In just a few days, Spring Festival 2008 officially starts. Each year, Spring Festival (or Chinese New Year) is said to mark one of the biggest mass movements of humanity in the world. Hundreds of millions of people travel home to see their families; often, this is the only time of the year that Chinese people see their family. And so, the worst winter snowstorm afflicting China in 50 years couldn't come at a worse time. Millions upon millions of people are stranded at train stations, airports, bus stations, and so on. Some of those at Guangzhou Train Station have been stranded for a week. At work, much of the conversation centers around if coworkers will be able to travel home and see their family. Usually, each Spring Festival is a horribly chaotic time of year already, with people frantically trying to get train tickets home. But, this year, my coworkers are not only fretting about being able to get the tickets, but also how they will actually arrive at their destination. Already, China has lost an estimated $3 Billion USD economy-wise to this storm.
I myself am supposed to get to Shanghai on Saturday to meet my parents, but Shanghai is one of those major cities affected by this storm. So...am hoping that I will be one of those seemingly lucky few who get to make it to their intended destination.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Food Firsts + The Best Meal I've Ever Had
Tonight, I had a delightful dinner with Elisa, Shiwei, Zhexia, and Tim -- it was full of good food, laughter and jokes (I even got to practice my newfound ability to swear and insult in Chinese!). After dinner, I realized that I've had a lot of "exotic food firsts" here in China, eating things that I've never had the opportunity to sample in the States.
Some of them include...
pig's intestine
pig's neck
pig's foot (didn't like this one)
duck liver
frog
pigeon
I hope to add to this list as my time in Beijing goes on! Of course, I've have the opportunity to have amazing food that's not as exotic, too. Yesterday, I went with Chi to the legendary Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese establishment that's now expanded to such cities as Beijing, Shanghai, and even Arcadia, California (lucky Arcadia!!). The New York Times has named Din Tai Fung one of the Top Ten Best Restaurants in the World. I can safely say that I've never had such delicious food in my life. This makes my meals in France, which I had then considered the best, pale in comparison. Din Tai Fung's main specialty is the delicate soup dumpling, known as 'xiao long bao' (or 'XLB' for short). After eating Din Tai Fung's XLBs, it's depressing to even think of having XLBs in the Bay Area when I return. XLBs in the Bay Area, in my humble opinion, are woefully unauthentic, and Din Tai Fung's XLBs really magnifies that. The XLBs at Din Tai Fung were perfect -- having just the right amount of broth, flavor, and texture. I could have gorged myself just on the XLBs alone, but I also had the pleasure of having vermicelli and fried tofu soup (the broth had the exact amount of heartiness and flavor), dan dan mien (sesame noodles), vegetable and pork dumplings, and sauteed beansprouts. After all this goodness, it was time for dessert. Din Tai Fung is ingenious; they took the success of their savory, meat-filled XLBs and created a form of XLB suitable for dessert. Instead of a soup-filled dumpling, the delicate steamed dumpling is filled with smooth red bean paste. The steamed red bean paste dumpling, along with their world famous soup-filled XLBs, were the highlights of my dinner there. The restaurant is quite far from my apartment hotel -- 30 minutes w/o traffic, and with traffic, I don't want to even think about it! But, my goal is to get out to Din Tai Fung every 1 and a half week or so. Can't get enough!! I know that when it's time for me to go back home to the US, I will miss the food here in Beijing tons...
I regret that I didn't have my camera with me last night to take pictures of Din Tai Fung Goodness, but here are some links to whet your appetite (or trigger your appetite!):
http://dintaifung.com.cn/English/product.asp?typeid=17 - steamed red bean paste dumpling
http://dintaifung.com.cn/English/product.asp?typeid=4 - XLBs
Some of them include...
