Our last day in Beijing started off with yet another tasty breakfast from the buffet at our hotel. While the New Otani was not the nicest hotel we stayed in, I must say that it did have the best breakfast, with the most options and the greatest variety of cuisines.
Spring rolls, steamed pork bun, bacon, waffle, pain au chocolat, focaccia bread
Wonton soup
Pain au chocolat, peach tart, pound cake
After breakfast we headed to the Temple of Heaven, where the Chinese emperors used to go to pray for a good harvest. Now the grounds are a public park and boy, was it a happening place! We were there earlier in the morning and it was jam packed with groups of people (mostly middle aged retired folks) exercising, singing, dancing, playing instruments, playing games (cards, chess, and dominoes), and just hanging out. It was quite noisy but there was a festive atmosphere, and it was really nice to see people meeting up with their friends and enjoying their free time.
The temple itself was also quite lovely, with lots of bright colors and intricate patterns.
After the Temple of Heaven, we had lunch before heading to the airport for our flight. We ate at the Yanyulou restaurant at the Yanxiang Hotel in Beijing.
Fried triangles filled with curried vegetables
Chicken with sweet and sour sauce cooked in parchment paper
Meat with peppers and onions
Sauteed green beans
Super sweet egg drop soup with corn
Fried pork strips
Super fishy fried fish floss
Sauteed bok choy
Sauteed cabbage
After lunch, we took the short flight to Xi’an, but landed in an awful sandstorm. There was a huge cloud of brown dust when we came down, and the turbulence was almost unbearable. The sky had a dirty haze to it, and when we stepped out of the airport, we could taste the dry, dusty sand when we breathed. Totally gross. But the city itself was actually quite nice, and seemed very lively. We saw tons of vendors selling barbecued meat on sticks, and I wish we had a chance to stop and eat some.
After we got into the city, we had an early dinner at a local hot pot restaurant located next to the Xi’an Hotel. Hot pot is kind of like fondue. We each had a small bubbling pot of broth over a flame flavored with various spices. The table was full of raw meat, vegetables, and noodles, and we selected our items to dunk into the boiling broth. Once cooked, we plucked the items out and dipped it into peanut sauce and sa cha sauce, a sort of Chinese barbecue sauce. It’s a fun process, though with so many steaming pots on the table, it got really hot. The broth at the end is really flavorful, having cooked all the various ingredients, and drinking it is the best part (for me at least).
Bubbling broth awaiting ingredients
Super thin slices of beef for dunking
Thin slices of lamb
Fish balls
Slices of potato
Fresh noodles
Rice noodles
Bean curd noodles
Lettuce
Leafy green vegetable
Another leafy green vegetable
Raw eggs for poaching in the broth
Fried rice
Peanut dipping sauce
The spread on the table
After dinner, we enjoyed a Tang Dynasty show, with singing and dancing. The period costumes were gorgeous, and the musicians were really talented. It was actually pretty interesting to watch, even if we didn’t know what they were saying/singing.
Afterward we went back to our hotel, the Shangri La Golden Flower Hotel, and promptly fell asleep. The day wasn’t as strenuous as some of the others we had, but that flight really did wear us out!
Tags: China