Grillguy eats elsewhere!

Sorry, Crush....

2008-10-22T18:24:00.001-07:00

But you taste good.

I feel kinda bad about this, but the food rules are a bit different here in the outlying provinces of China. And certainly turtle soup is not a rarity.

OK, not so much the shell, which like many things gelatinous is considered a delicacy here, but fairly gross for my american taste. But turtle meat turns out to be quite tasty.

Pig's palate, however, is downright disgusting. Trust me on this one.

The other Mile-High club

2008-10-15T06:37:00.001-07:00

OK, so it isn't that one, but I just joined another one on my trip from JFK to Dubai, the first leg of my fall trip back to Beijing on the new Airbus A380. This club probably only has a few hundred or thousand people in it so far, and I'm one of them.

A shower at 39,000 feet!

Food as always was great - spicy lentil soup, chicken tikka with basmati rice, and Cakebread Chardonnay... one of my favorites.

It will be interesting to see what Beijing is like now that the Olympics are over. Did the traffic get back to normal? Does the air still smell stale? Is the CCTV tower finished?

And, can I take tours of the Bird's Nest and Water Cube?

Answers forthcoming...

Sichuan cuisine

2008-07-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

The last time I actually went off-site for dinner in Beijing was over a year ago. We used to go out to dinner fairly often, but in the last 2-3 years it's only been for business dinners. Of course, almost everything I do over here is business, but the hotel restaurants are good, and it's nice to just head right upstairs once dinner is done. This trip, we're at least pushing ourselves to venture beyond the hotel, bringing us good Indian food two nights ago, and Sichuan last night. Mind you, both restaurants are in the China World complex where our hotel is, so we don't even need to walk outside - good when it feels like New Orleans outside.

Below are some examples of what's on the menu at South Beauty - pardon the off colors:

Sichuan sweet and sour fish. This was fantastic, not syrupy sweet like a lot of American chinese dishes I've had. Just the right amount of breading too.

These mashed potatoes turned out to be pretty good, with more of a risotto consistency. Not as good as my garlic mashed though...

Everything gets used.

Like I said above....

I've always heard frog's legs were good, but Kermit got a pass tonight.

Mmmm, fins, snouts, lips and ligaments. Sadly, shark's fin soup is considered a delicacy here, but for some reason the rest of the shark is thrown back, or out. For a country that really drains every last drop they can out of their food, this one escapes me. One more bad western trend they're beginning to follow.

I've had beef tongue before, easy enough to find when your relatives owned jewish delis in New York, and I tried chicken feet on the last trip. But the two together... hold me back!

We actually ordered more "normal" food, like BBQ spare ribs which were fantastic, pickled veggies, sliced bamboo, grilled sardines, marinated tofu, dumplings, and sauteed chicken (once again an incredibly tasty dish, but someone else got all the good meat while we seemed to get little more than bones and joints). I'm learning to like Sichuan food best, versus Mandarin or Cantonese, because I've found it to have stronger flavors and spicier ingredients. Hopefully we'll push ourselves to try restaurants serving the other two styles as well, instead of what is clearly the dumbed down versions of all in the hotels.

Disgustingly, this lives up to it's name

2008-07-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to try "stinky tofu", considered a delicacy here and elsewhere in Asia. Let me tell you, the moment they brought it into the room, you could sense its presence. And when the server put it on the big lazy susan and spun it around past me, I thought I would choke.

But still, I had to try it, because from what I've heard, though the smell is vile, the taste is actually pretty good. Unfortunately, not the case this time. It was incredibly salty, which overpowered what seemed like a not-to-unpleasant taste. What I was told afterwards, and after we requested they remove the dish from the room, was that you need to let it sit a while to let the salt soak into the center of the cubes, and that you should also add a little chili peppers when you eat it.

I will take my associates' word for it.

For Mike

2008-07-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the shout out on Mike's blog! Back at ya...

Lunch was at a new restaurant yesterday that had Tsingtao draft. The temps have been hitting 90* here on a daily basis, and although I switched from pounding beer to pounding wine at the factory lunches (gan bei!) a few years back, cold beer has found its way back into my heart. But yesterday, one of the drivers who won't drink alcohol, as you need full capabilities to drive in China, started drinking this. When I asked what it was, our manager said "apple vinegar". I couldn't imagine drinking it as a drink, versus cooking with it. But not one to pass up something new, I gave it a try. And I have to admit, it is incredibly good. Kind of like a mild apple juice with just a hint of vinegar to give it a little edge. I have to find it in the states, as it would make a really refreshing summer drink, and I'm sure there's a way to liven it up with some booze.

