The street called Magasinsgatan stretches through a cool part of the city centre, where you can easily spend an hour or two shopping (some of Gothenburg’s best independent design and fashion outlets can be found nearby). Thankfully the same street has a couple of great, cheap places to stop for a snack when hunger kicks in – not least this minimalist-style Chinese dumpling restaurant.
However you like your dumplings, Beijing 8 can deliver the goods. Fillings include duck, chicken, beef, salmon and a veggie-friendly option with cabbage and aubergine. If you eat meat, the pork with shiitake mushrooms, red chilli and sesame is delicious. All of these dumplings are available steamed or fried, and are cooked to order.
Obviously you’ll need something to dip your dumplings in and Beijing 8 comes up trumps with some great sauces like hoisin and garlic, plum and ginger, and chilli with peanut mayo. A couple of sides are also available for you to get your chopsticks into, including a glassnoodle salad and steamed edamame beans, sprinkled with shards of salt.
Drinks come in the form of organic iced teas, flavoured with fruit. Hot oolong tea and cups of earl grey are also on the menu, as is organic Swedish beer, which slips down surprisingly well with dumplings.
This place is part of a chain of restaurants now spreading across Europe. In our experience it can feel a little unloved at busy times, with a few too many bamboo steamers being left to stack up on the tables. The food is consistently good, however, and the prices are low enough to make that quick post-shopping pit stop worthwhile.
Beijing 8
Magasinsgatan 3
Gothenburg
Mon–Thurs 11am–9pm, Fri 11am–10pm, Sat noon–10pm
+46 317 010 808
beijing8.se
Last updated: September 2014
