A bit like the parson's nose; good in parts
Jul 4, 2009
We're just back from a farewell dinner, hosted by the contractor on J's project.
The meal was served in a private room at a restaurant which had a main dining room downstairs and about twenty of these small private rooms on the first floor. We sat around a large circular table with a revolving centre, upon which most of the dishes were placed for us to serve ourselves with chopsticks. The fish and soup were served directly to us on small plates.
There were some very interesting dishes 
I managed the raw crab, which wasn't too bad; the saltiness made up for rather odd texture.
The smelly tofu was pretty bad; definitely an acquired taste. I went back for a second piece because I wasn't exactly sure what it reminded me of - and came to the conclusion that it tasted like a zoo's menagerie, redolent as it was of big cats, some dung and a halitotic camel or two, with a side of elephant pee.
The second type of tofu was much more palatable. It was served in chunks which resembled cubes of bread that had been marinated in soy sauce.
They served a fruit, the name of which sounded like yummy - and it really was. It was dark pink, about 2-3cm in diameter with a slightly rough surface, had a very juicy texture and tasted like a combination of raspberry, citrus and sour plum. I ate about eight of them 
The pickled bamboo shoots were good, as were the shrimps and the fish - though I left the skin and bones.
There was a beef dish, with peppers and sliced bamboo shoots, some green bean puree with pickled cabbage, a meat filled bun and a fruit filled pastry - and some egg soup.
The men were drinking yellow wine and beer but, in the absence of G&T, I stuck to plain water and some very light flowery green tea.
The yellow wine is served in small, individual ceramic flasks which sit in matching ceramic containers of warm water. Some people like to add shredded raw ginger and small pieces of preserved, sugared plum.
We finished with a wee dish of fresh fruit - water melon, green melon, a wee red tomato and a wee yellow tomato.
All in all, it was an enjoyable meal - and there was none of the dreaded sea cucumber, abalone or jellyfish.
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- Latest reply: Jul 5, 2009
Haggling
Jun 29, 2009
Recently, I've been learning and practicing the art of haggling. The first rule is never to tell them you're a tourist but to let them think you live here permanently; that way you're more likely to get a better price - even better if you have a few Mandarin words or phrases.
The second rule is to start your bidding at about a third of what they're asking - but conduct negotiations with a smile and have a laugh with them.
And the third rule is to be prepared to walk away if you don't get a reasonable price. Very often they'll come after you and agree to what you offered. If a price you offer won't make them some profit, they just won't sell to you. My daughter saw a scroll painting in a shop outside Yonghegong (the Lama Temple). The original asking price was 480 Yuan, which is about £43, and she managed to get it for 120 Yuan since that was all she had left in her purse.
The only places where one can't haggle for price reductions are the government run shops and establishments.
The average Beijinger subsists on a very small wage - c £300 per month. Granted, their living expenses are cheaper than ours in the west, but it's not a lot of money.
They'll take any chance to make some extra cash, particularly off gullible westerners, and have absolutely no shame at being caught short-changing you by the odd five or ten Yuan, even in reputable stores.
One has to keep ones wits about one and check the change before leaving the counter.
Today I bought a beautiful orchid for less than two quid. I'm delighted with it but it's sobering to remember that a local person would get ten trips on the underground system for that, or three day's worth of lunches.
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- Latest reply: Jun 29, 2009
Edible delights
Jun 18, 2009
A friend who's about to come to China expressed some concern about how Certain People would cope with food and in responding, I find I have a journal entry.
There's plenty of western style food in the cities - the usual burger, pizza and chicken places. The only caveat is that you're much more likely to get food poisoning from western style food than from the local kind.
Both of us have had slightly dodgy tummies recently. We're blaming the Japanese lunch a few days ago. There were some very strange fermented bean things - and a lot of raw fish.
We eat very well here and eating out is so cheap that staying in to cook is something one often defers.
Last night we went to a French-Vietnamese cafe and had shrimp salad rolls, a papaya salad and a chicken curry with rice + two beers and a stonking great G&T. It was light and delicious and came to much less than the price of a G&T in Lyon a few weeks ago.
