Let's try Chinese food (?)!

If you know me then you know that I enjoy cooking, baking and experimenting in the kitchen. Because it is so cheap to eat out, I haven't been cooking. To be honest, I don't think I will do much cooking for myself while I am here but I do hope to learn how to prepare an authentic Chinese dish at some point.

Since I am not able to experiment in the kitchen, I have decided to try everything that is put in front of me - yikes! This could end very badly but so far, I have had more success than failure. I've managed to try massive dumplings, deep fried everything, duck legs, pigeon, and many other dishes that I can't identify. I have learned that it is better to not ask and just enjoy. I tried duck feet for the first time last week. The texture was not overly pleasant. When cooked, the webbing becomes slimy and chewy, and the cartilage is tough. In addition to the unpleasant texture, the feet were tossed with wasabi. I wasn't particularly fond of this dish but on the bright side, it did open up my nasal passage. 

While browsing around the supermarket, I stumbled upon packaged chicken feet. I figure that while in China I should do as the Chinese do, so I bought them. I also bought dragon fruit and what appears to be some sort of Asian candy.

The translation on the package is 'glutenous cake'.  As soon as I removed it from the package, I knew I wasn't going to enjoy it. It had a squishy feel to it and the center had a date-like consistency.

Okay, here we go! I take a small bite of the glutinous cake.

And it was HORRIBLE!

I wanted to be optimistic about these little 'candies' but I was extremely disappointed. I do not recommend anyone try these horrendous, dough-like candies. I am giving the rest of mine away. 

Street Meat!

I've always been told to avoid street meat while traveling. I can't speak for the rest of China but I do not recommend you take this advice while traveling in Beijing. Some of the best food I have tried was bought from a vendor in a sketchy alleyway. 

Enjoying some street meat.

The only foods I could identify were green beans and lettuce.. the rest, I have no idea. Overall, I had a really good experience :)

Chinese Pastries

I was walking through Dongcheng District on my way to my father's gallery when I was struck by an all too familiar smell - sweetness. It was odd to catch a whiff of sweet pastries in the highly polluted air of Beijing. Even though the pastries smelled delicious, I resisted the urge to buy any.

When I arrived to the gallery, I was surprised by what I saw. The ladies that work there had bought a TON of pastries from the exact same shop I had just walked by. I took this as a sign and I indulged in a cream puff, or two.

The lovely ladies who have been showing me around, taking care of me and helping me with my Mandarin.