Sorry Mike, no beer pics yet. But I've got plenty of lunches ahead.

Back in the China Grove

2008-07-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Beijing last Monday afternoon, going through Dubai again. It's Saturday morning now, as it's taken a while for me to get a post in. Windows Live Writer - a Microsoft program I actually like - wasn't able to connect to my blog. Maybe the government here thinks I'm saying bad things about their food. So I'm finally able to just access Blogger directly.
Almost every time I've come to China, I've packed some gummy bears, one of my favorite treats, based on the advice of a friend many years ago who spent a summer in Russia and said to bring a part of home you know you can't get when you travel. For him it was peanut butter and toilet paper. For me, it's Haribo gummy bears. With the way Beijing has become such an international city, I'm sure I could find them quite easily here, but it's easier to buy in bulk at home. This time though, I didn't have time to get any before leaving, so I picked some up in the Dubai airport. In addition, I was in the mood for Skittles, my second favorite way of creating cavities.

I've found that Coke tastes way better in Europe and Asia. Skittles, on the other hand, do not. Though the packaging is pretty cool.

We're leaving a week before the Olympics start. This city, and the surrounding areas, will be a nightmare to navigate with all of the security and traffic stops. And, in a way, been there done that (pardon the horrifically unreadable layout, it was only 1996, early in the interwebs years....). There's definitely a lot of nationalistic spirit here, and although the air is still covered in a thick haze, the stale odor that's usually ubiquitous/omnipresent/all over the friggin' place is so minimal you barely notice it. Granted, I'm hardly an athlete, but as a visitor it's a nice change from past trips over here.

More foodie posts soon... While I've been gone from home, our house was struck by lightning, frying our brand new TV, satellite receiver, DSL modem, alarm system and sprinkler system. So some of my time has just been calling home to help wife find all the right stuff to work with the insurance company. Will be a fun way to spend the first few days home.

Some China trip recaps...

2008-04-25T12:59:00.001-07:00

I've been back almost two weeks, right into the thick of it at work. So I'll briefly post a few pictures. The rest of the trip was uneventful, fortunate given all that's going on in China with Tibet, the Olympics, etc. One constant is the good food at least.

My favorite side dish - huang gua. Cucumbers in a black vinegar and garlic sauce. Ask for these the next time you go to a chinese place, even if they're not on the menu.

The CCTV building nearing completion. I'd be very surprised if it's not finished in time for the Olympics.

Szechuan bean curd with spicy sauce. Looks gross, tastes better.

The gate in Dubai. The walkway on the right is for the current generation of planes. The higher one on the left is for the Airbus 380. They're way ahead of the curve over there.

Air traffic control in Dubai.

Dubai from the sky. A lot of desert.

A champagne cocktail and mezze, right after takeoff.

Some neat shots from the plane - pardon the blue cast.

As close as I'll ever need to get to this city....

Another great meal in Lang Fang

2008-04-11T08:00:00.001-07:00

Our secondary factory - one whom I hope will become our primary someday - took us again to a fantastic restaurant in Lang Fang. Many of the dishes from our last trip were ordered again, they're just that good. But to make you jealous...

A spicy fish soup that has a kind of Thai influence.

"Chinese pizza" - you can often find scallion pancakes in American chinese restaurants. This is the same dough but with pork inside. Very tasty.

Most chinese restaurants have a lazy-susan center so you can spin around the dish you want. This restaurant has one that's motorized, so you tend to horde what you want so you don't have to wait for another full rotation. Not a good way for keeping intake in check.

We've got two free days left before we go, though there's still a lot to be done. We just won't go back to a factory again. When I leave China, this is the restaurant and the people I'll miss most. But I'll carry a few extra pounds to remember everything by.

Things I've tried on the trip so far.

2008-04-08T14:06:00.001-07:00

Deer tendon - gross.

Chicken feet - not too bad actually, but not meaty enough.

The "true" version of Kung Pao chicken continues to amaze me in how good it is over here.

