Beijing, Day 16: the white stuff

I don’t quite know what to make of this, but my sunscreen is a whitening and moisturizing formula.  Now, I wasn’t searching for this; it turns out that all the sunscreens promise to whiten and moisturize.  No doubt you are now wondering if now I look like a female Asian Michael Jackson, but I don’t.  The whitening sunscreen doesn’t lighten my skin; it only makes it look slightly ashy.

Whiteness is interesting here.  White people are few and far between, but if you pay attention to the advertisements, you wouldn’t know it.  I have noticed that there are more white people in ads in Beijing than Asian people in ads in the U.S.   Perhaps it depends on the product being sold, which is very interesting.  White people aren’t in the sports drink ads or the KFC ads.  But they are in the computer ads and an advertisement for a women’s hospital.

Why is a white women advertising a women’s hospital?  I don’t know.  Do white people bring credibility and prestige to a product?  Is this why they are used to sell computers and hospital services?

White people may not be an anomaly, but I think they might be when they’re in an interracial relationship.  After two weeks of participant observation, Drew and I have come to the conclusion that we attract the strange stares not because he’s white but more likely because we are an interracial couple.  (a couple of you commented about this and pointed out this possibility)  It is an odd feeling; I don’t know if the stares are curiosity or disapproval, but I’ve never experienced anything like it before.  Of course we know that we are an interracial couple, but it’s strange to have a non-issue become an issue (that’s probably why we didn’t attribute the strange looks to our relationship).  Oh well, the way that I feel about interracial relationships is the way I feel about same-sex marriage: you can resist and disapprove, but either way, the ship is sailing- whether you’re on it or not.

On a final (and humorous) note, I’ve noticed that many foods are sold with a disposable spoon.  Even the mayonnaise:

I literally laughed out loud when I saw this.  Why does anyone need a spoon for mayonnaise?

Beijing, Day 15: the bookworm

Not that this was ever particularly confusing, but I can understand the concept of an ethnic enclave.  This is my first trip out of the U.S., and I’ve been here for only 2 weeks, but already I can understand the comfort of eating food that is familiar to you and being surrounded by people who speak your language.  On Sunday, Drew and I headed to The Bookworm.  After a long day of traipsing around Forbidden City, we needed to do something low key.

The Bookworm is a bookstore and lending library with a cafe and bar.  The key is that all the books are in English.  Fodor’s describes the magazines and new-books section as “a stupendous sight for English-starved travelers.”  Believe me, it certainly was.  Drew and I hunkered down on a sofa with mozzarella sticks, chocolate cake, and a beer.  I caught up on the celebrity gossip; fortunately, the magazines were a few weeks old, so there were no Bachelorette spoilers (I can’t stay up to date with the current episodes- ABC’s copy write laws don’t extend beyond the U.S.).  I browsed cookbooks, read Bon Appetit, and bought a book for the plane ride home.  It was a simple and satisfying afternoon.

Beijing has been a lot of fun and a great experience, but I’ve reached the point at which I  am ready to come home.  There is still lots to see and eat, but I know that I’ll be ready to come home next Wednesday.  I will miss the food, especially the street food, the hustle and bustle of the city, a good public transportation system (it is really nice not having to drive everywhere), and the endless sights and things to do.

There are things at home that I’m looking forward to.  No humidity comes to mind.  I heard that there was a “heat wave” recently in Irvine (maybe right now?).  Oh SoCal, that’s nothing compared to the insanely high temps, humidity, and pounding sun in Beijing (or really, anywhere in the Southern U.S.).  I would gladly take 90 degrees, no humidity, and an ocean breeze.  I also can’t wait to grocery shop in peace.  I thought I had encountered my fair share of pushy sales clerks at home, but that’s nothing compared to Beijing.  In Wal-Mart, there are employees loitering the aisles, upselling products.  Don’t stare too long at laundry detergent; before you know it, there will be a clerk at your side trying to sell you a bigger and more expensive bottle.  There are also TVs in the aisles- loud ones- with ads running on a loop.  In the grocery section, the employees actually shout out on bullhorns- bullhorns!- to get your attention, invite you for a sample, and lure you to buy whatever it is they are selling.

