Beijing says: “See you on the flip side, snookums.”

My last week in Beijing was a little less exciting than one would hope, mostly because it’s impossible with my family to get out of the house before noon (or rather, 2pm in most cases). So on the weekend we end up wasting the whole day, and by the time we get out, all the sights are closing and all we can do is have dinner, get home late, and start the cycle all over again. I had my heart set on the flag-raising ceremony in Tiananmen, and seeing Mao’s Mausoleum before I left, but ended up doing neither (and the flag raising isn’t even that early in the winter time… 7:30am vs. 4:30am in the summer).

But I did manage to have some nice dinners, including a splendiferous Christmas feast at Da Dong Kao Ya (Beijing Duck), reputedly the best duck restaurant in the city. It certainly was the fanciest. The duck itself is similar to Quanjude, but notably leaner and crispier because of their special roasting method (which you can witness from the foyer, this army of young chefs in toques, sweating as they hold fat, glistening duck carcasses over open flames).


The other dishes we got were, each one of them, were nothing short of a taste experience, visually artistic and flavorfully complex. Started with some cold broad beans mixed with some delicious mix of black bean paste and tea leaves.

Moved to two types of scallops, one in X.O. sauce and one fried lightly in batter and served over a corn and soy mash relish. Then had tender, flavorful oxtail (boneless, skinless, fatless), a kind of whitefish ball over some green sauce, and halibut glazed in a tangy, sweet sauce. Finished with a dessert of Beijing battered apple chunks glazed in melted sugar and tang yuan (sesame mochi) in a coconut milk broth.

I think I pretty much gained all my weight back, hah hah hah. That reminds me of a story someone told me (who shall remain nameless) that made me much less happy about losing weight while in Beijing. Warning: Don’t read further if you don’t want to spoil your lunch! Apparently he woke up one morning and really had to go to the bathroom. He went, did his business. But when he turned around to flush he saw something in there that really didn’t belong. It started moving. And to his horror he realized it was a 7-inch worm. A WORM! That came out of his BODY! He wanted to get rid of it but figured he should get it to a doctor for medical/scientific purposes, so he fished it out with a fork and stuck it in a water bottle. Even the doctor was grossed out and showed the worm to his doctor buddies down the hallway. Anyway, turns out there was only one worm and after a couple days of anti-worm medicine, he was okay.

Just be careful what you eat and get a physical check-up when you return home!

The rest of the week was pretty much spent re-eating at all my favorite places, except one nite we tried a new restaurant, Tai something or other. Most notable was the large sand pit in the foyer where they kept hundreds of live turtles. Cute as they were, they were intended for food, as I later saw braised tortoise on the menu. Sadness.

Had a good-bye dinner at the Hunan place near work and it was so bittersweet to say goodbye to some teammates and good friends that I’ve grown really fond of these past few months. I started missing them, and Beijing, before I even left. Gave out a lot of hugs and promises to visit next time I come to China (which may be sooner than I originally thought!).

More pictures form my last meal in Beijing, at, you guessed it, the Xinjiang restaurant:

My favorite dish, laghman. I could eat a whole plate of it by myself.

Da pan ji, a signature Uigher dish with spicy, flavorful chicken, potatoes, and flat, wide noodles.

Mutton and broth over Uigher bread.