Sunday, April 15, 2007

More Beijing

So we had our first official Chinese dinner. I did not expect it to be like the Chinese food we’re used to but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was actually a little nervous. A lot of restaurants do not have English menus so I was afraid I’d wind up with a fish head on my plate. Luckily we found a restaurant that did have an English menu. There is this whole little strip of restaurants and bars along a lake. It was a quaint little area about 15 minutes from our hotel. After noticing that all but two dishes on the menu were some sort of seafood, I opted for the Beef and Hangzhou pepper and a side of asparagus. Now I wasn’t sure what Hangzhou pepper was, but it sure sounded better than my other option, feathered chicken.

The beef was good. The asparagus was okay, a little bland. By the way, Hangzhou pepper is like a green hot, hot, hot pepper. I took one small bite of one and my mouth was on fire. No more Hangzhou pepper for me!

After dinner we wandered into a little bar for a cocktail. It turns out they had a live band playing. Here we are in Beijing China at, The Buffalo Club bar, having a cocktail and listening to a live band playing Spanish music. All in all, a fun and entertaining evening.


We awoke the next morning and headed off to see the Summer Palace. I would not have thought that we would see anything more impressive than the Forbidden City, but we did. The Summer Palace is over 700 acres of islands, lakes, gardens and temples. We originally planned to do the Summer Palace in the morning and then the Temple of Heaven later in the afternoon. But we wound up spending the whole day walking the grounds at the Summer Palace. Every corner we turned revealed another jaw dropping sight. It was truly magnificent. I took a ton of pictures and I hope some of them can capture the beauty of this enchanting place.

After walking for almost 8 hours, we were ready to take a break. Here’s were we made our first official travel mistake. We grabbed the first taxi we saw and hopped in, thrilled to finally be sitting. Unfortunately, we had hopped into an “independent” taxi. When we arrived at our hotel, he tried to charge us more than double what the trip to the Summer Palace had cost us! We told him NO, too much and we paid him less than what he was asking but still considerably more than what we paid the trip out there. He was angry, we were angry, but he took the money, drove away and we learned a valuable lesson.

Next we are off to the Great Wall. I’m so excited to see it. I just hope these old legs can actually make it up some of the steps. After two days of solid walking, the knees are creaking!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow, what an adventure, and it's only 2 days in. Here are some restaurant possibilities from an article I found:

"For those don't speak Chinese or enjoy pantomiming -- and who'd like a restaurant with a clean floor -- here are six Beijing haunts offering English menus that showcase a variety of Chinese food.
1. Yu Xin for some of the city's most authentic Sichuan cuisine (011-86-10-6415-8168). At 5A Xingfu Yicun Xili, Chaoyang District. Nearest metro: Dongsishitiao.
2. Din Tai Fung for dumplings that "explode in your mouth" (I think supposedly in a good way)(011-86-10-6462-4502). At 22 Hujiayuan, Dongcheng District. Nearest metro: Dongzhimen.
3. Bellagio for Regional Taiwanese...supposed to be hip but not expensive, "waitresses here sport identical short haircuts(011-86-10-6551-3533). At 6 Gongti Xi Lu, Chaoyang District. Nearest metro: Chaoyangmen.
4. Vincent Cafe for inexpensive but good French/Chinese(011-86-10-8456-4823). This is in the artist district (sounds a bit dodgy but maybe cool during the day) called Dashanzi Yishuqu (or "Factory 798"). They have crepes or all kinds, plus things like braised beef and rice. At 2 Jiu Xian Qiao Lu, Chaoyang District. Nearest metro: Take the 915 or 918 bus near the Dongzhimen metro out to Dashanzi.

5. Xiao Wangfu for home-style Beijing cuisine. "You'll see plenty of Westerners, but just as many Beijingers looking for food like mom used to make." (011-86-10-6592-8777). Behind the City Hotel at 4 Gongti Dong Lu, Chaoyang District. Nearest metro: Dongsishitiao.


There's one more in the article, but it is for a hot pot place (basically hot liquids, which is not your thing). But if I was there, yum!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/28/AR2006042800717.html

MJ