I can’t wait to sink my teeth into a big salad.  And fresh, juicy fruit.  Mmmmm.  I know what you’re thinking- a salad?  Yes, a salad.  I practically fought Drew for the few lettuce leaves garnishing our mozzarella sticks.  Other foods I’m craving?  Macaroni and cheese, a veggie burger, any Mexican food (I would count Taco Bell right now), and a cupcake.  Yes, definitely a cupcake.  As much as I want to eat these foods, I know that I’m really going to miss the egg sandwiches, noodles, and dumplings here.  Even so, I still can’t wait to eat a cupcake.  Somewhere, there is one calling my name.

Beijing, Day 14: forbidden city and jingshan park

On Saturday, Drew and I headed to Forbidden City, the world’s largest palace complex and former home of a long line of emperors.  For a place in which only the emperor, select family members, concubines, and eunuch-servants were permitted to enter, it is ridiculously and excessively huge.  There were several buildings, halls, and gates with names such as the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Gate of Heavenly Purity, and the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Maybe it was the crowd or maybe it was the heat, but Forbidden City was disappointing.  The entire complex is shaped like a rectangle, but only the middle third of it (running vertically down the center) is accessible to the public.  You also can’t enter most of the halls and buildings.  The two that can be entered, the Hall of Clocks and Watches and the Gallery of Treasures, closed about a half an hour before Forbidden City’s closing time.  The halls have small viewing areas so that you can see inside, but with all the pushing and shoving, trying to catch a glimpse inside just wasn’t worth it.

It was interesting to walk around and look at the architecture, but after seeing a few buildings, it all starts to look the same.

After walking around, Drew and I went to Jingshan Park, which is just north of Forbidden City.  It provided a nice contrast to Forbidden City- the park was less crowded, green, and quiet.  There were a few pagodas at the top of the hill, and we hiked up for some breathtaking views of Forbidden City and the rest of Beijing.

Forbidden City was overrated, but it was one of those tourist-y things that we just had to do, like seeing the Statue of Liberty or going to the Sears Tower.  Fortunately though, paying a visit to the Jingshan Park salvaged our day.  We ended the day at Gongdelin, a vegetarian restaurant, where we ate kung pao mushrooms, chicken and chestnuts, and sweet and sour pork.

Check out more pictures from Forbidden City and Jingshan Park:

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Beijing, Day 13: jiangbing and dumplings

You know how dogs, even though they cannot speak or read, just know what certain words, gestures, and objects mean?  For example, a dog may not know that a leash is called a leash, but they certainly know what it means: a walk.  And any dog definitely knows what the word ‘treat’ means.  Well, we catch on to things like this too even if we don’t realize it.  Whenever I see one of those hot plate/griddle contraptions on the street, I know that this means jiangbing.

What is a jiangbing?  Only one of the coolest street foods ever.  Jiangbing starts out like a crepe:

Then an egg gets cracked into the batter:

Then the crepe gets flipped over:

And topped with a briny fermented bean paste, a hot chili sauce, scallions, and a piece of fried dough:

Then it is folded up and popped into a small plastic baggie:

It is piping hot, but when it finally cools off and you get to sink your teeth into it, it is worth the wait.  It is fairly similar to the egg sandwiches I find at other street carts.  I can’t decide which one I like better, but it sure is more interesting to watch the vendors make jiangbing.

Later that night, Drew and I went to a restaurant that we know only as the dumpling place.  We had been there earlier in our trip with Drew’s adviser.  This time we didn’t have him to order for us, so it was interesting.  Drew was able to order, but there is always a little bit of mystery involved whenever we go out to eat.  Our server spoke a little English, so Drew could at least convey that we don’t eat meat.

When our dumplings arrived, it was like opening up presents- we weren’t completely sure what was inside.  On the menu, Drew was able to identify some of the characters, so we knew that we were getting 3 different kinds of dumplings with egg.  The mystery was that we didn’t know what else would be inside.

Sometimes, surprises can be fun.  One kind of dumpling had egg and mushroom, another had egg and cabbage, and the last had egg and spinach (my favorite).  Mmmm, I love dumplings so much.  Drew’s adviser told us that Chinese people eat about 25 each in one meal.  As much as I love dumplings, I can’t imagine eating that many.  We washed our dumplings down with a nice, cold beer and some plum juice.  Apparently, dumplings and beer are a very summer-y thing to do in Beijing.

Beijing, Day 12: partying like it’s 1999

I’m not sure that I ever wanted to relive the late 1980s and 1990s, but well, sometimes I feel that I am in Beijing.  How do I say this delicately?  The music and clothing are a little behind the times.  Now, this comparison isn’t completely fair.  I have lived in Orange County for the past four years, so I’m sure that there are places in the United States that are outdated compared to SoCal.

