Apart from the Bookworm Café, there is another great hangout for Beijing bibliophiles and coffee lovers and that is Le Petit Gourmand, which tends to be quieter than The Bookworm, except at lunchtimes. With an excellent and extensive French and North African menu, tall mugs of frothy cappuccino, and even a fireplace, Le Petit Gourmand is a great place to put your feet up and relax with a paperback or two. As in The Bookworm the waiting staff speak some English, and the menu and wine list is in Chinese and English.

Le Petit Gourmand has free WiFi internet, and also stocks the latest Beijing magazines. The enclosed balcony makes a great place for a few cocktails or frosty Qingdao beers. The lending library apparently has over 9,000 titles, and books can be borrowed with an inexpensive subscription.

Recommended dishes: Cream Caramel, Cheese Cake, Salmon, Beef Steak, Caesar Salad, Kuhs, Latte, Cappuccino

Facing out onto the Liangma River, this cute café is airy, clean and comfortable. The owner of the café is a nutritionist, so he focuses much on healthy and wholesome food. The menu is a little limited, where there are only some sandwiches on offer.

The chicken salad sandwich (¥29) is delicious, served on fresh, in-house baked bread, with grilled chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, mustard and the very tasty addition of pickles. The apple tuna sandwich (¥29) isn’t anywhere near so successful, but an improved recipe is in the works. The apple muffin (¥6) is pleasantly un-sugary and moist. It’s early doors for this place, but the café is off to a promising start. As for coffee here, latte and mocha are both available.

Desserts are a must when enjoying times with close friends and the fashionable cupcakes as well as varieties of cakes are better desserts. When you can find a place to enjoy times with your close friends, come to the north area of Sanlitun. The Colibri Café will not fail you.

It provides you with a fine environment, where the large glass windows keep cold wind away from the café. The wooden chairs and simple white décor make cupcakes on the showcase stand out. Raspberry, green tea, lemon and chocolate cupcakes are classic ones at Colibri Café. it will be very relaxing to take a seat in the afternoon or in the evening and have a cup of coffee, nectar or juices.

Providing a service that lies somewhere between lending library, coffee shop, and restaurant and bar, its originality and useful service for the Beijing English language book reading community is invaluable. With high-ceilinged rooms and a simple open plan layout, just sitting and soaking up the atmosphere in the café is a pleasure. The walls of the rooms are lined with ceiling to floor bookshelves; all volumes can be taken out and returned using a library system afforded to members who pay a very reasonable sum of just 300 RMB a year. Membership also gets you a 10% discount on the menu and cheaper access to the Bookworm’s many events. Given that many books are difficult to get hold of in China the Bookworm is a godsend to the veracious reader. The drink and food menus are comprehensive and fairly sophisticated, suiting the tastes of upwardly mobile clientele. The Bookworm is one of the favorite venues of visiting authors to hold readings; these are often packed out affairs, with a wide cross section of local and expat visitors – check their website for upcoming events. The Bookworm isn’t just a coffee shop/bar/restaurant – it’s a Beijing institution. And they have a Chengdu and Suzhou branch as well.

There are quite a number of Tibetian ornamental displays at the entrance of this cafe which attracted me to enter this place (because I have long wanted to visit Tibet but have not had the opportunity). The boss (there is no waiter in his cafe, only the boss and his brother minding the place) is from Tibet and speaks fluently in Mandarin and English. Perhaps this is Tibetan culture, they looked a little stern. However I liked the open roof top seating area on the second floor. They serve authentic Tibetan tea at RMB25~250ml (tastes like cereal milk tea) and Tibetian beer (5% alcohol, tastes a little sour and resembles Russia\'s non-alcoholic wheat drinks) at RMB15~150ml. They also serve "illy" coffee, Qingdao Beer~costs RMB15. Lights snacks are also available.

And many shops, cafes and bars are opened there. Café Alba is one of the popular café there.Cafe Alba is the perfect place to relax with a book in one hand and a cup of well-brewed coffee in the other. If it’s a strong cup of coffee and friendly ambience you’re looking for, then you’ve definitely found the right spot. What’s more, Alba also offers a delicious range of freshly prepared food, including sandwiches and a mouth-watering range of desserts. Try their homemade apple tart, or their delicious ice-cream. The cafe also offers free wireless internet, so taking your laptop and lounging in the cafe’s intimate settings for a few hours is also a viable option.

