AP Photos A woman poses with a skewer of fried scorpions at the Wangfujing Street shopping area in Beijing. Today’s Beijing is packed with eateries at every corner, open at all hours and offering regional cuisines of all kinds a reflection of China’s stunning economic success after almost three decades of convulsive growth.

BEIJING—My last houseguest had 13 restaurants on his to-try list, including three renowned for succulent versions of crisp-skinned Peking duck, one popular for its tongue-tingling Sichuan cuisine and a Uighur joint, known as much for the ethnic minority’s cumin-spiced lamb skewers as its exuberant floor show. “I never thought Beijing would have so many things!” he said hungrily after hours of online research. Gone are the days when the traditional Chinese greeting “Have you eaten yet?” seemed like a bad joke in the dour capital where, as recently as the 1980s, staples were rationed, state-run canteens dished out the slop of the day in chipped enamel bowls and restaurants were few and far between. Today’s Beijing is packed with eateries at every corner, open at all hours and offering regional cuisines of all kinds — a reflection of China’s stunning economic success after almost three decades of convulsive growth. And the run-up to the Aug. 8 Beijing Olympics has underscored the quantum leap in the quality and variety of fare on offer, with menus and manners being polished in anticipation of the crowd of 500,000 visitors during the games. From al dente hand-pulled noodles splashed with bracing black vinegar from Shanxi province in the north, to fingernail-sized chicken pieces buried in a mountain of dried chilies from Sichuan in the southwest, to the rich, sweet braises of the east, there is something to pique every palate.