I'm in the Qingdao area for a quick trip to a new factory - home of the original Tsingtao beer, and Haier Appliances. There's actually quite a German influence here, evidenced in the architecture. I was here on my first trip to China in 2000, as this is where our manager lives, but spent the whole weekend laid up in the hotel sick. Not a problem this time around, however it's cold and rainy while we're here, so any pictures I look to get won't be very impressive.

It's also a huge seafood city, being right on the coast of the Pacific. This is where I had sea cucumber for the first time.

And last.

Airplane food done right

2008-04-06T13:18:00.001-07:00

I see no reason to ever fly United Airlines to Beijing again, even with the addition of at least 12 hours total transit time, especially with Emirates (currently) at half the price.

Indian-spiced mini sandwiches with cucumber slices and a little chili sliver. Total nummers....

What amazes me about the food on Emirates is that not only can you get it whenever you want throughout either the 14 or 9 hour flight, but when it's served it does not taste or feel like it just came out of a rubberizing microwave. I don't know how they do it, but the food never tastes like it was made in an airplane.

Back to Lang Fang today....

Hello, Dubai...

2008-04-06T13:11:00.001-07:00

Another 24-hour trip to China, through Dubai again. TSA confiscated my hand lotion, because it was not in a "commercial container", or at least one that had writing on it. So I went on a mission in the duty-free area to find something to help my addiction. Found some, but thought this would have made a better purchase:

A $400 bottle of Johnnie Walker.

Maybe next trip....

I'm home again, naturally...

2007-12-13T16:56:00.001-08:00

After a four-hour delay, we finally boarded the Boeing 777-300ER with the tasty individual cabin and free comfy pajamas (of which I now have three pairs and look forward to acquiring as many more as possible on future flights, because they are so damn lounge-y). Turns out that our airplane wasn't delayed coming in; it had been in Dubai for a few hours. But many other flights coming into Dubai, carrying passengers who were connecting on our flight, were delayed because of the heavy fog. As the purser was telling me, there's no way they would have had our flight leave on time because there would have been only about 50 passengers on board - a waste of time, fuel, and space. So they delayed the flight until most if not all of the connecting passengers arrived in Dubai and were able to make the transfer. As a delayed passenger, I wasn't thrilled with this, but I'm a pretty easy going guy, especially when stuck in a first class lounge where I get to chat with other international travelers (those sitting next to me were from Nigeria, Austria, Egypt, and the UK)... and drink wine for free. But if I was one of those connecting passengers, I'd have thought Emirates was the best airline on the planet. United would have dumped my ass anywhere, uncaring in its attempts - if any - to get me on a connecting flight. Witness a flight back from San Francisco where I was bumped from the business class seat I paid for back to coach because the aircraft was switched and didn't have enough seats in the new configuration to accommodate everybody. Getting bumped wasn't so much the issue - it was that United felt no obligation to reimburse me the difference between what I paid for business and what a coach fare was worth. (I'm still fighting this one.)

Anyway, onto more pics to make fellow travelers jealous....

My father and I are big tea drinkers during the work day. This was available in the Dubai lounge, and I thought, "hey cool, an Arabic tea for me to try!"

Look familiar?

A shot into business class. Not the full enclosed cabin of first, but what I think are almost-if-not-fully reclining seats, with the same control panel and almost-as-large LCD screen of first. When and if I take my wife and son over to China, we may have to go this way for financial purposes of paying my own way, and it will still rock.

The gray wrap in the back is like a little mattress pad to put on the seat when you recline to a flat sleeping surface. Non-slip backing and all. It does actually add a little layer of comfort. Then you have the choice of a regular cotton blanket or a light down-type insulated one. Decisions, decisions...

I know I took a shot of this before on the way over, of some lotions for the flight, but it wasn't until this trip that I realised the "sleep" and "focus" snuff boxes. They were really little aroma-therapy containers with little beady things inside giving off the smells. Don't really think they worked, but hey - they were free, so I took them.

A shot of the phone/remote and the screen. And an empty champagne glass. Mixed with some really incredible Dubai-based orange juice, the homemade mimosas were a pleasant start to the flight.

Some nice perfume & cologne to freshen up, found in the bathroom.

Even though we got toothpaste and razors in the leather travel kit, they always kept them in stock.