pig's intestine
pig's neck
pig's foot (didn't like this one)
duck liver
frog
pigeon
I hope to add to this list as my time in Beijing goes on! Of course, I've have the opportunity to have amazing food that's not as exotic, too. Yesterday, I went with Chi to the legendary Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese establishment that's now expanded to such cities as Beijing, Shanghai, and even Arcadia, California (lucky Arcadia!!). The New York Times has named Din Tai Fung one of the Top Ten Best Restaurants in the World. I can safely say that I've never had such delicious food in my life. This makes my meals in France, which I had then considered the best, pale in comparison. Din Tai Fung's main specialty is the delicate soup dumpling, known as 'xiao long bao' (or 'XLB' for short). After eating Din Tai Fung's XLBs, it's depressing to even think of having XLBs in the Bay Area when I return. XLBs in the Bay Area, in my humble opinion, are woefully unauthentic, and Din Tai Fung's XLBs really magnifies that. The XLBs at Din Tai Fung were perfect -- having just the right amount of broth, flavor, and texture. I could have gorged myself just on the XLBs alone, but I also had the pleasure of having vermicelli and fried tofu soup (the broth had the exact amount of heartiness and flavor), dan dan mien (sesame noodles), vegetable and pork dumplings, and sauteed beansprouts. After all this goodness, it was time for dessert. Din Tai Fung is ingenious; they took the success of their savory, meat-filled XLBs and created a form of XLB suitable for dessert. Instead of a soup-filled dumpling, the delicate steamed dumpling is filled with smooth red bean paste. The steamed red bean paste dumpling, along with their world famous soup-filled XLBs, were the highlights of my dinner there. The restaurant is quite far from my apartment hotel -- 30 minutes w/o traffic, and with traffic, I don't want to even think about it! But, my goal is to get out to Din Tai Fung every 1 and a half week or so. Can't get enough!! I know that when it's time for me to go back home to the US, I will miss the food here in Beijing tons...
I regret that I didn't have my camera with me last night to take pictures of Din Tai Fung Goodness, but here are some links to whet your appetite (or trigger your appetite!):
http://dintaifung.com.cn/English/product.asp?typeid=17 - steamed red bean paste dumpling
http://dintaifung.com.cn/English/product.asp?typeid=4 - XLBs
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Partying in Beijing!
Tonight after dinner (that consisted of literally flaming carp and pig intestine), we headed off to go clubbing. First, we headed to Banana, which turned out to be way too crowded with lame music. So off we went to Vic's, apparently a mainstay club for Beijingers and expats alike. It's well-known for its hip hop music, which is hard to come by in Beijing. And now, they should be famous for their strong drinks!! It's 4 am and I'm not sleepy at all -- way too tipsy. I just had 3 drinks but they were quite strong: brandy, Jagermeister shot (seriously, tastes like cough medicine, BLECH), and a very potent lychee martini (that was stronger than the pure Jagermeister shot....hmmm). Think I'll probably watch loads of crap TV before heading to bed, and drink a lot of water! I usually hate to dance, but even at Vic's, I had quite a lot of fun. It really helped too that they had good music! Kanye, Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, Timbaland, MIM, Dr. Dre, etc. -- I feel like w/ the alcohol in me, I could have kept on dancing til 6 am! I quite like the nightlife in Beijing. Had tons of fun last week at Face Bar, and tonight with Vic's. Cannot wait to check out other bars and clubs in Beijing -- especially Bed Bar, which has (you guessed it) traditional Chinese beds, amongst an imperial setting. And it's also located in a hutong, which is a historic, traditional Beijing alley.
Pics from the night...(the first two are of the flaming carp and of pig intestine. The pig intestine was interestingly wrapped up just like a sushi roll. Hmm. Definitely not as good though ;)
Pics from the night...(the first two are of the flaming carp and of pig intestine. The pig intestine was interestingly wrapped up just like a sushi roll. Hmm. Definitely not as good though ;)
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Infamous Beijing Winter Winds
Right now, the temperature is 14 degrees, but the 'feels like' temperature is -2 degrees according to Weather.com, due to the wind chill. I've read so much in my guidebooks about how Beijing winter winds (coming from the Gobi Desert) cut like "a knife through beancurd." Well, it had been an abnormally warm winter in Beijing (temps in the 30s usually) until the last week or so. Today, I was chatting with a friend outside while shivering and trying to walk as fast as possible when wind blew into my mouth, and it felt like a half a dozen ice cubes had been shoved down my throat all at once. Needless to say, I'm a California girl through and through and can't wait for warm weather awaiting me in Hong Kong and Sydney, Australia (thanks to a Google sales conference there!) when I go visit both places in March!!!
