Beijing Day 3: Duck, duck, Ducks

We slept like babies after our multi-course meal with William and his family the night before. Maybe it was the baiju or the ancient well water or the jet lag. Whatever it was, we were tuckered right out.

No rest for the wicked. We had an early meeting with another of our new Beijing friends. Lei and her husband Ke picked us up at the bottom of our building to take us out on the town for the day. 

Our first stop was Qian Men, or the Emperor's Street. Just south of Tiannamen Square, it looks like the Epcot version of China. I suspect a lot of money was poured into these few blocks around the 2008 Olympics. 

Guard at the north end of the street

It was a beautiful day and we had a really nice stroll up and down the street. There were lots of plaques on buildings that described their history...and they were in English. So, as touristy as it may have been, I actually enjoyed the stories on the plaques.

Gate to the North

I was surprised by how many Starbucks we saw in Beijing. Tons. And they didn't seem to be catering exclusively to Westerners, either. Strangely, they were more expensive than home. A latte was more than $6. Kind of crazy, considering a Big Mac meal at McDonald's is about $2.75 (not that we ever ate at McDonald's...um...).

Beijing Starbucks

Doesn't it look like a Hollywood set?

Sunshine through the clouds/pollution

I don't know what these braid-y things are...but they look tasty, don't they? And three for only $1.75? Yum. Or, maybe not. I never found out. In my imagination, they are warm, twisty donuts. In my nightmares, they are glazed, coiled intestines. I took a pass.

Seriously, can't you picture this at Main Street U.S.A in Disneyland?

Even the manhole covers are fancy. Although, it looks like they had a tiny issue on the left side, there.

Fancy benches.

Here's the plaque for the restaurant where we ate lunch:

These four caped ladies spend all day greeting at the door. They are Super Ducklings, protectors of the roasting realm (get it? Because they are like superheroes...? Too much? I thought so...).

Beijing is not a great place to be a duck...unless you like a deep tan and you aren't a fan of your feathers

All the ducks are prepared traditionally, roasted individually on hooks over a wood fire. When you order a whole duck, you get a card with all the specific details of that particular bird, including where it was raised, how old it was and what number it was in restaurant's history.

Our new friends Lei and Ke ordered for us. Good thing, since we would have been mystified. If you are adventurous with food (as I think I am somewhat), it is great to have someone else choose items for you. You get to try things you would never otherwise order. If you are a little less exotic in your tastes (like my picky husband), these scenarios are slightly stressful. Good thing I can take the puck in the head and try the duck neck in gelatine for the both of us.

The drink below is a good example. It was described as "warm date and sweet potato". Um, okay...there's something I would NEVER order off a menu. Then I tried it. And I loved it. I drank three glasses. I am pretty sure I won't be trying this at home, though.

Let the duck feast begin. This little lettuce cup was divine.

I developed a love affair with the Chinese broccoli on the left. My feeling about the foie gras in the back right corner was less amorous. Ditto with the duck neck in gelatine in the front right.

Then, the main event. The table side duck carving. This was professional. Like, really, really slick. And in case you were wondering, that IS the duck head at the bottom there. That got whacked off right away. Then it lies in the metal tray with a front row seat as the rest of its body gets sliced.

The duck guy carves off identical, thin slices and stacks them on a cutting board before transferring them to the table.

It was delicious. Served with thin pancakes for wrapping with hoisin sauce, scallions and cucumber. Yum.

The shot below is my dad, gamely picking at...the head. That's right. It also comes to the table, cleaved into two halves. Dad bravely pulled out a piece and ate it before quickly passing the rest of it off to Ke. He said later he thought he might have had brain. So, that pretty much says it all.

Back out, with full tummies. Once again, we tried hard to pay for lunch, but ultimately we had to accept defeat and instead offer our hosts our thanks for a memorable and delicious lunch.

Lei and me

Our next stop was a busy outdoor market. The afternoon was warm and it was incredible to see the vast number of stalls and the wide array of merchandise available.

Lion guarding the market gate

I took a picture of all these gorgeous little figurines. Looking at them now, I can't believe I didn't buy that plump, silver buddha. I wish I had. He's great.

I bought the girls pencil cases from this stall. They were all made by the vendor's elderly mother. Lei bargained for me. I am sure she got a better deal than I could have.

I also picked up a half dozen little bracelets. They were all made with natural items scavenged for free outdoors. Things like nuts and seeds. I liked them a lot.

Eric's interest in browsing the market didn't quite meet my own. At least he was easy to spot as he wandered away through the aisles.

We then took a long walk along a circuitous route, ostensibly on our way to get Eric a foot massage (which didn't end up happening). We walked through many neighbourhoods and got to see the true Beijing on a sunny Sunday.

I particularly enjoyed this graffiti I spotted. There were lots like this one.

We finally made it back to our place, just in time for Ke to arrive back after an epic battle through traffic to get us two tickets to see the Beijing Ducks basketball team play in the quarter-finals that night. Ke was extremely apologetic that he could only get us two. It was incredibly thoughtful and generous, so we just hoped he knew how much we appreciated the tickets we got. We left Dad behind to enjoy the beautiful Spa Oasis workout facility and pool, while we hoped onto the subway and headed off to see Stephon Marbury and his fellow Ducks.

The subways simply weren't built for Eric's size

By the time we got there two subway lines later, I was feeling some fatigue. We'd had a busy few days and even though we knew we'd gotten off lightly with our jet lag, I was feeling it. The blurry picture below more or less sums up my state of mind. It's like the lens was reading my mind.

I just noticed this picture of Eric is taken in front of the sign that says "no standing". Oops. The game felt really professional and certainly inspired by the NBA. There was lots going on: cheerleaders, contests, merchandise fired into the crowd. It was a great presentation.