A shaving/makeup mirror in the bathroom. I try to shave as little as possible, but I've been on dozens of international flights with uppity business folk who fly in their suits and shave right before landing, on their way to morning meetings in the city of their destinations. A sad life indeed. Believe me when I say I consider myself one incredibly fortunate guy who can go to work in ratty clothes and a 5-day old beard. With my dog.

Self portrait.

It's wasn't just the ***huge*** selection of movies, TV shows, and music to choose from, it was the fact that as soon as I got on the plane, I could start watching "Ratatouille".

See above. A perfect place setting and a fantastic appetizer. I know I'm missing out on a lot of cuisine with my disdain for all shellfish, most cooked vegetables, and mushrooms/tomatoes, but I do really appreciate that I've developed a love for most other kinds of international food. This was the mezze as described in the menu, and was a really great little dish. Seriously, who can pass up on tabouleh?

For dinner, the chicken with zaatar crust. Quite tasty, but the chickpea salad was what really did it for me. Admittedly, the curry on the flight over was more to my liking. But hell, if I had been awake longer, and hungrier, I would have devoured the gnocchi. Next flight, indeed...

A flight ahead of us takes off against part of the Dubai landscape.

It was a mild and foggy and morning...

We missed seeing the Burj al Arab hotel on both flights, but was able to catch just a faint glimpse of the Burj Dubai Tower off in the distance. You may need to click on the link for the bigger picture, and adjust your monitor. But this either will be or is already the tallest building in the world. When completed, it'll be twice as tall as the Empire State Building. Hopefully next time, it won't be as foggy, and I can shoot it from the plane - it will probably be higher than our altitude on landing...

It was a great way to end the trip and get us back to the US. The only problem was that we were deposited back into JFK, a place I loathe within a place I loathe. Fortunately, the ride home took only about 2 hours, covering maybe 60 miles. Funny, when people land in Newark and think that New Jersey is nothing but oil fields and factories, I'm more than happy to let them keep thinking that. But when they get all excited that they're coming to New York by way of JFK, I feel the need to tell them that they haven't really yet gotten to the rest of the mainland states, because the god-awful trip from the airport, across Brooklyn and Staten Island, to at least the NJ Turnpike, can take them another 3 hours just because some idiot trucker didn't understand that a parkway means no trucks allowed.

But if you have to suffer in JFK, Emirates is the way to go.

It's good to be home. And nice to know I'll be heading back in about 4 months....

Stuck in Dubai

2007-12-08T21:23:00.001-08:00

Looks like our aircraft coming in was delayed. It was incredibly foggy when we landed, but that was in the middle of the night.

So I don't get how foggy in the morning could be any worse.

But, there are worse places to be stuck for two hours, what with all the free wine/champagne/booze, dates with almonds (I picked some up at duty free), and all the hummous and pita pockets filled with spiced lamb and yoghurt I can eat.

Which is a lot.

But many fingers are crossed that we get the same Boeing 777 aircraft we got on the way over with the awesome cabin. Otherwise, the next 14 hours are going to suck.

Winding down

2007-12-07T19:18:00.001-08:00

We went back to the restaurant in Langfang yesterday - another great meal where I ate and drank too much, and got cajoled into singing "Let It Snow".

Shark fin soup - a delicacy that comes from these.

Not so good in my opinion. I prefer the rest of the fish.

Best. Flight. Ever.

2007-12-07T00:44:00.001-08:00

Most times I've flown to China, it's been on United, flying from Newark to Chicago, then on to Beijing. The car service picks me up at 4am, and I'm at the hotel at what is roughly 2 or 3am the following morning, so it's about 24 hours door to door.

Because the main flight is so long - about 13 or 14 hours - we fortunately fly first class, either by paying for it outright or by upgrading if possible. Thanks to help from a travel agent, the fares have been much better than just going online and booking it, trade secrets and all.

But now, even with airline bankruptcies and the populace's general hatred of flying, the airlines are still charging outrageous prices for service. So, with a United ticket hovering around $22k, we decided to look elsewhere. Dubai, actually.

We decided on an Emirates flight that goes from JFK to Dubai, then on to Beijing. A much longer trip, but at half the price of a ticket on UAL. I hate the drive to JFK, which can take anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours, but we left around 6p so traffic was pretty good. The flight leaves at 11:30p, so I figured I'd spend most of my time asleep. That is, until I got seated.

