Running afoul in Beijing
No. Thank you.
This was part of my first meal in Beijing recently. After traveling for 17 or so hours, my colleagues and I opted for the easy option, a Cantonese restaurant at our hotel, New World Beijing, 8 Qi Nan. It was right there. It was easy.
I tried the chicken because I did not wish to be impolite. We were a small group and I was not pulling my (chicken) weight here! It was rubbery, flavorless, and dry. One bite was enough. With apologies to my colleagues, I returned to my rice and vegetables.
Jet lag and the overall lackluster quality of the food, left very few other details of the meal to memory. We had a green bean dish and an eggplant dish that was totally serviceable. I ate them without dissatisfaction. When we left the restaurant, one of my colleagues, in her proper high British accent, said, "Actually that food was quite good."
And I was like ...
Afterwards, in my hotel room, as I thought back to the chicken's lifeless eyes and dull, muted brown hue, I wondered if my colleagues really thought the chicken was tasty and I was off. I've never thought of myself as one of those people who seek to distance themselves from their food source. I have been known to look at cows at pasture and think, "You look so cute and delicious!" (Sorry/not sorry). But the fact that this head-on-plate-chicken rubbed me the wrong way gives me pause. What bothered me most about the chicken was its head on the plate! The lifeless eyes and snarling smile of a beak! A colleague turned the head over and I looked at its black brain, studied the outline of its beak and skull briefly.
I was disgusted. This is not something I wanted to eat, and, yet, how many of its reconstituted bastard chicken nugget cousins have I eaten in this lifetime?!
Dead roast chicken head aside, the appearance of the chicken, sans head, was off-putting. The skin was so, well, skin-like. It was literally dead chicken skin: pimpley and rubbery, but, according to a colleague, with "good flavor!" I rarely eat even fried chicken skin, so I knew there was no way in hell I was going to gnaw on this tanned affront.
Lest you think I am poultry skin averse, I bring you a Beijing highlight: roast Peking duck from DaDong restaurant.
Oh sweet crispy tender roast duck skin delight!
How is this different from 8 Qi Nan's smiling fowl? Let me count the ways
- It's not smiling at me.
- The flavor of the skin is sweet, savory, delicate and yet still powerful without being overbearing.
- It comes with paper-thin pancakes, a puff of a sesame-seed bun, and a whole tray of personal condiments (each diner gets their own set of condiments--let the shameless double dipping begin!), including a couple of delicious soy-based sauces, sugar, mustard, celery and beet sticks, etc. So many different flavor profiles possible!
- It cost more. You order the duck based on how many people are eating. We got a duck good for four people, and no one went hungry. If anything, there were leftovers.
- Hot towel provided!
A sweet little end to a sumptuous meal (check out the condiment tray in the background)
All this to say, when in Beijing, if not most cities, avoid the hotel restaurants and do a little research. Enjoy Peking Duck somewhere and stick to vegetable dishes at hotel restaurants. Or talk a walk... (like I did here between the New World Beijing Hotel and Tiananmen Square via Qianmen Street and environs)
You never know what you'll find if you let yourself get a little lost!
Confession: this was no aimless Wednesday night wander. I had a date with the Colonel. Yes, that Colonel, Mr. Sanders himself!
Well my golly if my name ain't Dorothy, there really IS no place like home
It was high time for a bucket break, Beijing!
KFC was always on the agenda for this trip as, before I left, a colleague of mine, a native Beijinger, praised Chinese KFC, preaching its superiority to its US cousin. She advised me to order the New Orleans Roasted Burger. I was on the case!
I was so ready for you baby
Well, imagine my dismay when, after a 25 minute walk on a smog-heavy evening, I learned they were all out of the New Orleans Roasted Burger...
Oh. Oh. Okay.
I got another chicken sandwich instead. I ordered a meal, which came with a "9 vitamin juice" and, get this, a side of two chicken wings. No fries or mashed potatoes here. The meal consists of a chicken sandwich, juice, and chicken wings. That's a lot of fucking chicken!
The verdict: my meal was as uniformly tasty/diarrhea-inducing as any KFC meal in the States. There was nothing superior in China's iteration of the Colonel's secret recipe. Moreover, the chicken on the side bit baffled me. How can the main ingredient in the "main dish" also be the side?! It was, like many things in Beijing, something I simply could not understand and chalked up to cultural differences. Or maybe it is simpler? Maybe Beijingers just fucking LOVE chicken and a bargain?! I mean, who doesn't? Can you blame them?!
What I cannot understand is how they live with the rampant pollution. I have only ever been to Beijing in the month of March, so I cannot speak to pollution levels at other times of the year. According to this CBS News story, the sky is blue sometimes. Check out these side-by-side photos of Beijing on a smoggy versus a clear day.
Air quality in Beijing today. When one smells it, it's difficult to believe it is "unhealthy for sensitive groups" only. When the air smells of burning plastic, it is unhealthy. Period. I have never, in my three March visits to Beijing over the past few years, breathed healthy air.
When I get off the plane in Beijing, my nose is immediately offended by the burnt plastic smell that sits in the air. After a day or two, I am acclimated, though never blind, to the smell. The air is noxious. I could feel the scratchiness and lumpy feeling developing in my throat as the noxious air settled in my respiratory system on my walk back. I was coughing and breathing prudently. By this time, I had been out walking for over an hour. It was my last night in Beijing and I was grateful to be flying on to Shanghai the next day, where fresh air waited. In Shanghai, I breathe without thought. In Beijing, I am always aware of my breath, of the quality of the air, and of my prudence in taking deep breaths.
All this said, Beijing is a must visit if you have any interest in Chinese culture. Rubbery chicken aside, the food is generally delicious and an adventure to try. Bird's Nest soup anyone? How about some spicy pig feet? Or, for the more faint of stomach, perhaps some Xiaolongbao (aka soup dumplings) or some simply prepared bok choy? Steer clear of overly greasy dishes as I find the abundance of soy oil messes with my stomach. As concerns cultural landmarks, for starters you have one of the Seven Wonders of the World: the Great Wall. Other not to be missed destinations? Walk around a hutong or two, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Lama Temple, Donghuamen Night Market, Temple of Heaven, a walk around the 798 arts district, and, at least drive-by, to see the CCTV Headquarters and Beijing National Stadium (aka the Bird's Nest).
This video pretty much sums up the mood of Qianmen Mall: frenetic, colorful, loud and confusing unless...
... you are this cyclist: able to find his own way, do his own thing amidst the chaos! I hope this brings you as much childish joy as it brings me. Thanks for reading!