My Journal

The weather today was the most beautiful day that I have experienced in Beijing. It was crystal clear, mid 70 degrees, just a little wind with zero clouds in the sky. As a result, we ventured outside the building for lunch with one of our Mandarin literate couples. The goal was to try a new Chinese restaurant for lunch. We wandered up the street to this little corner restaurant where you order at the counter, grab a seat at one of the tables and the food is delivered to you. As we entered, one of our Mandarin guides asked what I wanted for lunch…as I looked up at the menu on the wall and saw only Mandarin characters...I just laughed…I had no idea what to get or what the choices were. So the usual routine is to do a quick scan of what other people are eating and point to that. The variety was too large, so I went the other usual reply of “You pick!”. Now there is a certain amount of trust (actually, quite a lot) that goes with that phrase and our Mandarin literate colleagues are getting very good at knowing the different limits that each of us will go. For instance, some of people have the “No small bones” rule, while others have the “No beady eyes staring back at us” rule. Anyway, so we sat at the table and waited. This used to be my most anxious time, literally worrying whether or not I will like whatever comes as I sit with hunger pangs growing. Now, I treat it like Christmas. It is a real surprise. Today, the largest bowl of noodles with lamb came out. Which led to the next task of the day: eating a bowl of long, stringy noodles with chopsticks and not wearing the broth as you literally slurp them into your mouth. Again, watching other’s techniques lead you quickly to the conclusion that there is not one correct way to do it – you need your own style. I am not quite sure if anyone could finish the bowl of noodles, but I did manage to not wear any of my lunch. It also led to our conversation about Italian food and pasta. We had a chicken and the egg debate about where pasta started. Was it brought to China by explorers or was it brought back to Italy from a visit to China. We opted for the origination in China and brought to Italy.

As we strolled down the street back to the office, a number of small stores were selling nuts, popcorn and other treats in preparation for the upcoming holiday. We also walked into a bakery and saw some fresh moon cakes being prepared. As others got cookies and treats to bring back, I stood near the entrance using all of my self-control to not get something. The case in front of me had fresh cream puffs (I am a sucker for cream puffs). So I asked for just one; the clerk articulated that I couldn’t get just one, the minimum order was 5 (nice sales work!!). So I got 5 for 3 kuai (about 40 cents). Now like the moon cakes, when you bite into something, it is sometimes a surprise. I have stopped eating the sweets in China since I have found them too sweet for me. Close to eating sugar cane, actually. So I bit into the cream puff expecting a very sweet center and was pleasantly surprised to find a very light fluffy and perfectly balanced center. I quickly handed out the rest of the bag to the others and it was unanimous that they were good. So both the restaurant and the bakery will get more business from us.