There are moments in Beijing in which I am mentally transported to another year.  Like the time I saw a girl wearing a New Kids on the Block t-shirt and I was instantly transported to 5th grade.  I was a pretty big fan back then.  Or anytime I see women wearing scrunchies in their hair.  This takes me back to my gymnastics days, when I had quite the scrunchie collection to keep my hair out of place.

There are few times when I have heard American music playing, but when I do, it’s the stuff that I remember listening to in the 1990s.  It’s like high school all over again.  Drew and I heard an old song playing, and he asked me what it was.  I said it was Madonna, circa 1992.  We had a good laugh.  When we were at Hutong Pizza, there was a collection of pop songs playing on a loop.  They were so old that I recognized them and even knew most of the words (I haven’t listened to the radio since like 2001.  I know, I know, who’s outdated now?)

I am not a particularly fashionable person, but I have noticed that the women’s clothing, particularly the shoes, is different than what I’m used to.  Maybe slightly outdated.  For example, I’ve seen a lot of floral prints.  Lots.  And I’ve seen peculiar clothing choices, like mixing plaids and stripes.  I can’t quite out my finger on it, but the fashions are different here.  Not that different is bad.  The women are more modest here than in SoCal.  It’s nice not to see cleavage and mini skirts all the time.  Oh, and women here don’t confuse leggings for pants.  The other day, I noticed a white girl in the subway.  She was wearing a super long button down shirt but no pants.  I thought to myself, yup, just like home.  It turns out that she was wearing shorts, it was just that her shirt was so long that it covered them up.

At the end of the day, different doesn’t mean outdated.  Maybe mixing plaids with stripes will catch on in other parts of the world.  Maybe mini skirts and belly baring tops aren’t signs of fashion progress.

Beijing, Day 11: donghuamen market

“If it flies, swims, or runs, it’s food” is a Chinese saying, and I don’t think that it is far from the truth.  Last night, Drew and I went to the Donghuamen Night Market.  It is this long strip of cooked food stalls lining the street.  Vendors call out to you, waving kebabs and pointing to their food, trying to entice you.

The catch here is that this isn’t just any street food; rather, it is as if the producers of Fear Factor descended upon the night market and took over.  Each stall serves up more or less some combination of the same foods.  Some stalls served up scorpions, bees, and crickets.  At other stalls, there was snake, seahorses, starfish, silkworms, and centipedes.  We also saw sheep penis and stir fried pig liver.  And of course, there was all manner of internal organs and sundry foul bits and pieces.  It is enough to give you the heebie-jeebies.  Since most of the food is served on a stick, I guess that the Donghuamen Night Market is like the Minnesota State Fair meets Fear Factor.

Drew and I steered clear of most of the food.  As we made our way down the line, at first I looked rather closely at the food, captivated at first.  But as we walked through, I got more and more grossed out and backed away.  Not only was I shocked by the selection, but I was shocked by its presentation.  Piles and piles of raw kebabs were just out in the open, exposed, uncovered, and unrefrigerated.  I cannot imagine what it’s like when temperatures are in the 90s and it’s humid.

Near the end of the line, we came across a popular snack: fruit kebabs bathed in a syrup that yields a sugar coating.

It is a popular snack in and of itself, but we noticed that it was rather popular with the tourists.  We couldn’t blame them- the fruit kebabs were a tame way to experience the market without tossing your cookies.

We also came across what we think could be stinky tofu, or a fermented tofu.  It is usually found at night markets, so I guess that it’s a safe bet that this is what we ate.  However, had I known that fermentation process makes it difficult for stinky tofu to pass government regulations, let alone regulate in the first place (I’m just reading this now), I might have thought twice about giving it a try.  Oh well, clearly Drew and I are still alive and well.  Anyway, the tofu was deep fried and doused with some sort of tasty sauce.  Drew was a little nervous, and even though we’re not completely sure that it was stinky tofu, he did detect a foul odor.  I guess we’ll never know.

The tofu was really, really good, although you can’t go wrong with deep frying it.

Check out more pictures from the market, and pictures from our walk in an area near the Forbidden City.

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Beijing, Day 10: street food

I am a sucker for street food.  I had heard about the prevalence of food carts in Beijing, and street food is one of the things that I most looked forward to.  There are some food trucks in the LA area, but I think that city councils are trying to crack down and impose a bunch of health codes and regulations.  So, thank you Beijing, for allowing street food culture to thrive with your lax (or lack of) health rules and regulations.

