Welcome to the parenting chapter of your life. Getting settled in Beijing can be a fun adventure for the whole family filled with new experiences, culture shocks that turn into fun cocktail party anecdotes, and delicious culinary discoveries that are bound to make it into your family’s recipe book. Here are our top tips on enjoying fun and stress-free dining as a family.
Indigo Mall
Have a Few Go-To Spots
Get acquainted with the kid-friendly malls and shopping centers in Beijing. Solana, Chaoyang Joy City, and Indigo Mall are known for their large selection of family-friendly stores, restaurants, and play areas. Restaurants in these malls tend to cater specifically to families so things like kid-friendly menus, high chairs, and shatterproof utensils are easily found. And should Junior throw a tantrum, the staff and other diners are more likely to be used to it.
Another unexpected contender on the family-friendly mall list is WF Central in Wangfujing. While the high-end luxury stores don’t scream family-friendly, the mall is well designed with large clean bathrooms and play areas to keep kids entertained in the powder room while they wait.
Kids Favorites
There are a few restaurants in Beijing that go out of their way to accommodate families. Annie’s Italian Restaurant has multiple locations all over the city and offers kid-friendly menu and a relaxing ambiance where comfort food and family fun go hand-in-hand. Likewise, Hulu by TRB now has two locations in Beijing, both with coloring sets and kid-friendly menus for the little ones. The Hulu team has a reputation for being extra accommodating with their guests so whether it’s a lunch out with your little one or a moms’ group afternoon tea out with many little ones, the team is always happy to make the arrangements so you and your friends will feel right at home.
Be Prepared
It doesn’t matter if you’re a parent in Beijing or anywhere else in the world, it’s always better to be prepared when there are little ones around. Have an extra set of kid-friendly utensils, diapers, and bottle handy is never a bad thing especially as local Chinese restaurants tend only to supply adult-sized chopsticks and glasses, due to differences in dining cultures.
Oh Poo!
For parents with young kids, changing poopy diapers is just a part of life. It helps when the restaurant (or the mall it’s located in) planned ahead and built changing tables into both the men’s and women’s restrooms, but not all places were designed with parents of small children in mind, and if you’re hoping to spend a day exploring and dining out in the hutongs, there’s still a good chance that all you’ll find are the ‘squatty potties’. Most restaurants (especially local Chinese ones) have private dining rooms and if you explain the situation, the staff are usually pretty understanding and will let you use one of their private rooms to change your baby. If you’re outside and there’s really no privacy available, well, then your baby’s comfort (and hygiene) comes first. Find a relatively quiet spot on the street and take care of business.
KEEP READING: Making Chicken and Mushroom Pasta, Family Style
Photos: Indigo mall, Unsplash
This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 June issue
