China Part 4 - I ate like a king

Ok, I'm starting today with a confession: day 5 didn't actually finish with me walking but but I quite liked the ending so I left it like that.  Also, the rest of my evening wasn't hugely exciting: I went shopping in the Muslim Quarter for presents for my friends/family and had a couple of snacks as well. The first was a deep-fried breadcrumb banana which was interesting as the breadcrumbs added NOTHING to the banana nor did the frying. The banana was exactly the same as it would have been straight out of the peel. The second was one of the most Moorish snacks I have ever had. Going down the street, I had seen some people hammering with giant mallets some form of paste with lots of sesame seeds in it and wondered what it was. Turn out it was some sort of sesame biscuit thing that was unbelievably delicious...it was even still warm when I got back! I found myself eating as much of it as I could.  There we go, the actual end of the day.

Now then, onto Day 6 properly and it's not the most exciting as it started off with an early rise and a 6 hour train journey back to Beijing with the aforementioned snoring man. Once there, I returned to my previous hotel, checked in and contemplated my next move.  I had originally planned to go to the National Art Museum but it was already 3pm and it closed at 5pm plus I didn't know how far away it was from the hotel so I was in a bind.  Eventually, I decided to make a beeline for Jingshan (Coal) Park: a small hill behind the Forbidden City and find the Art Museum on the way (which I did).  I eventually made it to the park whilst again munching on a coal-roasted sweet potato for lunch and then began the short climb up to the temple on the hill, after refusing the many rickshaw offers to take me up (on hindsight, I'm pretty sure I only saw steps up to the temple). Shaded by the trees covering the path, I made it to the temple and was treated to a birds-eye view of the surrounding area, including the Forbidden City.  Being able to see it from such a vantage point really conveys the size of the place as well as all the park land around it.

Once the cold got too much for me, I head back down the hill to walk around the park area, eventually finding the spot 'where the emperor hanged himself'. The story goes that after an army of 400,000 peasants attacked the Forbidden City and sensing defeat, the Emperor took his Empress, concubines and daughters to the hill. He then forced the empress to kill herself and killed his concubines and daughters himself. After writing his final edict in blood with the aid of his eunuch assistant, he then hung himself.  All that's left is a sign and a few trees to mark this macabre moment. Continuing with my wander, I came across a group of elderly women practicing some movements with decorative swords, another group playing hacky-sack, some playing cards and one lady writing calligraphy on the stone pavement. I sat and watched them for a while (no pictures though) and just enjoyed seeing an aspect of normal life in China...one without tourist routes and street vendors.  Just people living their lives.

With an hour to kill before my massage, I wandered along the Forbidden City moat for a while before stopping in an empty teahouse for a cup of Jasmine tea to warm my hands.  After tea, it was time for my massage! Sixty blissful minutes of both my head/shoulders and legs/feet being massaged and rubbed. I could feel the tension and exhaustion slip away from my body as the minutes ticked by. After this, I conveniently popped across the road and headed into a nearby local restaurant for some Yinxian shredded pork and rice with a cool beer, followed by an egg tart (like I could say no). After dinner, I headed out to pick up some more gifts for people and then back to the hotel for a beer and some blogging.

Day 7 which meant another busy day for me, with lots of running around (I'm somewhat of a masochist when it comes to holidays), this time starting with a cooking class. After some pastries for breakfast and then a period wandering around in the cold looking for the class, I enjoyed visiting a couple of local hutongs whilst killing time. A Hutong is a small street which seems to be to the focal point for the community. You see people wandering around talking to their neighbours, shopping for fresh vegetables or sitting with a cup of green tea and watching the world go by. You get a real sense of Chinese daily life when you visit a Hutong and whilst they may not be a tourist site, they are well worth a short wander.

Eventually, it was time for my class at Hutong Cuisine and I arrived to find there was only one other person cooking with me, a girl named Claire who left halfway through as she had mischeduled her time (but more on this later). I was basically getting a private lesson for a group price! Yay! What we learned in class was to make different types of Dim Sum as well as egg custard tarts and our teacher was good, if strict. We got told off (nicely...sort of) if the vegetables weren't sliced small enough (both of us had to redo our vegetables) and I quickly learned that I am not great at wrapping the shrimp in dough. The big plus was the fact that she explained why she was being strict e.g. the vegetable wouldn't mix well if they were too large so we could actually learn from our mistakes. I also learned that to make the dough used in dim sum is very easy: much easier than I ever anticipated, so will be trying that in future (I needed the practice)!

After Claire left, we moved onto egg custard tarts which I now know how to make...this could go horribly wrong as I may now use my entire free time cooking and devouring these succulent treats. After we finished preparing the food, it seemingly fell onto me to eat everything that was made since Claire had left, or so my teacher told me. I like to think I performed valiantly but after a dozen or so prawn and water chestnut dumplings and 4 egg custard tarts, I was beat. Yes, I ate 4 normal sized egg custard tarts in a row and I would do it again. It could have been worse as there were actually 12 but I managed some restraint....barely.

