Baihe Courtyard

As the name suggests Baihe Courtyard sits in a picturesque renovated courtyard in a quiet hutong or alleyway. It is tucked away behind the buzzing Ghost Street (Gui Jie in Chinese), so called because of the rows of red lanterns that hang outside the hot pot restaurants there. But if Ghost Street is noisy and chaotic, Baihe Courtyard is an opposite experience: the restaurant breathes serenity. The food, all reasonably priced, is vegetarian and the space also includes a library of classical Chinese texts that adds to its charms. Must tries include an impressive selection of Buddhist fake meats, some of which taste surprisingly like the real thing.