eG Foodblog: fengyi - Win(e)ing and Dining in Beijing

[Kouign Aman]

I was told never to buy soy sauce,vinegar, etc... from markets as they were guaranteed to be fake

?Fake vinegar? Vinegar is cheap and easy to make - unless you are talking aged balsamic, what's to fake?

Do the markets let you taste before you buy, so you can at least determine if the stuff meets your flavor requirements?

Do you drink much domestic wine, or is it necessary and / or preferable to focus on the imports, due to your business?

If memory serves, there were three domestic wine (grape) producers when I visited China, and one could buy red or white. As I recall, that was the sum of differentiation. No choice of varietal etc. I cant find my notes on what the wineries were named. I remember one drinkable red table wine, dont remember the rest too clearly after all this time (~ 8 years).

The squid dinner looked wonderful.

[insomniac]

re fake soy sauce, I believe the preferred method is to boil down human hair to an amino acid gloop and proceed....and I just know I've eaten it *shudder*...god why is there something so deeply disturbing about hair not attached to a head?

and why bother faking vinegar? well, why bother going on a 2 day course to make fake eggs folks? apparently to save 1 kuai per piece, that's why...

and about that free tea you are drinking with your meal, freshly swept from the factory floor....

I was speaking to a friend who has 30 years experience battling the fakes trade, especially in the Far East and apparently the next big worry for the world is fake food and water...

edited to add sorry Fengyi to rant on your lovely blog

Edited March 26, 2008 by insomniac (log)

[Megan Blocker]

fengyi, this is awesome! I can't wait to see some more pics of Beijing - and I second Sandy's request for a glimpse of your kitchen. Bathrooms and kitchens are always different from country to country...such fascinating differences, even the small ones.

[crustybread]

fengyi, your pictures look delicious. It makes me want to lick my screen! Though..that also might be due to the fact that I haven't eaten all day and am currently starving.

I'm really looking forward to seeing more of your pictures and to reading more of your blog!

[Kent Wang]

I've also heard about fake cooking oil that's made from some industrial oil or something like that. Not sure how much of that is true or just rumour.

[MissAmy]

In fact, I'm going out for Russian food for lunch (yes, more entertaining of the Russian wine people!).

Yuuummmm! I love Russian food, and can't wait to see your pics. There was an amazing Russian place up in Harbin we went to during the winter festival one year. I wonder if it's still there? Has Russian food become more common futher south?

[Fengyi]

Unfortunately, fake food here is quite common - only a few years ago, children were poisoned by fake powdered milk. Fake vinegar is VERY commonly faked - particularly the aged 5-year and 10-year Shanxi and Zhejiang vinegars!

My ayi bought a beef sausage last year from a "reputable" manufacturer and discovered a long strip of dirty-ish plastic embedded throughout the sausage - she contacted the manufacturer who was very rude to her and wouldn't help. I encouraged her to keep complaining and told her that we would send the sausage to my friend who's on CNN international to expose China's lousy food laws.

That got a reaction - and a RMB compensation!

But their attitude towards food standards was terrible!

Edited March 26, 2008 by Fengyi (log)

[Fengyi]

Well, yesterday was fun - with a Russian lunch and a Xinjiang dinner! Lots of photos to post - which'll happen after breakfast today.

I SWEAR I will have some proper Beijing food soon (the hot pot on Monday seems far away now!) - but this is a real reflection of what's available here!

[Kouign Aman]

... Fake vinegar is VERY commonly faked - particularly the aged 5-year and 10-year Shanxi and Zhejiang vinegars! ....

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As noted with balsamic, I can totally understand a scam using young cheap vinegar and trying to pass it off as an aged product. I can also see how some nasty things could get introduced as part of the fakery. I just had this image of my gallon jug of white vinegar, which has to be the cheapest thing on the planet to produce, and couldnt see the benefit in faking it. Costs more to buy other souring agents.

Ah me. Fake food. God bless the FDA.......

[Fengyi]

Fake food is a BIG problem here - and I hope they can resolve it quickly!!