Even the stadium food was mimicking a North American experience. The only food I saw available was Papa John's pizza. So strange.

The game experience was great. The game level, however, was pretty mediocre. Neither Eric nor I were very impressed with the amount of effort put out by the four Americans on the floor. It was low intensity and slow speed.

I might have been my sleepiness, but I was underwhelmed by the game, especially considering it was playoffs. I was tempted to crawl under my chair and curl up for a nap. I might have, except Eric was tired enough himself that he might just have left without me. I didn't take the risk.

So, we didn't love the game, but I was really happy we had the chance to see a professional game in China. The crowd was entertaining and the chanting every time the home team scored (they won, by the way) was interesting.

Home for a rest.

Beijing Day 2: Markets and Monkey Brains (not really...but, who knows..?)

We woke up on the morning of our second day, smug in the knowledge that we had jet lag licked. Who knew a 16 hour time difference could be taken so smoothly in stride? I didn't.

We got a reasonably early start to our day. A friend of Eric's had set up an introduction with two of his friends in Beijing and we had dinner plans that night with one of them. Therefore, we had an empty morning and afternoon, with an obligation to be back at our place by 5 o'clock. 

It seemed like a great day to hit the Pearl Market. And, since we had some time, why not walk the whole way there?

It is a BIG city. We learned on this day that the word "hutong", which we had previously imagined as an equivalent to "quaint", is not always quaint at all. Sometimes hutongs are not even alleys. Sometimes they are wide, busy roads.

One of the hutongs we passed through on our walk was particularly interesting...and not because it was quaint at all. It was residential and teeming with life. There were high rises on all sides of the narrow, weaving alleys. Tiny stores were littered along the sides of the street every couple blocks, with their wares spilling out on the sidewalk and road. Every square metre was full of...stuff. It wasn't tidy or attractive, but it sure was interesting. It looked to be a very real slice of Beijing life.

We also noticed a lot of these vehicles:

I actually think something like this would be great for Vancouver. It is essentially a trike in a box. We saw entire families riding in the back on the bench. It is basically a family car.

You might look at these buildings and think they look like a slum type of area, but we learned that real estate is expensive in Beijing. These apartments would not be cheap. Not by a long shot.

Everywhere we looked, we saw development. The picture below is the new subway line #6 being built. I know Beijing is a huge city, much bigger than Vancouver, but their transportation system puts ours to shame. The subway is immense and well-run.

We passed these puppies on our walk. Cuddled on their manhole.

This is an interesting picture, because you can see a bit of how the hutongs look from above. We actually ate dinner at a restaurant just to the right of this shot. We never got a chance to see the interior of a residence like this, but we did go in lots of stores and restaurants. I would have loved to see what a home would look like and how it would be laid out.

The Pearl Market is in the building behind me. Many storeys of many, many stalls selling tons and tons of crap. That pretty much sums it up.

 Back home to clean up for dinner.

Eric's view of the subway population...he got a lot of stares

We weren't too sure what to expect for our dinner out with William and his family. One thing that made our preparations a little easier was that we didn't have many clothing options to choose from...we were hoping for casual.

Luckily, William, his wife Janice and son Jerry arrived wearing somewhat casual clothing. Their daughter Athena stayed home because she is too shy in English, apparently. The location we went for dinner, however, was anything but casual.

William's family arrived in two cars, since we wouldn't all fit in one. We had a crazy car trip through Beijing, weaving and dodging taxis, cars, bikes, scooters and pedestrians. At one point, we were involved in a straight up stand-off in what was supposedly a two-way street, but only had barely enough room for one way. It took about ten minutes, but it eventually sorted itself out. The traffic in Beijing is odd. People are both impatient (ie. Leaving about 1.3 inches between your bumper and a pedestrian who is crossing with the light) and patient (sitting in traffic for extended periods, honking only to inform other motorists of your position, instead of out of anger).

The centre courtyard of the restaurant...sorry for the bad iphone picture

We finally arrived at our destination. We drove into a strange courtyard, flanked by what looked like secret service, complete with headsets and clipboards.

The restaurant, called Guigonfu, is not open to the public. Available only for private dinners, it is a remodelled traditional courtyard house. It was owned by a relative of the imperial family. Today, it is valued as one of the few surviving examples of these beautiful homes in the city.

The front entrance

We were nervous for the food. We were served tea Janice had brought specially from their home. Plates of strange things started to arrive. Oddly, dessert pastries appeared very early.

Pastries in the foreground

We were (mostly) pleasantly surprised. Or at least I was. There was very little to startle us. My one misstep was a dish that I thought was warm chicken. It wasn't warm and I don't think it was chicken. I tried to chew it all up, but ended up with a mouthful of splintered bones. That didn't go all that well.

Many of the other dishes were good and some were great. We got a thimble of white spirits (53% alcohol) with a little jug to top it up. We also got a small glass of water from an ancient well. Janice gave us the rest of the bottle of spirits (which was confiscated at the airport on the way home) to take back to our apartment. This was no sipping booze. It was the sort of thing you could feel the whole way down your gullet.

  

We were the only people in this room and all the food arrived wrapped in embroidered pillows to keep them warm

 We really enjoyed the conversation with William's family. They were very candid and honest about life in China. We learned a lot.

This dish was delicious...stewed yumminess

When the bill came, there was no question who was paying. As much as we would have liked to pick up the cheque for this extravaganza, there was no possibility. And frankly, I am not sure any of us would have wanted to see the final tally. There were a lot of dishes and I am pretty darn sure that joint did not run cheap. At all.

It was a fantastic and memorable evening, but by the time things were winding down, I was exhausted. We were doing really well with jetlag, but I hit a breaking point. I was happy to get back to our place and hit the sack.