A visit to the night food market at DongHuaMen/Wangfujing in Beijing is very worthwhile. The atmosphere is brilliant and there's all sorts of exotica on display. Just be careful as it can be very slippery underfoot. Also, be aware of pickpockets.
A bit of browsing around the 'nets will show some very interesting photos of things us westerners don't normally class as edible.
When dining out, one thing to beware of, if eating any kind of local meat based dish, is the bones. Everything is cooked on the bone because it gives better flavour and the odd surprise in ones mouth can have unfortunate consequences for ones dentition. It's acceptable to just put any bone splinters, or bits you don't want, directly onto the table.
I suppose the UK could be said to have a drinking culture. Over here, it's very much an eating culture. If you go to the right places - generally outside of hotels and places where there are a lot of westerners - portions will be huge and cheap.
Choose somewhere which is already busy as that's an indication it serves good food.
The best idea is to go in a group of four or more and order one main dish per person, plus an extra and some side dishes plus rice or noodles. Apart from your individual rice bowl, everything goes in the middle of the table and you help yourselves to whatever you fancy.
Obviously, chopsticks are de rigeur - but they'll find you a fork if you're struggling. On her recent trip out here, my mother, who's in her eighties, coped well with chopsticks, once she stopped concentrating on using them.
Ordering food is generally not a problem; one just points to the pictures and smiles. There's often an accompanying description which will give one a good idea of what's in the dish and is useful if, like me, you're not that interested in eating chickens' feet or pigs' intestines.
There are certain foods which tend to be found in the more expensive local restaurants - the Chinese haute cuisine, if you like; they tend to be an acquired taste for western palates.
We once attended a banquet style dinner where one of the courses was sea cucumber. It was disgusting; very little flavour and an unpleasant glutinous texture. It would have been rude not to have made an attempt and I managed to consume about half the portion by telling myself, with every mouthful, that it was overcooked mushroom.
If you anticipate being invited to one of these more formal dinners it's worth reading up on Chinese etiquette before you go. I inadvertently caused some minor offence by failing to realise that, as the most senior lady present, I was expected to have first go at the fish head which had been wheeled round to me.
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- Latest reply: Jun 22, 2009
Beijing - Round Five
Jun 6, 2009
Well I got here relatively painlessly.
The upgrade fairy godmother been waved her wand in my direction again so I had a very comfy seat with as much  as I wanted and lobster for dinner.
I  our national carrier.
The plane landed on time but we were kept on it for a further twenty minutes until every passenger's temperature had been taken by a solitary masked and gloved medic with a high-tec zappy thing. We also had to complete a health questionnaire and say if we'd had recent contact with pigs.
On clearing the airside quarantine desk, we were given a wee leaflet which asked us to monitor our health for seven days, avoid populous public areas and public transportation - and call 999 immediately if we developed any symptons, upon which we'd be immediately taken to a medical clinic.
Given that the swine fever pandemic seems to have raised its head and has been snarling nastily, this is probably a good thing. However, one leaves the airport and the first thing one sees, and hears  , is someone noisily clearing every last millimeter of their respiratory equipment - and depositing the results on the pavement for everyone else to walk through.
Something Should Be Done!
Have had a fairly quiet day, fighting exhaustion and jetlag.
Rather than the high temperature I'd been expecting, today was rainy and overcast, in the high teens.
We had a good walk to and from a favourite wee restaurant.
Sichuan noodles for two, plus an assortment of steamed buns and dumplings and some chinese greens - washed down with a pot of green tea and some local beer. How much did this sumptuous repast cost? A grand total of 67.50 RMB - which is less than seven quid.
I bought my pudding in the Jiankelong supermarket on the way home. They have a fruit here called an apple-pear. On first inspection it appears to be an oversized Golden Delicious apple but is actually a very juicy pear with none of that grainy texture one sometimes finds in ordinary pears. Yum.
And now, having made the mistake of taking a wee snooze earier this evening, I'm wide awake and wondering if proper sleep will be possible.
Ach well - that's what the interwebs are for 
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- Latest reply: Jun 6, 2009
WooHoo!
Jun 5, 2009
Almost a year to the day since I last posted here, I'm off back out to China for one last visit.
This time I'll be there for a month and Mr T will finish his contract there and come back to the UK with me 
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- Latest reply: Jun 6, 2009
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