Anyway, I had heard that street food is safe, as long as we just patronize the busy carts and make sure the food is served hot.  We are as adventurous as our eating habits allow.  So far we have discovered these egg sandwiches, which is made by taking a piece of fried dough (it has an egg fried right into it), brushing it with a variety of sauces (maybe hoisin and a chili paste?), folding it in half like a taco and stuffing it with lettuce.

The egg sandwiches appear to be quite popular, and many carts make them.  Drew and I have also seen that many carts have other sorts of fried dough, hot dogs, kebabs, and an assortment of beverages.  One of the coolest food carts we’ve seen had “sushi.”  We watched this woman assemble sushi rolls using peppers, cucumber, mystery sauces, and hot dogs.  I came close to ordering one (sans hot dog) until the woman crumbled a hard cooked fermented egg in a roll.  I do want to try the fermented egg, but I wasn’t sure that that was the day to do it.

You don’t have to look very hard to find street food.  There are two different food carts just down the street.  Both serve the egg sandwiches, but otherwise, they serve different items.  This one serves a cold noodle dish that I really enjoy.I love the cigarette, by the way.  I’m pretty sure that is totally against the rules in the United States.  Man, I love this place.  Okay, on to the cold noodle dish.  So first, the vendor chops up a bunch of cold noodles and then tops them with grated cucumber and cubes of tofu.  She ladles a bunch of sauces (maybe a vinegar, a chili sauce, something peanut-y?) over the top and mixes it all together.   The noodles are spicy, cool, and refreshing all at the same time.  This has been lunch for the past two days (I just can’t get enough of the noodles), and I am going to eat them again today.  Did I mention how much I love the street food?  It’s cheap (we get 2 egg sandwiches and an order of noodles for 7Y, or about $1), convenient, no frills, and I assume it’s quite authentic.  There is no better way to experience the city and a new cuisine.  Tonight, Drew and I are going to the Donghuamen Night Market, which is full of street food.  Some are purported to serve fried delicacies like scorpion, seahorses, and grasshoppers.  We’ll stick to the more conventional stuff, but it is sure to be fun and exciting.

Beijing, Day 9: the best fried rice

I am convinced that Fodor’s guidebook lists only restaurants that are difficult to find.  It is as if the writers sit around, tossing out ideas about which restaurants to include and which ones to omit.  And I imagine that the discussions go something like this:  “Hey, should we include Restaurant #1?”  “Hmmm, is that the one that’s right out there in the open, along that major street that everyone is sure to locate?  Then, no.”  “Well, what about Restaurant #2?”  “Absolutely.  I’d love to send tourists on a trek down back alleys, windy roads, and uphill both ways.  Lovely.”  Instead of organizing restaurants by cuisine or price, the restaurants should be organized by ease of access.

Last night, we went in search of falafel.  (I think that Drew might be getting tired of Chinese food, but he doesn’t admit it)  We never found the restaurant.  To be fair, there was some new construction in the general area that it was to be located, so we suspect that the restaurant was demolished between the time of the guidebook’s publication and last night.  So, I guess I won’t completely blame Fodor’s for our failure to find the falafel place.

Instead, we wandered around on Beijing’s Lady Street, which isn’t what it sounds like.  It was a cozy area with shops and restaurants.  I chose a little noodle shop based solely on the fact that it had an English menu.  The good news is that we ate the best fried rice ever.

The bad news is that it is thousands of miles away from home.  Oh well.  We also had a bowl of broth with cabbage, tomato, and tofu, but it wasn’t really anything to blog about.  But now I just did, but really it’s only to point out that we ate dinner for 18Y, which is a little bit less than $3.  When you combine that with the total spent on lunch (about $1.50 on street food), we spent less on our meals than we did on coffee (about $8) at the (overpriced) coffeeshop down the street where we like to study.  I think we need a new place to study.

I forgot to mention that we were in the embassy area, and we passed by the German embassy, the Israeli embassy, and the US embassy (which had a rather large poster of Barack Obama in the window).  It is important to mention this (the part about being in the embassy area, not Obama) because I think this is the reason that there was a ritzy little shopping mall with some American fast food restaurants (a Fatburger, Starbucks, and a sandwich place) and a medium-sized grocery store.  We had a look around, even though it was incredibly overpriced.  We could have purchased a frozen pizza for about $10.  In the end, we bought refried beans (woo hoo!) and some marinara sauce.