Bargaining in China: Such a must!!
Sunday, Elisa (a native Beijinger) and I went to Yashou Market in Chaoyang, which is where both Beijingers and tourists go for fake goods. I wanted to buy a fake designer bag, but after looking and looking, that didn't work out. But, I did get a pair of adorable ballet flats, which if real, would cost $325 USD! I got it for just $20 USD...and the reason why I couldn't get it for half that price was because the shoes were made of real leather. Also, to most everyone but the shoe owner, it looks real. Besides just getting a beautiful pair of shoes for cheap, though, the highlight of the Yashou shopping trip was definitely bargaining with the merchants. It's quite a comical process and one that's quite entertaining (for others, sometimes it's stressful). It went like this (in Chinese):
(When looking at the shoes that I liked)
Merchant #1: Do you like it?
Me: It's okay
Merchant #1: It's very nice, right? All leather! Do you see the quality of this shoe?
Me: (Nods) How much?
Merchant #1: 300 RMB
Me: (Feigning shock and disbelief) What?! That much? You must be kidding!
Merchant #1: 300 RMB, 300 RMB. All leather! Don't you see, the quality of the shoe?
Me: (Laughing) That's way too much for that shoe.
Merchant #1: How much do you want to pay?
Me: 50 RMB
Merchant #1: (Laughing) Now that's ridiculous!
Elisa, my friend: How much is the bottom line for you?
Merchant #1: 300 RMB, not one RMB less. These shoes are special! Real leather all around! Can't accept any less! I promise that you will not find these shoes for less than 300 RMB. Worth too much.
Elisa and me: That's crazy! Let's go look elsewhere...
We walk off and are half expecting the merchant to come running after us (a common tactic used when they decide they still want your business), offering to slash the price down. But alas, he didn't and we were a little surprised. I definitely did not want to pay 300 RMB. After walking around almost the entire floor of the shoe stalls in Yashou Market, I was a little sad b/c I didn't see the shoes again at other stalls. But, as we were about to hop onto the escalator, we passed by one last shoe stall where I saw the same pair of shoes again! This time, it went something like this:
Merchant #2: Beautiful shoes, eh?
Me: It's okay. How much?
Merchant #2: 560 RMB
Me: 560 RMB?!!! That's crazy! How can you charge so much?
Merchant #2: How much do you want to pay?
Me: 100 RMB.
Merchant #2: (Feigning shock and being quite dramatic) You're killing me here! Do you realize my livelihood is on selling these items? 100 RMB? These shoes are real leather here!
Me: They're still fake! Not worth that much.
Merchant #2: How about this, I give you a 200 RMB discount. 360 RMB.
Elisa and I: (smiling) No, 100 RMB.
Merchant #2: Come on! I gave you a huge discount, now come meet me halfway! Up your price!
Elisa: We were originally going to offer you just 60 RMB! We went all the way up to 100 RMB!
Merchant #2: (half joking) 60 RMB!! If you had said 60 RMB, I would have taken this shoe to hit you on the head with it! You crazy girl...60 RMB?!
Elisa: Come on now, 100 RMB
Merchant #2: No, 260 RMB.
Elisa and I: No, we are not in a department store. You can't charge these prices! Let's look elsewhere.
We leave...and then lo and behold, the merchant comes running after us, yelling, "Come back, you two girls! Come back!" We go back, and enter another round of bargaining. The price is lowered to 160 RMB, and then the merchant is unwilling to go any lower. Elisa is quite annoyed with them and says, "Look, we're willing to do 140 RMB since it is real leather. But that's it. You can't lower it by 20 RMB? How ridiculous!" So then, Elisa and I leave again. Then, the merchant comes chasing after us and other merchants in other stalls say to us, "Go back, go back...she is giving in!" We go back, and the merchant says, "150 RMB." We say, "Come on, you can't match us by just lowering 10 RMB?" Finally, the merchant gives in and mutters to us how we stole a deal from her.
