Wolfgang Busch

Show off your knowledge of the local cuisine in Beijing next time you plan on bringing a friend. Even if you have limited knowledge from your own experiences you can show a friend how the locals eat with a little cheat sheet on where to go. Here's just a taste of what Beijing has to offer and where the locals come back to again and again.

There is perhaps no place in the world who serves up a Peking Duck like Quanjude. Established in 1864, it is definitely a favorite of tourists, but the locals are proud of this legendary restaurant. Its flagship restaurant is located on Qianmen Street in the Chongwen District with many other branches throughout Beijing. Quanjude has served many dignitaries from more than 200 countries.

For the best in dumplings and a favorite among locals is Mr. Shi's. You can order your dumplings either boiled or pan-fried and choose from vegetarian, pork, or shrimp fillings. Mr. Shi's is always packed with locals for the good food and good prices. You can fill up fast on the cheap and will find yourself coming back again and again. This is a great place to show a friend how to eat like a local without breaking the bank.

Locals flock to street vendors for some of the best, and cheapest, food in Beijing. From lamb kabobs to squiggly scorpions and starfish on a stick, there is much to choose from for the adventurous palate. You might want to start out with something less challenging for breakfast, such as baozi, a bun filled with pork, vegetables, and other tasty delights. One of the most popular stands for baozi can be found on Xinzhongjie.

For lunch and dinner, take your unsuspecting friend to the Donghuamen night market for more exotic fare. Though the market is a local favorite, it does get busy with a lot of curious tourists. Here you can find foods tailored to the Western palate and a wide variety of foods representing the many cultures of China. The lamb kabobs and pita bread stuffed with meat that are sure to please. If you're more adventurous, you can try squid, grasshoppers, and those squiggly scorpions and starfish.

There is plenty for the sweet tooth at the Donghuamen Night Market such as fried pancakes, bananas, and a big favorite among the locals, tang hu lu. This super sweet treat is comprised of several hawthorne fruits on a stick which are coated in thick and sticky caramel. You'll spend a good amount of time working through the caramel and ultimately trying to get it out of your teeth, but it's worth the trouble. It's a great way to get that lasting taste of scorpion out of your mouth.

Now you can confidently show your friend around Beijing and pride yourself in showing him how the locals eat as though you've lived there for years. Along the way, you'll surely come to know the best of Beijing.

Excellent spots to take a walk, grab a bite, or enjoy music and theater with a view.

French philosopher Michel de Certeau wrote beautifully about the eerie power of standing above a city and gazing down at it from a great height in his seminal essay ‘Walking in the City’.

In it, Certeau begins atop the Empire State Building and notices how this position is one of great privilege: to see the city from above, not from the streets: to be exclusive and above the normal urban project. A view from above is for the big spenders, the rich; a view from the streets is for the citizen, the local.

Yet does this tale of New York apply elsewhere? Catching a glimpse of London from above can be an equally rare pleasure – but there are more opportunities to do so than one might initially think.

Many central London hotels have some excellent views around the city’s busiest buildings – we recommend the cluster of hotels around Hyde Park and the Park Plaza complexes around Westminster Bridge, Waterloo and the South Bank. We’ve picked out some of the best places to get a great view of London on foot – and up high with a bite to eat.

Whilst dining at some of London’s high restaurants can be pricey, there are some excellent spots which have lovely bars too and are in fact much better for popping up around 6.30-7pm to catch the autumn sunset and have an aperitif.

Bang central is Paramount at Centre Point, a very ugly building on Tottenham Court Road, whose top floor boasts this lovely bar and stunning views around the whole city. There’s also a restaurant run by Searcy’s atop the National Portrait Gallery just off Trafalgar Square; from a table here you’ll see all the delights of old central London, from the National Gallery and Houses of Parliament to the new London Eye.

In the east, the Gherkin also had a panoramic bar/restaurant run by Searcy’s, giving great views from east to west, and further east and south towards Canary Wharf. The sense of eerie exclusivity will really come to the fore in this area.

The classic choice is to go up the Oxo Tower on the Southbank, offering stunning views across the St Paul’s, as well as all along the river.

My personal favourite is to walk the city; this is a wonderful thing to do on a clear day, especially a week day if you are on holiday and can take the time off. Top tips are mostly in the north, allowing you to bow down over the rest of the city; furthest north is the towering Victorian delight of Alexandra Palace – itself an amazing structure which offers stunning views across the whole expanse of the capital. A little closer in, you’ll want to wander up Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath (a great spot for any kind of long lazy walk in London). Best for sunsets and late at night is Primrose Hill as the day winds down, overlooking the Regent’s Canal, Camden and the glittering lights of the city.

Long days of sightseeing in London deserve good nights of first class entertainment. Whether you’re staying at one of the cheap hostal or have a suite at the Ritz, after a busy day you deserve to let your hair down in style. London has been a home to every cultural phenomenon and in the recent years one certainly started to sparkle and seduce - I’m talking about the art of burlesque. Originally a cabaret act intended to mock and ridicule, burlesque evolved into a fun but sensual dance art form and world class celebrities such as Dita Von Teese definitely helped to popularise it. Embracing the retro pin up style of the 1940s and 1950s, burlesque is storming the city!

If you’re in town in November, Chaz Royal, a producer of award wining burlesque shows and founder of The London Burlesque Festival, will be hosting a 10 Year Anniversary Celebration. To celebrate a decade in business the winners of World Burlesque 2012 Games, such as Eliza Delite, will take to stage to entertain and tease in a truly decadent fashion. The festival itself takes place in April and also has its spot at Edinburgh Fringe - I’d highly recommend pencilling those dates in your next year’s calendar.

Don’t despair if you miss the celebration or the festival - London is buzzing with burlesque performances on weekly basis. Bohemian Café de Paris every Sunday gives its stage to the Wam Bam Club - a weekly explosive mixture of comedy and burlesque. Wam Bam Club is one of the longest running cabaret nights in London and many of the 15 acts are residents well acquainted with the audience. Wam Bam stages boylesque acts as well, still a rarity among the ladies. The entertainment, complete with a three course meal, will certainly make for an unforgettable experience.

Majority of burlesque shows take place in the very heart of the City or around Mayfair, however should you fancy a more alternative option, Proud Cabaret in Camden comes to the rescue. Located in Stables Market in the old Horse Hospital, the venue brings extravagant glamour to the North of London. With their newest offering ’50 Shades Of Cabaret’, a burlesque and dinner show, this supper club is not to be missed. However for a more intimate experience head to the up and coming Stoke Newington, where at The White Rabbit on a Friday every month you’re invited to go ‘Down The Rabbit Hole’ - a new and exciting night, promoting fresh burlesque talent in the city. The venue itself is kooky and cosy and the intimacy will let you experience burlesque as if you were in a real Parisian cafe.

Burlesque will certainly add some glamour, sparkle and good laughs to your night time entertainment. If the shows themselves were not enough to make you come back - there are plenty of burlesque and boylesque academies, encouraging you to come in and try the art form yourself. Who knows, you might be the star of the next year’s London Burlesque Festival!