This is the first class cabin on certain Emirates flights. Fortunately, mine was one of them. It's actually an individual cabin, with electronically-controlled sliding doors and all. No roof, but who would want one when you have this to look at?

Oh, and it's not just a nice little TV to watch pre-selected movies on...

Nope - a 22" LCD. Controlled by:

A wireless control panel that also controls your chair and cabin environment, and...

a phone-slash-remote stored in the arm rest. Also doubles as a controller for the video games available.

And what can one watch on this display? A rough estimate would be about 200 various movies and TV shows. Not just recent movies that you could likely catch on other flights (I caught much of "Transformers"), but also a whole library of classics, anywhere from "North by Northwest" to "Finding Nemo".

Thirsty? Push the button to raise the refrigerated drink selection.

Care for a small traditional snack? A delicious date and some imported Arabic coffee with saffron.

If you can find a valid reason to work, will there be enough space for your laptop? Probably.

Ready for some sleep? Just press the button and the doors close and lights turn off...

But not until you've chosen what you want for dinner. Only when the rest of the cabin is served? Not here - just give them 20 minutes to heat up your food, and dine whenever you want. Which is fine, because it will take you at least that long to figure out what you want anyway:

Start with some of the best champagne ever? Why not?

Maybe they'll have wine from one of my favorite vineyards...

Feel guilty about overfishing for caviar and force-feeding for foie gras (which I am)? Then just have a more traditional appetizer. Plus it'll just taste better than any other airline, and most restaurants.

Curry you say? How could I not?

I'm always hesitant to eat bread on airlines, because it's so often hard as a rock. These rolls tasted fresh out of the oven. Oh, and is that an actual metal knife I see tucked in the napkin?

Some dessert, if there's any room left (there wasn't).

Unfortunately, I did need to get some sleep, as there was still a lot of traveling ahead. After a few hours' rest, it was time to change out of the complimentary lounge-wear (which I kept) and freshen up:

Seat backs up and tray tables stowed. Welcome to the richest place in the world:

On the way to the lounge for a 6-hour layover, but not without some window shopping first. It was even busier on the way out at 2am.

A fine place to lounge indeed. But wait... what happens if I get hungry, again?

Just some appetizers here. To complement the multitude of dishes like:

Chicken jalfrezi, lamb rogan josh, blue cheese ravioli, and vegetarian spring rolls. Plus the best lemonade ever, with a great mint taste.

The second flight, from Dubai to Beijing, was about 8 hours, and was very well serviced and also had great food and entertainment selections, but was a more common business-class type of cabin. I slept through most of that flight. After some Thai-style spicy chicken before landing, of course.

I've been pretty good this trip in doing my best to not eat too much, but I have the feeling there will be no stopping me on the flight home.

Two words... In. Sane.

Factory lunch

2007-12-07T00:32:00.001-08:00

We ate at our main factory yesterday, where they have a chef from a local restaurant come in to prepare the food. It's mostly seafood - lots of crabs and shrimp - but again the owner is nice enough to make sure to have a dish or two that is really more for me, like a beef or chicken. Not like I don't eat the fish or soup, or the veggies and peasant food, but the whole shellfish thing is totally lost on me. Just so happens that one of my all-time favorite dishes here is one of the chef's specialties:

Kun pao qi di. Had this first about two years ago, and couldn't stop eating it. I asked for its name so that maybe I could find a place at home that could make it, and after the fog of too much drink faded, I realised it was Kung Pao chicken. Only actually worth eating. It's spicy, the peanuts add a lot of flavor, and it's not the kind of syrupy sauce you get in the states. Over here, it's as clean a dish as you could ask for.

Fried peppers. I was eating them like potato chips.

Why waste energy storing cabbage in a refrigerator when it's 36 degrees outside and there's room in the parking lot?

A full table to start with, then as dishes get eaten they are moved to smaller plates to make room for more food. I would peg the cost in US dollars for the whole meal, excluding multiple bottles of beer and liquor, at maybe $50. For eight of us.

The one thing I missed this time is a chicken dish that's served cold, and it tastes like the meat has been salted. It's just a couple of breasts with the skin still on, but it's soooo flavorful. Hopefully next time - I'll put my request in early.