After that, I see a pair of winter boots that I like at the stall and ask the same merchant how much it is. She names a ridiculously high price and Elisa and I both feign shock. We plead with the merchant to lower the price by five-fold and she insists that the shoes are of superior sheepskin. She continues to refuse to agree to haggle with us, and then says, "Look! Earlier with your ballet flats I will admit -- I was lying to you guys about the beginning price! But you guys were smart and got me. So I let you haggle. But I'm telling you -- with these boots, they really are this much!" Hahahaha. I love how she even admitted that she was trying to trick us. After all this, I was really happy to get my shoes for still a very considerable bargain. I even considered going back to the first stall where the guy refused to let me haggle and say, "See, you told me I couldn't get it for less than 300 RMB...but look what I got and for how much!" Oh, bargaining. It can be so much fun!
(When looking at the shoes that I liked)
Merchant #1: Do you like it?
Me: It's okay
Merchant #1: It's very nice, right? All leather! Do you see the quality of this shoe?
Me: (Nods) How much?
Merchant #1: 300 RMB
Me: (Feigning shock and disbelief) What?! That much? You must be kidding!
Merchant #1: 300 RMB, 300 RMB. All leather! Don't you see, the quality of the shoe?
Me: (Laughing) That's way too much for that shoe.
Merchant #1: How much do you want to pay?
Me: 50 RMB
Merchant #1: (Laughing) Now that's ridiculous!
Elisa, my friend: How much is the bottom line for you?
Merchant #1: 300 RMB, not one RMB less. These shoes are special! Real leather all around! Can't accept any less! I promise that you will not find these shoes for less than 300 RMB. Worth too much.
Elisa and me: That's crazy! Let's go look elsewhere...
We walk off and are half expecting the merchant to come running after us (a common tactic used when they decide they still want your business), offering to slash the price down. But alas, he didn't and we were a little surprised. I definitely did not want to pay 300 RMB. After walking around almost the entire floor of the shoe stalls in Yashou Market, I was a little sad b/c I didn't see the shoes again at other stalls. But, as we were about to hop onto the escalator, we passed by one last shoe stall where I saw the same pair of shoes again! This time, it went something like this:
Merchant #2: Beautiful shoes, eh?
Me: It's okay. How much?
Merchant #2: 560 RMB
Me: 560 RMB?!!! That's crazy! How can you charge so much?
Merchant #2: How much do you want to pay?
Me: 100 RMB.
Merchant #2: (Feigning shock and being quite dramatic) You're killing me here! Do you realize my livelihood is on selling these items? 100 RMB? These shoes are real leather here!
Me: They're still fake! Not worth that much.
Merchant #2: How about this, I give you a 200 RMB discount. 360 RMB.
Elisa and I: (smiling) No, 100 RMB.
Merchant #2: Come on! I gave you a huge discount, now come meet me halfway! Up your price!
Elisa: We were originally going to offer you just 60 RMB! We went all the way up to 100 RMB!
Merchant #2: (half joking) 60 RMB!! If you had said 60 RMB, I would have taken this shoe to hit you on the head with it! You crazy girl...60 RMB?!
Elisa: Come on now, 100 RMB
Merchant #2: No, 260 RMB.
Elisa and I: No, we are not in a department store. You can't charge these prices! Let's look elsewhere.
We leave...and then lo and behold, the merchant comes running after us, yelling, "Come back, you two girls! Come back!" We go back, and enter another round of bargaining. The price is lowered to 160 RMB, and then the merchant is unwilling to go any lower. Elisa is quite annoyed with them and says, "Look, we're willing to do 140 RMB since it is real leather. But that's it. You can't lower it by 20 RMB? How ridiculous!" So then, Elisa and I leave again. Then, the merchant comes chasing after us and other merchants in other stalls say to us, "Go back, go back...she is giving in!" We go back, and the merchant says, "150 RMB." We say, "Come on, you can't match us by just lowering 10 RMB?" Finally, the merchant gives in and mutters to us how we stole a deal from her.
