made in china
the memories of my recent trip to beijing is slipping away. i remember random meals and places but i can't seem to attach any emotion to them. maybe it was the weather, it was so cold that my emotions were numbed. or maybe it was too crowded and noisy that i couldn't hear myself think.
it was a good trip though. i guess it's always good to be away. i've always wanted to re-visit beijing and seeing the city again 7 years later was somewhat exciting for me. i guess the best part about this trip was uncovering the little nooks and crannies of the big city; the random indie music store, the uber chic 1949 gallery/restaurant, the hole-in-the-wall yogurt joint, the little cafe by gu lou da jie, and the many many supermarts that J and i visited.
the culinary adventure was somewhat disappointing. maybe if i ate the damn starfish, i would be singing a different tune but i copped out, and i know someone is never going to let this one go. i never thought i'd be eating russian food but i guess we did. first dinner in beijing was memorable with borsch soup, pancakes with caviar and lots of other food baked with cheese. the second russian meal we had was memorable for a different reason. the moscow restaurant, which first introduced western food to the chinese people in 1954 is somewhat of an iconic restaurant. and since we were so smitten by russian food, we had to go try what we thought was authentic russian food. that meal at moscow restaurant was so incredibly bad that it deserves one separate blog entry. let's just say i've possibly eaten the worst chocolate cake to date at this culinary institution.
J and i did have some life changing sharksfin soup though. i copped out on my no-sharksfin policy when i saw that the sharksfin was cooked with saffron at dadong. it was quite hard to pass out on that so i caved in. and the guilt from killing a shark for fin dissipated into thin air when i put the first mouthful of saffron cooked fin into my mouth.
just the other day, i read that china has overtaken spain to become the number one tourist destination. getting squashed by a sea of people on the train, squirming at the guttural noises before an impending spit, enjoying the very exciting contemporary art scene and queuing for a cheap lamb kebab, all in a day's work for a trespasser.
beijing was interesting (again), but not inspiring.
it was a good trip though. i guess it's always good to be away. i've always wanted to re-visit beijing and seeing the city again 7 years later was somewhat exciting for me. i guess the best part about this trip was uncovering the little nooks and crannies of the big city; the random indie music store, the uber chic 1949 gallery/restaurant, the hole-in-the-wall yogurt joint, the little cafe by gu lou da jie, and the many many supermarts that J and i visited.
the culinary adventure was somewhat disappointing. maybe if i ate the damn starfish, i would be singing a different tune but i copped out, and i know someone is never going to let this one go. i never thought i'd be eating russian food but i guess we did. first dinner in beijing was memorable with borsch soup, pancakes with caviar and lots of other food baked with cheese. the second russian meal we had was memorable for a different reason. the moscow restaurant, which first introduced western food to the chinese people in 1954 is somewhat of an iconic restaurant. and since we were so smitten by russian food, we had to go try what we thought was authentic russian food. that meal at moscow restaurant was so incredibly bad that it deserves one separate blog entry. let's just say i've possibly eaten the worst chocolate cake to date at this culinary institution.
J and i did have some life changing sharksfin soup though. i copped out on my no-sharksfin policy when i saw that the sharksfin was cooked with saffron at dadong. it was quite hard to pass out on that so i caved in. and the guilt from killing a shark for fin dissipated into thin air when i put the first mouthful of saffron cooked fin into my mouth.
just the other day, i read that china has overtaken spain to become the number one tourist destination. getting squashed by a sea of people on the train, squirming at the guttural noises before an impending spit, enjoying the very exciting contemporary art scene and queuing for a cheap lamb kebab, all in a day's work for a trespasser.
beijing was interesting (again), but not inspiring.