Happy birthday "cake"

2007-12-07T00:29:00.001-08:00

Like many things, it's done a little differently in China...

At least it stopped moving by the end of the song.

More food porn from Lang Fang

2007-12-06T16:48:00.001-08:00

We ate at the restaurant I described again on Wednesday. And we'll be back there on Friday. We ordered many of the same dishes because they're that good, like the grilled sardines, but had to try some new ones too.

Going back again today (Friday for me) as well. I may almost start getting tired of going there.

Didn't have these. Because they're not much fun.

Selecting fish.

Hot corn juice. Actually not too bad, kind of like a chowder only not as thick.

This was about halfway through lunch. Meaning, not all the dishes had even been brought out at this point.

Pickled garlic cloves and cabbage in a sauce. Yummy peasant food.

Ostrich! We chose it just to try, and it wasn't bad, but nothing worth noting really. Other than the fact that I ate ostrich.

Fish, or "yu". The thicker sauce added a nice flavor than the vinegar-based one we usually get at our factory.

Dumplings ("jiaoze") and spicy beef strips. The dumplings are a nice treat usually served at the end of the meal, but I'll admit to liking the good old Americanized version of pot stickers. The beef dish though is something I could eat all day.

A long noodle means good health. Match this, Rigatoni!

Some things to know about China

2007-12-04T05:04:00.001-08:00

Or at least Beijing. Well, OK, the few places I've been in country...

1. It kinda stinks. There's just an odd smell, beyond just what you expect in a city. Kind of a stale smell, and it permeates everything.

2. Smoking is practically a requirement. Coupled with the above, a filtered breathing apparatus isn't such a bad idea. And most places don't have a no-smoking area. Makes me appreciate good ol' Jersey even more.

3. Coke tastes better over here.

4. Soda cans have the old-fashioned pull tabs on them. For all the other technological advancements you see everywhere, nothing has touched the soda can.

5. The language is really, really, really hard to understand.

6. It's totally common to get into a cab and sit in the front next to the driver.

7. In the hotels, the TV is surprisingly both varied and limited. To wit, channel choices include the following:

International news channels like CNN, CNBC or the BBC. A nice touch being able to watch when you're awake at 2am suffering jet lag, as they're reporting what's happening at 1pm back home. You'd think China would block news they can't control, but that isn't the case.

Movie channels like HBO and Cinemax, but the movies are usually edited and don't have any nudity. Which is fine, because the selection usually sucks. You can only watch classics like Demolition High so many times.

National Geographic Channel, which is awesome to have for us documentary fans, only there are only three types of shows you can watch: mega-structures things being built, natural disasters, and plane crash investigations. Oh, and a show about which kind of martial art can do the most damage to a crash test dummy. Seriously. I've watched it on all three trips in 2007.

8. Cell phones here are way cooler than what we're offered in the states.

9. I can write this blog, but can't view this one or any other on blogger/blogspot. Big Red Brother must be watching.

10. About the only traffic law that people obey here is the use of stop lights. Everything else, particularly once you get outside of the city, is more a suggestion than a law. Drive into two lanes of oncoming traffic to overtake a motorcycle carrying a few square meters of corn stalks bound together? Sure. Use the right shoulder as a turn lane, about half a mile before the turn? No problem. The good thing is that since the pollution is so bad in the countryside, you can't really see the trucks stopped along the median while the drivers take naps until it's almost too late.

Thai me up, Thai me down

2007-12-02T14:02:00.001-08:00

Ate here last night.

Yummers. But I'm not sure what the painting of the angry baby is supposed to foretell to customers...

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

2007-12-01T22:08:00.001-08:00

Even though I don't care much for watching sports, I love watching the Olympics. I even had the luck to spend 10 days in Atlanta back in 1996 going to a bunch of games. But you couldn't pay me to go to the games here in Beijing. Mostly because it'll be so incredibly, unbelievably crowded. But also because the pollution is so bad here. There's a lot of talk about what the Chinese government is doing to help control it, and if anyone can pour out gobs of money to get something done, it's China. But the reality is that for all the pollution that's caused by all the coal-burning factories and horrible traffic congestion, Beijing is also pretty close to the Gobi desert, and a windy day there is soon a polluted day here. And nothing can be done about that.

Here's what a typical drive to our factories looks like:

Not like there are any clouds in the sky, this is all just hazy smog. Like L.A., only with fake handbags instead of fake people.