But to get onto more appetizing topics....

We went to Traktirr Pushikin - a restaurant near the Russian embassy. Russian food is quite popular and, of course, has a long history here not only with the White Russian immigration to Heilongjiang early this century, but also the Russian-China relationship in the 50s.

I let my Russian friends do the ordering because of my abysmal knowledge of Russian food (I grew up thinking that Borscht was Chinese because my [Harbin-born] mother made it!)

They ordered some Kvass and some Georgian wine to drink with a selection of zakushki:

This is a layered herring salad with pickled cucumber and the glass of Kvass. The Kvass really did taste just like rye bread in a drink....a bit strange for me but refreshing!

We also ordered some pelmeni dumplings (Not pictured) and beef tongue:

They were disappointed in the beef tongue - but I was busy enjoying the herring salad which was lovely - with lots of various veg (potatoes, carrots, beets, onions) layered with Russian preserved herring.

And, of course, we had Borscht:

That was terrific!

After lunch, we went for a look around a new area - looking for a new wine store, of course! There was also a new Organic food store:

This is a chain which is expanding rapidly in Beijing - I think it shows that people really are concerned about the food quality that they are getting here.

And then we found this terrific T-shirt:

Perhaps not the most sensitive T-shirt in the world - but VERY appropriate for here!

And continuing with the theme, I then came upon Beijing Roast Duck Flavoured PRETZ sticks!!!!

On the front is a picture of the Temple of Heaven - a very famous landmark here!

[Fengyi]

After the browsing, I went back with my friends to their hotel to see them off before they caught the train back to Shanghai that evening (BTW, the train is a Great Way to get between Beijing and Shanghai - it's a Z grade train, meaning top-class!).

They were staying at a VERY POSH hotel which is a traditional siheyuan (courtyard style house) located in a hutong.

What is a hutong? It is the old form of street in Beijing. It's a northern Chinese dialect word for small alley lined either side with the siheyuan. Originally nearly all streets in Beijing were like this, but less and less remain. I can understand the need for development (the sanitary conditions of siheyuans are dreadful), but I wish there was the money to re-new the siheyuans and hutong instead of demolishing them for flats. Anyway, rant over....

Here's a typical hutong:

Down this hutong is the fancy hotel (Cote Cour SL):

Inside, it is a completely modernised siheyuan, with contemporary touches. The courtyard is rather nice:

and

This small taste of old Beijing gave me a hankering to go to a hutong restaurant for that evening.

So last night we decided to go to a Xinjiang (Uyghur) restaurant in the Dongsiliutiao hutong!

[Fengyi]

LAMB FEST!

(actually Mutton fest....!) all lovers of fluffy lambies turn away now....

A couple of friends and we were all hankering for some gamey gamey lamb, so we all decided to head for Uyghur food (a real favourite in Beijing). We couldn't be bothered to trek to the Xinjiang Government Offfice Restaurant (each provincial office has its own restaurant with their provincial food - a great way to eat around China!), and I had a hankering for hutongs...so we went to Crescent Moon - a very well known Xinjiang place in Dongsiliutiao.

First and importantly, the Xinjiang beer (I love the irony of getting Muslim beer!):

Some of their in-house yoghurt came - and I love this although it's quite sweet!

I usually eat this with the nang 馕 bread - the picture below is of ONE portion after four pieces had already been taken (OK we were greedy!):

We started with some cold dishes...which were 'tossed fresh three' 拌三鲜 :

(sorry about the alarming fat-globule lighting from my flash)

It's fensi 粉丝 (green bean threads) mainly with muer woodear mushrooms and green peppers.

and we also had tossed Red Cabbage:

Sweet and sour with sugar and white vinegar.

Then came the first dish of lamby bits:

The kidneys:

I'm not a huge kidney fan, but these are delicious! Cumin-covered and fried with garlic and onion - they are splendidly flavoured with plenty of fatty bits!

Then came the lamb kebabs (with a token chicken wine skewer to appease the protein gods...):

These kebabs are frankly delicious - tender yet chewy with a full on gamey flavour. The chicken wings were a nice contrast as they were crispy!

