Eating in a Chinese Restaurant

January 2014 

Rory and I eat out all the time and while these events aren’t especially noteworthy, I thought it might be worth describing the experience, for posterity and all that. As with all restaurants you walk in, explain that you need a table for two (we just stick up two fingers, politely of course) and then you are seated. Here’s where things go a little differently. If you are lucky enough to find a restaurant with a picture menu, then you spend a few seconds frantically flicking though until you find something that looks tasty/doesn’t have a head or feet still attached. Normally this would be a leisurely experience but in China the waiter waits at your table while you have the menu and doesn’t leave until you’ve ordered. Maybe they’re being hospitable, maybe they think I’m going to steal the A3 size menu, who knows but it can be a pretty stressful experience. 

Doesn't he look stressed...

You then wait for your meal to arrive. We usually order one or two dishes and then two portions of white rice (which is like 20p, amazing). The food comes out at different times and they serve the rice at the end of the meal which might be fine for Chinese people but I like to have a bit of rice with my dinner and not as dessert so we usually have to frantically signal for this as soon as our mains touch down. 

All food is eaten with chopsticks and you don’t get a dinner plate, rather you have a little side plate. It really is little, it’s like a saucer which I suppose is great for portion control. They also serve all meals family style, which basically means the food is in the middle and you have to stretch or starve. This works well when Rory and I are out together, I get all the good stuff and he finishes everything, even the decorative bits that I don’t think you’re supposed to eat. If you are out as a group then it’s great as you can try lots of different dishes but I won’t lie, I have felt anxious when eating as a group, there’s a constant inner monologue that is saying; I ordered that dish because I wanted to eat that dish, I’m not eating your food so don’t eat mine!

  

If you are hoping for a smoke free environment you will be sorely disappointed. Of course there are no smoking signs all over each restaurant but beneath each sign there will be someone puffing away without a care in the world! Another thing that I have noticed is that Chinese people order an obscene amount of food and leave most of it. Rory and I order a little and eat everything. Waste not want not and all that. We also have never spent more than £10 when eating in a Chinese restaurant. We did spend £20 in a western restaurant but we got 3 burgers, 2 beers and some water so it was actually quite the bargain. Another thing that makes eating in China a bargain is that you don’t have to tip. Adding the extra 10-15% to a cheap meal really wouldn’t bother me but they just don’t do it here and I’ve even heard that if you do they will chase you down the road to return the change! 

While we have had some questionable meals, more often than not they have been delicious and cheap! The food in China is not exactly what I expected but I absolutely love it and it will definitely be one of the many things that I will really miss about living in Beijing!  

Christmas in China

December 2013 

I absolutely love Christmas. It is and always has been, my favourite time of year. There is nothing quite like getting cosy in front of the fire, watching Christmas movies, eating amazing food and spending some quality time with your family. Plus, you get an obscene amount of presents for doing nothing! 

Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year and it is something I eagerly await, so when I was faced with spending Christmas in China I was pretty devastated. I won’t lie, I did consider quitting my job and flying back in time for turkey but apparently grown-ups don’t just quit their jobs and go home to eat niceys! While we only got one day off to celebrate the birth of Christ/stuff our faces, we decided to make the most of it!

The Decorations

In an attempt to keep costs down Rory and I decided not to buy a Christmas tree but we’re not total Scrooges, we did some decorating...

Our Christmas tree and lone bauble.

Our secret Santa presents from work!

The Presents

There is nothing quite as exciting as Christmas morning. I am always the first one up and each year I patiently wait until it is socially acceptable to wake the entire house. Once I have literally dragged everyone out of bed we unlock the living room door and I finally get to see what Santa has brought me. Old habits die hard and when 5.30am rolled around I was wide awake. However, it seems that Santa got lost this year as there was hardly a present in sight. Thankfully Rory saved the day and had my favourite chocolates sent from home. 

Christmas morning hot chocolate!

The Festivities

 I love Christmas traditions. Every Christmas Eve we walk to Crawfordsburn and take family pictures, unfortunately a walk in smoggy Beijing wasn’t just as appealing so instead Rory and I watched movie after movie. We also went carolling – well, we were roped in to singing carols in the local mall as a promotion for work. It was actually quite fun; I had no idea my Christmas carol knowledge was so extensive!

