The number of cooking classes I’ve attended in the past couple months certainly doesn’t reflect my passion or ability to cook, but there's something about venturing deep into the Hutongs of Beijing to learn about Chinese cuisine that has attracted me more than once. On Monday night, Tammy, Monique from Melbourne and I cooked up a spicy Szechuan storm.
After a busy week was had at the office working on an Australian owned energy client, Friday night I took a rickshaw down the road to meet some friends at Paltakungar Tibetan restaurant. From there we moved to Sanlitun Bar St, to Fez and Aperitivo in the Spanish pocket of Nali Patio, considered Cuban salsa at Salsa Caribe in Gongti Beilu, but opted for Chocolate nightclub in the heart of the Russian quarter...Beijing multiculturalism at its best!
A very early Sunday morning saw me venture to the Temple of Heaven and its surrounding ancient gardens, the “largest heaven worship architectural complex in the world”.
The Temple was built during the reign of Emporor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty in 1420 with the geometric structure of its buildings reflecting the ancient beliefs of “circular heaven, square earth.” Although on just a few hours of sleep, this was the perfect time to catch a glimpse of early morning park life watching locals practice tai chi, Chinese boxing, singing, dancing and walking their birds (yes, birds).
Afterwards I couldn’t resist a visit to the Hongqiao Pearl Market by the Temple’s East Gate. Lunch was made up of street snacks picked up strolling down Wangfujing, the infamous lane of food vendors offering exotic delicacies on a stick.
The weekend’s highlight was regal-like dining at the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square also known as the People's Republic of China's parliament building. The PwC Beijing Annual Dinner was held on Saturday night for 2500 employees themed “The House of Music”, which hardly resembled my last work Christmas party.
The PwC Beijing Lead Partner’s welcome introduction by David Wu declared PwC the “Pretty Women Centre,” while Salis Yang proceeded to reward staff with an additional one-day holiday during his Chairman’s speech. The entertainment was plentiful including a “We Got Talent” competition. Auditions and dress rehearsals are held for this epic contest where performances have previously gone viral on YouTube and China’s version, Youku. A phenomenal electric cello cover of Smooth Criminal won the competition and 18,000rmb against other groups performing to ABBA, Bollywood dancing, and raunchy Chinese pop music. Amid the acts, iphones, x boxes, holidays, a car and a bar of gold were given away in lucky draws. Staff were awarded sums of cash for accumulating 15 years with the firm, and flocked to the stage to hear a famous Chinese pop artist conclude the event. The Chinese certainly know how to entertain.
Petit dejeuner, Sunday brunch at my French friend’s apartment was the perfect way to bring a close to my busy weekend....
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| Cooking class @ The Hutong |
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| Stir fried French Beans |
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| Shui Zhu Rou - Boiled beef with chilli sauce |
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| Szechuan Gong Bao Ji Ding |
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| Gan Bian Si Ji Dou |
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| Paltakungkar Tibetan Resaurant |
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| Nali Patio |
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| Fez |
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| The Outstanding Russian Nightclub award goes to... |
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| Hongqiao Pearl Market |
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| Arriving at the Great Hall of the People in Tienanmen Square for the PwC Beijing Annual Dinner |
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| Apparently the calligraphy in this painting was done by former Chairman Mao and is very famous |
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| Mao'er Hutong |
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| Destination: Wuhao Curated Shop, middle of suburbia Hutong with no signage, just a doorbell |
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| My office ! |
Until next time, zai jian! xx
Love your blogging and photos so much. Hahha asian abba!
ReplyDeleteYour texty made me laugh so much. I MISS YOU!
oh it got better when the bollywood dancing began - china meets india - that's a serious collision!. Wish i won that bar of gold, think of all the coffees i could have bought us !!! miss you xx
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