After spending almost a week exploring Hong Kong and Shanghai, we were looking forward to our final stop in China – Beijing. We said our goodbyes to Nick & Janet, and took off for Beijing with Jesse and Lu. As I had mentioned in my last entry, our friend Lu grew up in Beijing, so Andrew and I were looking forward to exploring the city she grew up in. Before I continue, I should mention that I really should be calling all of my entries for China mainly “food blogs.” Much of our time in Shanghai and Beijing was spent trying so many different types of Chinese cuisine. Lu introduced us to many different types, many of which Andrew and I were never aware of.
It’s an easy 2 hour flight from Shanghai to Beijing, and our hotel was only about 30 minutes from the airport. Unfortunately we landed around “rush hour”, so we hit a bit of traffic getting into the city. We learned there is A LOT of traffic in Beijing since there are so many people that live in the city – over 20 million people! It gets so congested there that people are only able to drive their cars on certain days, designated by the characters on their license plates.
On our first night in Beijing, Lu had planned for us to do dinner with her parents at a place called DaDong. Apparently DaDong is one of the best restaurants in the city to get Peking Duck, which is a famous duck dish originating in Beijing. As a side note, Lu’s parents still live in Beijing but Andrew and I got a chance to meet them a couple of years ago in LA when they came out for Jesse & Lu’s wedding.
As we entered the restaurant, Andrew and I were in awe of the beautiful aesthetics and decor inside. It was great to see Lu’s parents again and they took care of ordering all of the dishes for dinner. They wanted us to try a few things that Beijing and the restaurant are known for, so they ordered multiple dishes, which were all delicious. However, my absolute favorite (and Andrew’s as well) was the main course – the Peking Duck. The chef actually comes out to your table to cut the duck table side, and it’s an incredible thing to watch. He cuts it incredibly thin and presents it on the plate in a beautiful manner. We thanked Lu’s parents for a wonderful dinner and headed out to grab a drink before calling it a night.
DaDong – Peking Duck restaurant
The chef preparing the duck table side
On the right: The lady is teaching me the best way to eat the duck
Andrew & I, along with Jesse & Lu and Lu’s parents
The next day we grabbed a quick beef noodle soup lunch at the hotel before heading out for the day. One of the most significant sites in Beijing is the Forbidden City, which was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty, which ended in 1912. The area is surrounded by a moat and boasts numerous ancient buildings within. It was fascinating to hear the stories behind the history of the city. For example, we learned that the number of animal statues that were placed on the roof line of the building signified how important the building was in relation to all other buildings in the Forbidden City. If the building had more animal statues that another, it was considered more important.
Forbidden City
Entrance to the Forbidden City
Inside one of the buildings
After spending a few hours in the Forbidden City, we walked over to a nearby park called Beihai Park. It was a beautiful park surrounded by a lake, where Lu mentioned she used to ice skate nearby when she was younger.
Beihai Park
Afterwards we headed over to a little area full of shops and restaurants near the park called Hou Hai. We grabbed drinks on the rooftop of one of the restaurants before deciding we were all hungry and ready to grab some dinner.
Hou Hai
One of the other cuisines Lu wanted to introduce us to was known as “hot pot”, which is a very communal dining experience. With a “hot pot” dinner, you are given 2 different kinds of broth, generally one Sichuan (spicy) and one mild. Afterwards, everything you order from the menu comes out raw and you cook it in one of the heated broths. Andrew is really keen on spicy food, so he was looking forward to another spicy meal, however, I was happy they had a “non-spicy” option. We went to a hot pot restaurant called Haidilao, and since we were early we were able to get seated right away. Apparently this place gets extremely busy, which we saw when we left. The service was impeccable, another thing this restaurant is known for, and we had a great time.
Haidilao – Hot Pot Dinner
Ready to start cooking in our aprons!
The image on the right is a close-up of the spicy broth…so many peppers!
Our server wrote us a special note letting us know that she hoped we enjoyed the rest of our time in Beijing.
After dinner we decided to do a bit of a bar crawl. Lu had done some research and found a few unique bars that were located in actual apartment buildings. It was pretty interesting as the bars existed right next to actual apartments in a high-rise building. The first bar we went to didn’t have a drink menu, but instead asked their customers to look at this book that was filled with pictures and different phrases. It was our job to pick the page in the book that best described ourselves and then they would make us a drink based on the type of alcohol we wanted, as well as our choice of a “fruity” or “floral” flavor. The drinks turned out great!
The next bar we went to was in the apartment building next door and was known for having magicians. I was always very interested in magic while growing up, so I enjoyed being treated to some magic tricks while enjoying a drink at this bar before heading back to the hotel.
We had planned to spend the next day climbing The Great Wall since the weather was supposed to be good. We headed out early, as the portion of the Wall we were going to was about 1.5 hours outside of the city. We had heard that certain portions of the Wall tend to get very crowded, but we were very fortunate as the portion we climbed, known as Mu Tian Yu, wasn’t so busy.
The Great Wall of China (Mu Tian Yu portion)
Starting the climb up…
We climbed up to the farthest point accessible by the public. The final stretch was a very steep staircase and was hard to push through, but worth it once you saw the view from the top.
Made it to the top!
We were all pretty exhausted from a couple hours of climbing the wall, so we opted for the cable car to take us back down to where our car was.
We spent a few hours relaxing at the hotel before heading out to dinner to try yet another cuisine Lu wanted to introduce us to. The type of cuisine we had that night was food typical of Beijing, which tends to include “comfort food” type dishes, such as egg dishes and dumplings. Another very delicious meal!
Si Shi Tong Tang – Typical Beijing cuisine
The next day we headed over to a major shopping area known as Sanlitun, which contains a number of bars and shops. Lu had mentioned the last type of cuisine she wanted to introduce us to was Yunnan, so we went to a Yunnan restaurant for lunch, called Middle 8.
After lunch Lu and I went shopping, while the boys grabbed a few beers at some of the local bars. Lu took me to a shopping mart called Silk Street, where you have to be ready to negotiate for the price you want. They have everything from magnets to scarves to every kind of jewelry you can imagine. With Lu’s help, I was able to get a number of items without spending over $35 and we were pretty proud of our negotiating skills (mainly Lu’s since she could negotiate with them in Mandarin).
We met up with the boys at a local bar and grabbed a couple of beers before heading to a brewery that was near our hotel, Great Leap Brewing. We were all craving some American food, so we thought we would enjoy a traditional American meal on our last night, including things like caesar salad and onion rings.
Our very typical American meal at Great Leap Brewing
We headed back to the hotel after dinner as Andrew and I had a very early flight the next morning. Andrew and I both agreed that we were leaving China with a deeper appreciation for their culture, history, and especially their cuisine. This trip wouldn’t have been the same without Lu and Jesse and we were so happy to explore part of the country with them.
Andrew + Allison Around the World 