 

Santa's coming!?

I know him!

The Food

If you have ever met me you will know that I love food. Why eat to live when you can live to eat? I am particularly fond of Christmas dinner; Esther is the best cook in the world and she pulls out all the stops for Christmas. Rather than journeying downtown for what would be an overrated and overpriced Christmas dinner we went to our local and had some tasty Chinese food. While it wasn’t quite as good as Esther’s dinner, there wasn’t a chicken foot in sight so I consider our first Christmas dinner in China a great success.

Chinese food, terrible decorations, a few rubbish presents and there you have it; our first Christmas in China! 

Another Mini Adventure

7^th December 2013 

December has been a busy month but we have managed to fit in a few adventures. Not surprisingly several of these adventures have involved food but not just any food – burgers! While I’m not overly fond of burgers, I am an amazing girlfriend and I fully support Rory in his quest to find Beijing’s Best Burger. Yes, that’s right, if it means I have to go to every western restaurant in the city and eat the delicious food they have on offer then I am willing to do it, all to make him happy. We’ve only been here for a few months but I am completely confident that we have completed our quest and found the best burger in all of Beijing. It’s a cheeseburger but not your average cheeseburger, this burger is a marvel. We are talking bun, special sauce, cheese, beef patty, cheese, second beef patty, more cheese, aioli, bun and not only that but they come with sides and all for the bargain price of £5!

The Brewery

It feels like you're in New York but you're in a hutong in Beijing!

Our adventures are not only limited to edible excursions. In fact, with Christmas fast approaching we decided that a trip to church would help us get in to the spirit of Christmas. Obviously China isn’t a Christian country so churches are few and far between but we did manage to find a Catholic church in downtown Beijing so after dusting off our Lonely Planet guide book we set off in search of some carols. 

The church itself was very impressive and there was a nice mix of westerners and Chinese people, there were even nuns! I crossed my fingers and hoped we would kick off the service with a nice rendition of O Come All Ye Faithful or perhaps Oh Holy Night but my dreams were soon shattered when I realised that it was just a regular Mass and they don’t sing Carols during Mass! Devastated doesn’t cover the range of emotions I felt but it was still interesting to see the church and how they do things in China! 

 

 

On the way home we walked through a few busy hutongs which reminded me that even though we can find Christian churches full of westerners, we are definitely still in China but that’s not a bad thing. Where else can you buy scorpion on a stick?

Back to the Bell Tower

03 December 2013

It’s December! We have entered our fifth month in China and I am happy to report that life here is better than expected. That’s probably not saying much. With hindsight, I realise that before I left I was a self appointed martyr, who acted as if she was being sent off to her exile/eventual death but now I’m actually here I am happy to report that I love living in China. I love waking up in my own apartment, I love the food, I love that everything is so cheap and most of all I love that I can hop on the subway and head off on an adventure whenever I want. Obviously there are things I could do without; the spitting, the smell, having to do my own washing and the chore that is cooking anything other than brownies but in general, I love it here!

Frozen lake

Coats for trees

One of the very first things we did when we arrived in Beijing was visit the Drum and Bell Tower. When we woke up the sky was blue and the air was crisp but not cold so we decided to venture back. After a forty minute subway ride which, as always, cost 20p, we arrived at Houhai Lake. To my surprise the lake was partly frozen! We had a bit of a cold snap a few days ago but I never thought it would be cold enough to freeze a huge lake! I can’t wait to come back after some proper cold weather - apparently ice skating on the lake is popular. Despite the sheet of ice people were still swimming! There wasn’t a wetsuit in sight either, just Speedos!

Assimilating with the locals

Random chickens on the doorstep

A bobo shop, for adults!

We had a quick lunch at a hole in the wall burger restaurant which despite being cooked in the world’s smallest electric grill was surprisingly good and we finished the day by walking around some of the local hutongs. Some of the pictures may look familiar which is probably because we retraced our steps from an earlier trip. I realise that everyday life doesn’t make for the most interesting Blog posts but it was nice to go back and see how Beijing has changed in the few months we’ve been here!