Today however, has been a spectacularly nice day, at least in Beijing. Over the last 8 years I've probably spent 100 or so days in China, and this is probably the nicest I've ever seen. I've also never seen it rain, and have only been here in fall and winter, so that could have something to do with it.

So, I was able to grab the camera and take some quick shots of note.

This is being constructed right outside my hotel window, the new CCTV building. It's sort of China's BBC, a government-run TV station (actually a few of them). Shame that when it's completed, the public probably won't be allowed inside. Maybe that will change for the Olympics.

Somehow, in the middle of the city on a side street, lays a Kenny Rogers Roasters. I've actually been to one or two many years ago, and found them much better than Boston Chicken (ne' Market). But to see one in Beijing just kills me. Not like you can't get KFC at the Great Wall, or McDonald's or Starbucks on every corner here. But Kenny Rogers Roasters? The man's a global marketing genius.

Sometimes, it's the little things

2007-12-01T21:51:00.001-08:00

After being here last March, right after my contract was up with Cingular, I found out that a call placed to the right number would get me an unlock code for my Treo 650, enabling me to use it on international GSM cellular systems. Since I was out of contract, I needed only to tell them that I travel overseas and already have a cell plan with a SIM card that I can use. I have an old basic Nokia phone that I would use in China (and when I used to go to London and Dusseldorf), but now I can use the greatest phone in the world on the other side of the world. Quite helpful, as wife and I text somewhat frequently when I'm here, and it's much easier to do so on a real smartphone, although on this trip I've been using video Skype in my mornings to talk to my wife and son in their evenings. Even from here, the video is pretty damn amazing. Almost as amazing at getting better cell service when calling from atop the Great Wall than when I'm at home in suburban New Jersey.

Dining in Langfang

2007-12-01T21:20:00.001-08:00

Langfang is a township outside Beijing, near two of our factories. There is a popular restaurant here that excels in countryside cuisine. Like many other restaurants, you can choose much of your food first, before even getting to your room (more on that later); but here, you can go beyond picking out the fish or shrimp... or sea cucumber, turtle, pig's knuckle, beef tendon, and many other things I avoid... and pick out individual side dishes. Many people I work with here know that I like spicy food, and prefer meat dishes, so we're always looking for something new to try. But meat is not really a delicacy here - it's all about the seafood. And fortunately, when they make a seafood dish I wouldn't otherwise eat even if I had to, here it's so good that I actually look forward to it. The pictures here combine my current trip as well as one from this past March.

The TV above the elevators that lead to the multiple floors of multiple dining rooms, showing the goings-on in the kitchen. You don't do this unless you trust the food you're serving.

The menu is downstairs, pre-presented like in the old automats. Only much of it is still alive.

Not today, my friend, but soon you will be mine...

Sea cucumbers. I was once brave enough to try them.... Once.

Walking to the room. It's laid out much like a hotel, with each room being a dining room, often with a flat panel TV. I keep forgetting to ask if they have closed-circuit so you can watch the kitchen from the room. (My father/business partner is in the life vest.)

Lobster sushi. Yum.

Traditional big meals, around a rotating centerpiece. You just move it to what you want to eat. China is trying to move towards using serving utensils instead of just picking up food with the chopsticks that have already been in yours and everyone else's mouths, particularly after the SARS scare a few years ago, but you can't turn 6000 years of culture on a renminbi. It's been hard enough here for people to move to plastic chopsticks so they can save on wood and bamboo (unfortunately they don't have the gripping surface so the move has met much resistance).

I think this was something's stomach. The picture was as close as I got.

Drinking is big here in China, a way to help promote "guanxi" or relationships. Mostly done at lunches with us. The Tsingtao beer is the same brand you can find in the US, only 100 times better because it isn't pasteurized - much fresher and tastier. But you don't sip alcohol here with your meal, that's what tea is for (you don't drink the water). It's for "gambei", which means "empty glass"... i.e., shots. A few years ago I moved from drinking beer to red wine here, which is actually quite good. The beer was just too filling to keep shooting. Wine snobs would have a heart attack to see people gulping it down, but it's a much more tolerable way for me to keep up the drinking without feeling like my gut is going to explode.

