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A little preparation. A much better adventure.Independent travel advice · Made for China
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A taste of Pingyao

Guanyun Beef shops

冠云牛肉

Not a restaurant but the brand to buy Pingyao beef from. Pingyao beef is a cured, slow-braised whole-muscle beef that has been made here for centuries and is the town's actual culinary export; Guanyun is the main industrial producer and has shops throughout the old town. Buying a vacuum pack here is better value and better quality than ordering the cold plate in most tourist restaurants inside the walls.

Price not confirmedShops throughout Pingyao old town and outside the walls
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Why come here

A place worth making time for

The principal and most widely recommended producer of Pingyao beef, the town's protected regional speciality; a product brand rather than an awarded restaurant.

The house favourites

What to order

Point at the Chinese. Staff will understand it even where the menu has no English at all.

  • Pingyao cured beef, vacuum-packed (平遥牛肉)
  • Beef in aged-vinegar marinade (陈醋牛肉)

What it actually tastes like

Dense, salty and dark, eaten cold in thin slices. It is nothing like a steak and nothing like Western cured beef; the texture is closer to a firm pâté-less terrine.

Allergens in this kitchen

soy

This is the kitchen, not one dish. Woks, fryers, blanching water and utensils are shared in almost every Chinese restaurant, so for a serious allergy treat the whole premises as the unit rather than ordering around it.

Get to know the menu

Local specialities to try here

Pingyao Beef 平遥牛肉Deeply savoury and salty with a faint sweetness, extremely tender — it genuinely falls apart in the mouth.