I had tried to order a non-meat dish (chao mianpian 炒面片 - stirfried noodle slices), but of course it had lamb in it:

This was my favourite - with lots of tomatoey flavour and crisp Chinese celery. it's very much like tomato-based pasta dishes. And it was HUGE. Never order the 'large' size dish at this place!!!

The next dish was my husband's choice who pointed at a random picture I think...

but when it arrived, we were all surprised:

These immediately got christened 'Crispy Lamb McNuggets' (I think we were well into the Muslim beer by this point...)

Deep-fried flour coated lamb fatty bits covered with deepfried garlic and chiles....

They were a truly moving experience.... it was impossible to stop eating those crispy morsels of lamby goodness! Argh!

It was a good thing that the next dish was vegetarian (we needed a lamb-break!). Stirfried muer (wood ear) with cucumber and carrots:

Refreshingly non-lamby was the verdict! We made this an action shot - just to show we were actually eating all of this!

But, back to the theme of our dinner. Next came a egg and cumin pie -topped with (of course!) lamb!

Deep-fried pie! Yum! Just what you need after three other lamb dishes!

Actually, it's bloody good - the filling is rich in cumin flavour and egg and onion. and the Lamb bits provide that essential counterpoint.

You'll be glad to know, we didn't have lamb for dessert! we ordered a walnut pancake:

which actually turned out to be stuffed with rich dried fruits as well! A sort of fruitcake in an omelette....

I like Crescent Moon, even if it is a bit touristy! The portions are great and the prices are reasonable (the whole thing came to about 350RMb for the four of us). And the waitresses are all the most fantastic looking Uyghur women. I got a surreptitious picture of one of them :

Most of them look kind of Chinese-turkic. Makes me feel very at home (as a Eurasian myself!).

Anyway, that was the end of the lamb fest here in Beijing. The amount we consumed makes me feel, well, kinda sheepish! (GROAN - I couldn't resist that!)

[helenjp]

Wow! I was just about to ask which regional cuisines were popular in Beijing! And lamb too.

Were the "lamb mcnuggets" flavored with cumin as well as the garlic?

Thank you for all the photos!

[Fengyi]

Wow! I was just about to ask which regional cuisines were popular in Beijing! And lamb too.

Were the "lamb mcnuggets" flavored with cumin as well as the garlic?

Thank you for all the photos!

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You're welcome! (I do find posting photos a bit of a bother - but I hope they're worth it!)

There was some cumin (there's always some!) but the predominate flavour was the garlic.

[insomniac]

also saying thanks for the pix Fengi, especially of off piste food like Russian and Uigar, my daughter is often mistaken for a minority, even tho she is a Kiwi/Oz split, but it's handy when travelling, esp. in restricted places....

the hutong demolition is very sad, all that history gone...I was amazed at the difference between 1990 and 2005, big gap between my first 2 visits...huge changes...I was especially amazed at the 6 ring roads!!!! Is Liqun still standing?

[nakji]

That lamb feast looks like it was spectacular! I ate the best lamb I've ever had in my life in Beijing. I can't remember the name of the dish, but it was stir-friend in a dark sauce and served over heaps of fresh cilantro - I'll never forget the taste, it was like a revelation, having gone my whole life up until that point hating lamb. The restaurant was in an alley off of a place my friends kept referring to as "Bar" street. I never caught the real name of the street.

[Kent Wang]

What's the organic shop like? How stringent are the Chinese laws about organic foods? Given the rampant fake foods, are there counterfeit organic products too?

[johnnyd]

I do find posting photos a bit of a bother - but I hope they're worth it!

They are entirely worth it Fengyi! It's the absolute highlight. I am not exactly sure I'll ever visit Beijing so this week's foodblog is a mighty big treat for me, and others too I'll wager. Thank you so much for your efforts.

[dockhl]

I need to know about the duck pretzels !

how did they taste? Ducky?

[Dejah]

I do find posting photos a bit of a bother - but I hope they're worth it!