After that, I see a pair of winter boots that I like at the stall and ask the same merchant how much it is. She names a ridiculously high price and Elisa and I both feign shock. We plead with the merchant to lower the price by five-fold and she insists that the shoes are of superior sheepskin. She continues to refuse to agree to haggle with us, and then says, "Look! Earlier with your ballet flats I will admit -- I was lying to you guys about the beginning price! But you guys were smart and got me. So I let you haggle. But I'm telling you -- with these boots, they really are this much!" Hahahaha. I love how she even admitted that she was trying to trick us. After all this, I was really happy to get my shoes for still a very considerable bargain. I even considered going back to the first stall where the guy refused to let me haggle and say, "See, you told me I couldn't get it for less than 300 RMB...but look what I got and for how much!" Oh, bargaining. It can be so much fun!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Midnight massages and Ukrainian food...what a delightful weekend!
Got back from Sanya last Thursday, and was so happy to be back -- even though Beijing has been freezing lately. Sanya is nice, however it is no Hawaii, that's for sure! It was also a strange experience to see such expensive hotels existing in an extremely poor, blue-collar city. A few highlights of the Sanya trip:
-Day tripped to the famous Hot Springs, where I sat in coffee, coconut milk, Chinese herbs, and wine pools enriched with mineral substances...apparently good for the health. Also sat in their most famous pool for awhile -- the 'doctor fish' pool -- where fish nibble off dead skin and 'remove toxins,' but it was so ticklish and rather gross to me that I promptly left.
-Won a huge bear at the evening dinner party! First thing that I've ever won, really. The thing is gigantic though...I had to lug it back on the plane to Beijing and I almost regretted winning the bear b/c of how heavy it is. After I won the bear, random Googlers who I had never met before would come up to me and yell gleefully, "You won a huge bear! Huge bear!" It was kinda funny.
Pictures below, top to bottom: Jane, Phoebe, me, Nicole; Joy, Bessie, Sissi, me, Donna; Phoebe, me, with the gigantic bear (only the top of his head is showing in this pic)
And back in Beijing:
-Friday night: had an amazing Taiwanese dinner at Bellagio, this chic, see-and-be-seen restaurant in Chaoyang district. Seriously, I wish I lived in the Chaoyang district of Beijing. Everything is there! Shopping, eating, bar-hopping -- you name it, it's there. It's not only the most fashionable district of Beijing, but it's very Westernized compared to my district as well. It feels like a different world when I'm in Chaoyang. Sadly, it's far from where I live -- 30 min w/o traffic, and up to 2 1/2 hours w/really bad traffic.
-Also Friday night: got a legitimate massage at a very posh, sleek spa at midnight!! The one hour massage was only $20 USD. Very cheap considering the chic atmosphere. After the awesome experience, I vow to try to get a massage in Beijing at least once a week. Below: pic of Long Island Spa, Chaoyang district.
Saturday: made my way to the famous Summer Palace -- probably the most famous well-preserved imperial retreat in the world --with a friend from Beijing University. As it had snowed in Beijing for days before, the Summer Palace was covered with snow and ice. The lake, which makes up a substantial portion of the 10 sq miles park, had frozen over and was covered by a layer of snow. It was so surreal to see this Summer Palace completely transformed by the snow -- usually all the pictures you see are taken in the summer. I walked on the lake -- which was quite cool! Pics below: Summer Palace; me standing on the frozen Kunming Lake.
Saturday night: Went to Kiev, a Ukrainian restaurant in Beijing, for a coworkers' birthday. It was quite a fun experience to eat Ukrainian food for the first time, let alone in Beijing. The Ukrainian beer was also delicious...very sweet and tastes non-alcoholic. Loved the entertainment...Ukrainian guys dressed in military garb performing Russian songs and Italian arias.
