋), beef cold cuts with caraway sauce (招牌小牛肉), braised carp with ageratum (藿香鲫鱼), and the traditional Chengdu snack rose-flavored bingfen.

This summer, fall, or spring intensive Chinese-language program is administered by Hamilton College and hosted by Capital University of Economics and Business (CUEB). Curriculum focuses on language study through small-group and individualized instruction, with a high level of participation and interaction. Full-time language pledge is “strictly enforced,” but it’s not uncommon for students to sneak off to nearby Sanlitun and give in to their Anglophonic urges. Tuition: USD 5,560 (Summer), USD 11,880 (Fall or Spring).

Provides an all-in-one service that includes translating your home license, booking your road test, arranging the eye exam, preparing your application, supplying an English language version of China’s Road Traffic Safety Rules and Regulations and paying all fees. They’ll even take you to and from the test center.

Specializes in spicy crab dry pot (xiang guo) that come filled with ginger, garlic, leeks, chili and a heap of other delicious fixings. After finishing the dry pot, the wait staff fills it with the house broth for a soupy finish.

As famous for its hospitality as it is for its authentic Sichuan cuisine: get your nails done and enjoy a fruit plate while you wait in the long queue. Don’t forget to ask for the noodle show – an energetic waiter will pull noodles right at your table. Voted "Best Hot Pot," "Outstanding Service" and "Outstanding Chinese Restaurant of the Year" in the Beijinger’s 2011 Restaurant Awards.