They are entirely worth it Fengyi! It's the absolute highlight. I am not exactly sure I'll ever visit Beijing so this week's foodblog is a mighty big treat for me, and others too I'll wager. Thank you so much for your efforts.

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I'm of the same mind as johnnyd! The lamb feast wouldn't be quite as delicious without the photos. Everything looks so incredible. Thanks, Fengyi.

[Fengyi]

Thanks for all the words about the photos - it's a bit challenging to post them here - particularly as my internet service is a bit hit and miss (I've heard it's because lately they're running more checks on the internet servers within China because of T****t- please don't post the full word!)

dockhl - I'm so sorry but I didn't buy them! My husband gets ratty at the amount of Pretz that I can capable of buying!!!

Kent - the organic shop was not strictly organic - but did have some organically produced veg and things. The Chinese for organic is youji 有机 but there is another term 'lvse' 绿色 which means 'Green Foods' which indicates that the foodstuff has been produced under clean and environmentally friendly conditions. These labels are supposedly controlled by the government, but WHO knows?!?!?!

Yesterday, I mainly ate Beijinger food....

I was lucky on my trip to the office, not only was it quite quiet, but I also managed to catch one of the new subway trains. They are very swish - with TVs on the side walls. Currently they are showing short clips explaining Olympic sports. I watched Horse Riding and Mountain biking!

I was at the office for lunch and we had to buy some lightbulbs - so we went across to Walmart and got lunch in the form of baozi. Normally I avoid Walmart like the plague, but the baozi are really not bad:

As you can see - for 3.60RMB (so fifty USD cents), I got three baozi with cabbage and pork filling:

A very typical simple Beijing lunch. It's what millions across the city eat everyday. It's like the M&S sandwich in the UK

[Fengyi]

By dinner-time, I was knackered so I couldn't face either cooking or going out. Fortunately, on my way home there is a supermarket (upmarket and expensive but convenient).

So I hit the jiaozi (dumpling) freezer:

There are SO many fillings to chose from! It was quite tiring just to consider them. But in the end, we managed to agree on two:

a corn, vegetable and pork filling made by one of the two 'Jiaozi multimillionaires'

and a youmaicai 油麦菜and pork one. Youmaicai is a type of green veg which looks like a Romaine but without the white parts. It's very good raw with sesame sauce!

We also found my favourite pidan (preserved eggs) which are made from Quail's eggs. Much more delicate and tasty!

At home, we had some pidan and pickles with the jiaozi:

The reddish ones are first type, the second are greener.

Again, these are very typical of what Beijinger eat. It's like the "meat and two veg" of the region.

Also, on the way home, in our mall I came across the newly opened Bread Papa Cream Puffs store. There was an excited lineup for it!

So, of course, I had to join in the line (my Chinese side comes through at times!) and get some for dessert!

and I got one normal and one chocolate covered...

They are really very good - and it's going to be REALLY tough living with that store just 10 floors below our apartment I better exercise more!!!!!

[crustybread]

Also, on the way home, in our mall I came across the newly opened Bread Papa Cream Puffs store. There was an excited lineup for it!

So, of course, I had to join in the line (my Chinese side comes through at times!) and get some for dessert!

and I got one normal and one chocolate covered...

They are really very good - and it's going to be REALLY tough living with that store just 10 floors below our apartment    I better exercise more!!!!!

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I LOVE Beard Papa's! Their cream puffs are so gooooood. The closest one to me (when I'm back home) is in Manhattan. BUT, I don't mind traveling on the bus and then subway to get one because they're so worth it!

[Fengyi]

This morning I planned to go to the local market with a friend. This market (Sanyuanli) is the most upmarket one in the city and mainly caters to the wholesale trade here. So they have very interesting things for sale.

But first, we enjoyed the pineapple my ayi brought in yesterday:

which are nearly always sold prepared like this. It's pineapple season here and in the suburbs there are carts and carts selling pineapples!!

But to market!

Here is the first picture (sorry for the blurriness!) it's the bread stall:

- the large white things are Mantou 馒头, the staple bread of this area which is steamed and slightly sweet.