-After Kiev, went to Sanlitun in Chaoyang district to go bar hopping. Made a stop at Face Bar -- which will probably be my favorite bar in Beijing. Loved the atmosphere -- warm lighting and candles, beautiful hardwood floors, classy patrons, invitingly plush red couches, and artifacts from all throughout Asia. Didn't hurt that their drinks were fabulous as well! (One of the cocktails I had was made up of Japanese sake, lots of kiwi, and honey. Yum.) It was so stylish and classy that I feel like this bar could thrive in any cosmopolitan city in the world.
Will write a separate post about my bargaining experiences on Sunday as it's quite long!
-Day tripped to the famous Hot Springs, where I sat in coffee, coconut milk, Chinese herbs, and wine pools enriched with mineral substances...apparently good for the health. Also sat in their most famous pool for awhile -- the 'doctor fish' pool -- where fish nibble off dead skin and 'remove toxins,' but it was so ticklish and rather gross to me that I promptly left.
-Won a huge bear at the evening dinner party! First thing that I've ever won, really. The thing is gigantic though...I had to lug it back on the plane to Beijing and I almost regretted winning the bear b/c of how heavy it is. After I won the bear, random Googlers who I had never met before would come up to me and yell gleefully, "You won a huge bear! Huge bear!" It was kinda funny.
Pictures below, top to bottom: Jane, Phoebe, me, Nicole; Joy, Bessie, Sissi, me, Donna; Phoebe, me, with the gigantic bear (only the top of his head is showing in this pic)
And back in Beijing:
-Friday night: had an amazing Taiwanese dinner at Bellagio, this chic, see-and-be-seen restaurant in Chaoyang district. Seriously, I wish I lived in the Chaoyang district of Beijing. Everything is there! Shopping, eating, bar-hopping -- you name it, it's there. It's not only the most fashionable district of Beijing, but it's very Westernized compared to my district as well. It feels like a different world when I'm in Chaoyang. Sadly, it's far from where I live -- 30 min w/o traffic, and up to 2 1/2 hours w/really bad traffic.
-Also Friday night: got a legitimate massage at a very posh, sleek spa at midnight!! The one hour massage was only $20 USD. Very cheap considering the chic atmosphere. After the awesome experience, I vow to try to get a massage in Beijing at least once a week. Below: pic of Long Island Spa, Chaoyang district.
Saturday: made my way to the famous Summer Palace -- probably the most famous well-preserved imperial retreat in the world --with a friend from Beijing University. As it had snowed in Beijing for days before, the Summer Palace was covered with snow and ice. The lake, which makes up a substantial portion of the 10 sq miles park, had frozen over and was covered by a layer of snow. It was so surreal to see this Summer Palace completely transformed by the snow -- usually all the pictures you see are taken in the summer. I walked on the lake -- which was quite cool! Pics below: Summer Palace; me standing on the frozen Kunming Lake.
Saturday night: Went to Kiev, a Ukrainian restaurant in Beijing, for a coworkers' birthday. It was quite a fun experience to eat Ukrainian food for the first time, let alone in Beijing. The Ukrainian beer was also delicious...very sweet and tastes non-alcoholic. Loved the entertainment...Ukrainian guys dressed in military garb performing Russian songs and Italian arias.
-After Kiev, went to Sanlitun in Chaoyang district to go bar hopping. Made a stop at Face Bar -- which will probably be my favorite bar in Beijing. Loved the atmosphere -- warm lighting and candles, beautiful hardwood floors, classy patrons, invitingly plush red couches, and artifacts from all throughout Asia. Didn't hurt that their drinks were fabulous as well! (One of the cocktails I had was made up of Japanese sake, lots of kiwi, and honey. Yum.) It was so stylish and classy that I feel like this bar could thrive in any cosmopolitan city in the world.
Will write a separate post about my bargaining experiences on Sunday as it's quite long!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Beautiful, Hawaii-like Tropical Island....in China?!
Leaving tomorrow for a 4 night "business trip" to lovely Sanya, China! White sand beaches, a trip to their famous hot springs, crystal clear blue waters, dramatic sunsets...ah, can't wait. Temps are in the refreshingly warm 80s...such a nice change from literally freezing Beijing! Check it out...
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