Introduction

Blink and you'll miss the opening in the faux-adobe wall of the Nali Patio, where two Frenchmen from Britanny have imported their local street food to Beijing. With only four or five outdoor tables in the warm weather, most patrons have to eat and run like at the city's typical jianbing (Beijing pancake) stalls. The lucky few, however, can while away the afternoon with cider or Pastis.

There are savory crêpes such as the Bretonne and the Salmon crêpe, which are perfect for a light meal. They also serve paninis and waffles if you're looking for something heartier. Dessert crêpes include the obligatory Nutella, bananas and whipped cream. For something different try the flambéed Crêpe Suzette with Grand Marnier.

Introduction

Founded in 2009 in Nanluoguxiang, the tiny café, bar and live music venue encourages quietly the city's local talent with tribute nights to the classic rock gods whose posters and photos adorn the walls.

Backed by record label and design studio Rockland, Sixtynine Impression Music & Coffee (69 Cafe for short) only jumps out if you're looking for it, with a black doorway leading into an alley, marked with white records making the 69 logo.

The space inside is limited, which is fine for most of their events, where local singer-songwriter types play a set of covers of classic artists like Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lou Reed and Radiohead. But when they invite someone like Snapline or Carsick Cars' frontman Zhang Shouwang to the stage, you'd better plan to turn up early or you won't make it through the door.

But what makes 69 Cafe great is its laid back atmosphere and homey, cozy design. Crammed with classic rock memorabilia and comfy couches, it's easy to while away the afternoon hours, or catch an experimental band on the weekend. Most shows start around 9pm and will set you back RMB20, so it's an easy night of quality music in the heart of bustling Nanluoguxiang.

They're stocked with the usual Tiger and Tsingtao beers for RMB20/bottle, with a few imported brews around RMB40. They also have a selection of standard cocktails and mixed drinks (RMB30-45), and some intriguing zodiac-themed drinks (RMB45-60) which we didn't try for fear of blue curaçao.

Laoshe Tea House is a hot spot for both foreigners and expats. Spend just two hours here at Laoshe Teahouse and you'll experience the authentic lifestyle of the old Beijing. Sipping tea, munching on local snacks and watching a revue of the most popular Chinese traditional performances are just some of the things you’ll do while here. The tea house is named after the renowned Chinese writer Lao She who is famous for his drama entitled, "Teahouse", which is a vivid portrayal of the social dimensions of old Beijing.

Laoshe Teahouse was founded in 1988. It soon became popular in Beijing for offering "Dawancha" or "big-bowl tea," a tradition that has been running for more than two decades. The best part is that the price has never changed. Today, you can still get a bowl of refreshing tea for only two Chinese cents. And if you don't have the change, don't worry a cup of tea will be served for free. The open air tea service is a tradition that goes back 17-hundred years and is just one part of the rich tea culture of Beijing.

Take Bus No. 5, 10, 110, and 120, and get off at Qianmen stop, or take subway Line 2 and get off at Qianmen station.

Mt. Qomolangma, known to the West as Mt. Everest, is Tibet’s most famous geographic feature. It has long been held as both a mystical dreamland and the ultimate challenge for Earth’s most skilled hikers.

It’s also the enduring symbol of Tibet and Tibetan culture.

But for those less adventurous people who still want a taste of Tibet, Beijing offers a number of Tibetan restaurants serving the region’s traditional foods.

Located on Gulou Avenue, Qomolangma Restaurant is one of city’s best-known Tibetan restaurants. It is also the only restaurant afflicted with Tibet’s representative office in the capital.

Diners on Dianping.com gave the restaurant an average score of 4.5 out of 5 stars. The roasted lamb steak was especially popular, with many reviewers praising its tender and moderate flavor. Portions are reportedly good for the price.

The restaurant also serves traditional tsampa, a staple foodstuff on the Tibetan plateau. Diners who didn’t have any experience with Tibetan food noted that the tsampa had an unusual taste that was hard to accept but still worth trying.

The roasted yak, as one of the most famous dishes in Tibetan cuisine, also came highly recommend by reviewers on Dianping.

Qomolangma’s restaurant is a good warm-up for aspiring travelers who cling to Tibet as their dream destination.