Then, at the end of class, I bought two rather interesting items. The first was a hand-made Chinese meat cleaver to add to my collection of cooking knives but oddly, as great as it is, it was not the most interesting thing I bought. You see, the second item I bought is something that I've been searching for and have been doing so for about five years. Hell, it was part of why I came to China. After all these years, I found them...THE SCHIZUAN PEPPERCORNS! AHAHAHAHA THEY ARE FINALLY MINE!! You think I'm joking but I'm really not. After making a disastrous recipe with normal peppercorns, I've been searching for them to see how they were different and I finally found them! It only took me several years and travelling across the globe to get them!

After the class, and dancing down the street with giddiness from my find, I popped into the National Art museum for a look around which was enjoyable but heavily reliant on calligraphy. Regardless, it made a nice detour for a couple of hours before I headed to my next stop: Black Sesame Restaurant for dinner.

Black Sesame Restaurant originally caught my attention as it is included in the '1001 things to do before you die' book and it is also one of the top rated restaurants in Beijing (as per Trip Advisor). I had decided to check it out and had booked well ahead to ensure that I got a place and I'm pleased that I did. A bit of an overview of the place: it's a small restaurant (with only 24 seats) with a set 10 course menu that changes monthly along with some good wine. Nor does it particularly advertise. They have a website and that's about it. The restaurant itself has no signs at all directing you to it nor does have name sign above it. In fact, it's fairly hidden in a small unassuming courtyard down a small side street...in fact, it actually has a sign saying that the area was for private residents only and not for the public! It took me ages to find but they email you the directions and eventually you make it there. Secretive and brilliant.

The idea is that you dine with your new friends whilst enjoying a traditional home-cooked Chinese meal which is cooked in the same room and it really does feel like you've returned to home after a long time. I haven't enjoyed a meal like that in ages! After a little bit of awkwardness, everyone loosened up (good food and wine helped a little) and soon everyone was chatting and laughing like old friends whilst enjoying some of the best food I've had in Beijing.  Although I had been a little worried about there being 10 courses, I soon discovered that the food was placed in the middle and you could take what you wanted. Despite the great atmosphere and company, the food was the real star of the show. Made up of traditional Beijing dishes, they were cooked well and really highlighted the skills of the chefs and it was great to watch them cook it (I even picked up a new technique when watching them). The courses were:

• Pan fried Pork and Pumpkin Dumplings
• Fried Shitake Mushrooms
• Black Beans and Chicken
• Five Flavour Eggplant
• Beer braised pork ribs
• Garlic Broccoli
• Beef and Pine Nuts
• Snow peas and Chinese Bacon
• Changqing Spicy Squid
• Candied sweet potato and home-made black sesame ice-cream

In particular, the dessert was especially good and with flowing wine, it made a great evening. Afterwards, a small group of us (including the manager) went to a micro-brewery for some pumpkin beer. Delicious end to a delicious night.

Then, without warning, it was my final day in Beijing and I had decided to take it fairly easy and just enjoy the city. After a bit of a lie in and a lazy breakfast, I took a slow stroll down to the Temple of Heaven: the final tourist stop of my holiday. Located out of the centre, the Temple of Heaven is a large parkland with several historical buildings and structures in it e.g. the Echo Wall and the Fasting Hall. Despite the buildings throughout, which were interesting enough, what I really enjoyed was wandering round all the trees, in particular the 800 cyprus trees and watching people just relax and unwind again. There were people singing, some people were dancing and twirling ribbons, and some people were just out with their children. Such a nice relaxing place away from the bustle of the city and a great place for my last morning.

After the park, I headed off for some lunch before doing some final bits of shopping in the area near my hotel. Once done, it was back to the hotel to pack and wait for my friend Leo to pick me up for dinner. For my last night in Beijing, I got to spend it with my old flatmates Leo, Betty and his girlfriend Caroline reminsicing about Dundee and eating some local Chinese food again. Once again, I let them order for me (with the exception of one dish) and once again, I was not disappointed. What was ordered was:

• Black Sesame Dumplings
• Shredded Pork with Chilli
• Tato Spring Rolls
• Fried Tofu
• Braised Pork Loin
• Shaved beef with chilli and pepper
• Steamed vegetables
• and, of course, plenty of tea

Not only this but Betty has brought me some tea and, in her words, 'all kinds of peppers' for me to take home. It really reminds of all the nice people that I've met throughout my years and was such a rare treat for me to meet with friends whilst on holiday (not including when I go back to the UK) and, despite not having seen each other for over 3 years, being treated like we had never been apart. A nice end to an enjoyable holiday.

So, that's it for my trip to Beijing and Xi'an. My final impression? Both cities are an interesting mix of the old and new, similar to Hong Kong. Despite modernity steamrolling over a lot of the traditional places, they still survive albeit in hiding. However, if you search for them, you'll find some local traditions and areas nestled between the 100 floor skycrapers and down the unassuming alleys. And I can happily say, they are well worth the searching. As a final point, don't be put off by the size of the cities nor by the population size. The cities is easy to get around with lots of transport and the population? Well, I can assure you that there is plenty of space unless you are on the underground at rush hour of the weekend and then, it's just like regular city life. If you get the chance to visit, do so. See the old and the new, eat lots of local food and just have a damn good time.  

Pick of the week

We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - Bruce Springsteen covering Pete Seeger (an american folk singer).  What more do you want?  Great variety of songs, most of which will get you singing along.  I recommend Jesse James and Mrs McGrath.

Music of the Week

Today I give you Bruce Springsteen - Mrs McGrath...as what did you expect?

See you next week!