The brown round things are 'bing' (bing is a generic term for any flat bread) stuffed with meat or red bean paste.

Here you can see the bing and the noodles more clearly. The white and brown buns by the side are Shengjianbao -which are baozi which are steamed and fried (very tasty!). Their heat is making the window steam up!

We passed by the fish stalls on our way down:

As you can see, there are fish from everywhere in the world here!

and I'm not sure what 90% are called - I hope there's an expert out there who can help me!!

Next to the fish were a bunch of crabs and salmon carcasses - I can just imagine a thrifty housewife falling on the latter!

We passed the mushroom guy - the range of mushrooms in China is enormous! I really enjoying trying them out.

and the tomato specialist:

The tomatoes are all grown around Beijing in the network of hothouses they have here. They have a lovely taste - even if they're a funny colour. The thing here is to eat them as a fruit with a side of sugar to dip them in. Tasting some of the cherry tomatoes, they do seem as sweet as fruit!

We then hit the pickle man, where I bought some radish pickle for my husband:

I was very impressed by his zhacai (mustard tuber pickle) - they looked very nice!

Next to the pickles were the dried stuffs and the seaweed seller:

and then we stopped for vegetables:

The prices here aren't too bad. The avocados are 9RMB each - and about 15RMB if you buy them at a supermarket. The less exotic things like carrots are literally pennies!

We passed by the seafood again....

where I stopped to admire both the squid and the stall-holder's efforts to get her girl to smile for me!

My eye was caught by some clams - apparently fresh in from Dalian that day:

The whiter ones were cheaper (5RMB for 500g) but the darker ones were smaller and more suitable for stir-frying the lady said (and they were 6RMB for 500g). I decided to make vongole pasta for lunch and so went for the stir frying ones...

All things piggy were next:

The pork products are always carefully separated from the other meats in northern chinese markets to avoid contamination with the halal section. Muslims are the largest religion in China and most of them live in the North of China.

So we wandered along and came to the beefy-bits section:

The size of the ox heart is astounding - and those feet were pretty big. While we were there, an African guy arrived ready to buy cow feet in large quantities!

This is the halal lamb stall:

Everyone working there was Muslim - from the Hui minority (who are not as turkic-looking generally as the Uyghurs are...but they still don't look Han Chinese!).

Finally we stopped by the snack stall with the ubiquitous tea eggs

and stopped to order a jianbing. This is a true beijing breakfast (which supposed originated in Shandong!) of a crepe with an egg broken on it with corriander/cilantro and green onion sprinkled on.

It is then flipped over and hot sauce and Tianmianjiang (sweet sauce) spread on it. A piece of thin fried dough is placed in the middle and the whole thing is folded up and ready to munch. Breakfast of Champions! Cost: 3RMB, Stomach-filling properties: Priceless.

Here it is being eaten on the way home in the taxi:

After a morning's shopping followed by Chinese tutoring, I made some pasta vongole for all of us and our Chinese teacher:

Forgive the fusilli - I just discovered that I hadn't got any spaghetti in the cupboard!!

I think our Chinese teacher enjoyed the dish quite a bit. We discussed the similarities between the Chinese and Italian way of life...there were almost too many to mention!!!

Also at the market, we had bought basil - all the amount below for only 12RMB - which I think is amazing for something so rare here in Beijing (it's hard to find, although it is grown locally for the restaurant trade!)

after lunch we made pesto with it and the Parmagiano and pine nuts that we also picked up at the market.

For dinner, we went to the famous Ding Tai Feng - which is very down-home in Taipei apparently and very up-scale in Beijing.....

[Fengyi]

Hooters in Beijing?  I don't believe it.  Please provide photographic evidence.

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I forgot to answer this most pressing demand.....

HOOTERS - yes, the first in Beijing just opened last year. I haven't any pictures (not really the sort of place I would go -though I've been dragged to the one in Shanghai....) but Google will prove its existence

Edited March 28, 2008 by Fengyi (log)