Beijing, Day 8: weird stuff that happens to drew and the bird’s nest

Getting a seat on the subway is like a game of musical chairs.  It is fascinating to watch.  When a train approaches, people huddle up right in front of the doors.  There is no pushing and shoving (I don’t think), but when the doors open, there is a mad dash to get a seat.  Apparently, getting a seat is so important that some people will simply wait for the next train instead of standing on the current one.  Fortunately, it is easy to avoid all this commotion because I am perfectly content with standing.

We started the day with brunch at Grandma’s Kitchen, which is appropriately named.

The place serves up standard American diner food- eggs, french toast, pancakes, burgers, sandwiches, etc.  It reminded me of Denny’s, except better.  And without all the old people.  First, let me reassure you that we aren’t frequenting restaurants that  only serve up American food.  Okay, now that that’s done, let me move on.  I made two interesting observations at Grandma’s Kitchen.  First, it seems that even when Chinese people are eating American food, they still do it family style.  I noticed that the family next to me ordered multiple plates of food, set them in the middle of the table, and ate from them communally.  There was no “I ordered this” or “You ordered that.”  They shared all of the food, even the cheeseburger.  Second, even though Grandma’s Kitchen served up American food, all of the servers (and presumably cooks) were Chinese.  Have you ever gone to a Chinese restaurant in the United States (or any other ethnic restaurant) and seen primarily white servers and cooks?  I didn’t think so.  I’m not sure what this says about “American” cuisine, but it seems that you don’t have to be American to master it.

After brunch, Drew and I headed to the Olympic Park to see the National Stadium (aka the Bird’s Nest) and the Water Cube.  If you recall, I am a huge fan of the Olympics (all of them, I don’t discriminate), so this was very exciting.

We got to wander around the Bird’s Nest, and we did.  It was a really cool building, both inside and out.

After hanging out at the Bird’s Nest, we headed to the Water Cube.

The Olympic Park is fairly big, so we spent our time just wandering around, checking out all the buildings and sculptures.  And now I would like to take a moment to talk about weird stuff that happens to Drew.  I knew that it would only be a matter of time before weird stuff would happen.  In an earlier post, a friend had commented on her experiences in China and so I considered myself to be forewarned (she is Asian and her husband is white).  So far, Drew has racked up only two weird things that have happened to him.  First, the night we were celebrating my birthday, a man came up to Drew and kissed his cheek and told him that he loved him.  Judging by the reaction of his female companion, I gathered that this was some sort of a dare.  Second, while wandering around the Olympic Park, this guy asked Drew to be in a picture with him:

Apparently, Drew is kind of a big deal around here.

Check out more pictures of our day:

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Beijing, Day 7: food shopping

It sounds silly, but even going to Wal-Mart is quite an eye opening experience in itself.  Drew and I live very near a Wal-Mart, which is extremely convenient for grocery shopping.  We have a small kitchen with a hot plate in our apartment, so we balance cooking simple meals at home with being adventurous and eating out.  So far, we have made a couple stir frys and a pasta with marinara sauce.  That we are stir frying vegetables when we can easily find dishes like this in restaurants probably sounds peculiar, but here’s the thing: we can’t find anything else to eat in the grocery store.  There are no such things as frozen dinners, bagged salad mixes, frozen pizza, easy mac, or hamburger helper.  Wal-Mart has a pretty big selection of meat and seafood, but we’re vegetarians.  The fruit and vegetable selection is pretty good, but it is still limited.  On our last trip, we searched for refried beans and tortillas, but we found none.  The pasta and marinara sauce was located in the imported foods section.  So it’s a little different here, not that that’s bad,  it’s just different.

Despite the limited selection in the foods we normally eat, there are plenty of other new foods to explore.  There is a huge selection of cookies and pastries, and we are having fun trying out a new treat each trip.

When I walk through Wal-Mart, there are some unfamiliar products that I just can’t imagine would be appetizing.  Like chicken feet sold in a vacuum packed pouch.  And here’s what I wonder: When people from other countries go to grocery stores in the U.S., what foods might they find repulsive?  Are there foods that we eat that would gross other people out?  Hmm, I bet beef jerky is one.  Anyway, I bet that others would be alarmed at the vast selection of frozen dinners and boxed meals with some assembly required.  I think that people would be surprised that our version of cooking is really just heating up food.  Not that any of this means that everyone here cooks.   Judging by the selection of prepared food in Wal-Mart (and even at the 7 Eleven!) and all the street food, it seems that many people appreciate the convenience.