This is mau tai, sort of a Chinese grappa. I will do one shot of this if I have to. Otherwise, I feel like it's wasting something that could otherwise fuel a car.

This is one piece of eel from a separate dish, and what I can best describe as barbequed sardines. The eel was good though the sauce was a little thick, but the sardines were phenomenal. Great sauce, meaty, and easy to work around the bones. You eat everything except the tail, skin included. We're already planning a second trip there in another two days, and this will definitely be ordered again.

This noodle dish gave us a choice to add different toppings and sauces. I went for edamame, minced pork, and a fantastic garlic sauce. This is the sort of dish I could eat all day here.

When you order the fish downstairs, this is how it's served. In some restaurants I've been to here, if there's any meat left, it goes into a fish soup that's served a bit later. Then, in some instances, the bones of the fish are deep fried, and you eat them like french fries.

Last but not least is one of my absolute favorites. You know those annoying birds in the cities? Not here... this is a pigeon delicacy. The meat is very rich, but there's very little of it. Also, as in most poultry dishes here, you're not just given the meat, but the bones and cartilage as well, so you kinda have to work around everything to get at the meat. And the little dish has just salt and pepper that you dip the meat into just to coat it a little bit. Heaven I tell you.

I don't have any pictures of the vegetable dishes, but they are usually really good too. Some are similar to what you may find stateside, but my favorite ones are very simple, what is called peasant food. Like sliced cabbage and celery in a garlic sauce, or pickled radishes and peppers. I'm already looking forward to the next visit.

Globalization marches on...

2007-12-01T16:40:00.001-08:00

Here's what you first see when you get through the baggage claim area of the Beijing airport.

Need I say more?

My first time

2007-12-01T14:02:00.001-08:00

This was the first restaurant I went to when I came to China the first time back in March 2000, then called Lo Lai, but now Magao. It's right across from the hotel I stayed at, and am currently back at again as our usual hotel undergoes a major renovation. This place gets packed every night and stays open really late to accommodate customers. The food was my first time eating Chinese in China, and I was really impressed at how lightly sauced everything was. Not like the thick syrup sauces used in chinese restaurants in the States. Great soups here too. Still, this is city food next to one of the largest hotels in Beijing that caters to many international travelers. Meaning, even this food isn't exactly like what you can get elsewhere. But it was the first time I got to pick out the fish I wanted with dinner - while it was still alive.

Having just gotten back from lunch there, allow me to show why the food is so good....

Any meal that starts with Tsingtao White Gold beer will be good.

Some of today's lunch dishes - clockwise from bottom left: broccoli in garlic; chicken with potatoes and peppers (perfect Chinese comfort food); a vegetable dish that we couldn't identify, but was pretty tasty; a mushroom dish that I didn't touch (I just cannot eat mushrooms); sliced potatoes with spicy peppers; and in the center, shrimp (another food I just don't like).

But the main reason why this place is packed at all hours it's open...

Camel hoof and cow penis! Just kidding, though this is prominently displayed on the menu.

This is a fantastic, simple sliced beef and noodle dish. The soup is lightly seasoned and the noodles always perfectly done. Noodles (mien) are very important in Chinese cuisine, as is rice, but rice is usually done pretty much the same wherever you go (at least has been my experience). Noodles however vary greatly, and everyone at the table ordered theirs different - I went for broad noodles this time. I add a little chili oil and black vinegar to the soup, and often wind up eating the whole bowl, probably a good quart or so, after eating all the rest of the meal.

Fortunately, today is a day off for us until a business dinner at 7p tonight. Meaning, after a little rest and a trip to the gym, I may even be hungry again tonight. Either way, I will go to bed a happy, happy man.

Alive and kicking

2007-11-27T18:38:00.001-08:00

I could go into this one a bit more, but I think it's fairly self-explanatory. This is a somewhat common dining experience when I travel to China and go out to nicer restaurants with our factories - fresh raw lobster. Really fresh. As in still moving fresh. I don't like lobster at all unless it's given up the ghost for the noble cause of sashimi.

Welcome!

2007-11-26T12:06:00.001-08:00

I wanted to create this blog for the trips I take and the food I get to eat (or decline) when I travel. I do a few trips overseas each year, mostly to China, where the food is nothing like what is called "chinese" food here. So this companion blog to my original will show the food that I didn't make.

Which is probably better for all involved...