UnTour Beijing City Manager and tour guide extraordinaire Chang Qian joined Ben Tracy of CBS Sunday Morning’s Postcard from China to explore one of our all-time favorite winter snacks: chestnuts! On this special chestnut food tour, Chang took the CBS crew to one of Beijing’s most famous chestnut stops. Daily queues are long, but it’s worth it to try these delicious snacks.
Check out the video below:
Where to Eat Chestnuts in Beijing
Chang took CBS & Ben Tracy to Gan Guo Zhang Chestnut Shop (干果张). You can always expect a line at this local favorite. The chestnuts hail from Qianxi and Huairou. The cooking method uses an open-faced cauldron with heated sand inside.
144 Dongzhimen Dajie (东直门大街144号). Open: 6:30am-midnight
To check out the family shop featured in the CBS video, head to Qiu Li Xiang (秋栗香). One generation actually served the emperors in the Forbidden City!
2 Di’an Men West Dajie. 地安门西大街2号. Open: 9:30am-9pm.
Chestnuts are a common snack all over China, but they’re mostly cultivated in northern China. Chestnuts are a great winter snack as they’re high in vitamin C and zinc, which helps boost the immune system to keep away those winter colds and flus. They are also high in potassium, magnesium, iron and manganese, as well as protein and B vitamins.
In traditional Chinese medicine, chestnuts are known as the kidney nut because they are good for replenishing the kidney and spleen. The perfect time to eat chestnuts in winter as TCM acknowledges them as a warming food that help expel the cold.
For more on Beijing’s best snacks and to explore the, join our Old Beijing Dinner Tour or our Beijing Hutong Breakfast tour. We will be open over the holidays!
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