China,  Food,  Restaurant Reviews,  Travel,  wine

Make It Tso – Four Days in Beijing

Note to self. When a Chinese person says something is “walking distance”, what they actually mean is “It’s around 8km away”.

Woman with bound feet walking near Forbidden City. Fascinating yet also disturbing...
Woman with bound feet walking near Forbidden City. Fascinating yet also disturbing…

I learned this the hard way on my recent trip to this fascinating country. Let’s just say it involved the Forbidden City and my quest for dumplings. Lesson learned.

Knocking on Heaven's Door in Beijing
Knocking on Heaven’s Door in Beijing

I booked my trip to Beijing on a whim. Lured by the said dumplings, Peking Duck and the Great Wall. I wasn’t disappointed.

Hutong life in Beijing
Hutong life in Beijing

The Chinese love food and as they say, the food is far, far more complex than the sweet and sour takeaways from the Happiness Inn.

But first to the touristy stuff. I did it all and saw it all and have the blisters to prove it. this is not a country you go to for a solitary visit. There is no such thing as contemplative silence in China.

Lanterns Light Up
Lanterns Light Up

But it is a riot of colors, smells and experiences unlike anything I have experienced before.

Which way?
Which way?

Let me be honest here. I’ve been to some places in the world which I won’t name here, that have honestly been a massive disappointment. I blame National Geographic. But Beijing and it’s sights, especially The Wall, are mind bogglingly amazing.

Me and the Chairman just chillin
Me and the Chairman just chillin
The Great Wall, everything you expect and more
The Great Wall, everything you expect and more

Let’s be clear about this. Everything in China is big, except it’s people. More about that later.

Just amazing
Just amazing

There is nothing I can say about the Wall that hasn’t been said before. It literally silenced me.

Beijing Nights from Park Hyatt
Beijing Nights from Park Hyatt

The city itself is continually busy and I was lucky enough to find a wonderful hotel in the business center of the city, Park Hyatt Beijing where the lobby is on the 61st floor and my room was on the 46th. A bird’s eye view indeed and a haven from the craziness of the city.

Dinner for one at Park Hyatt Beijing
Dinner for one at Park Hyatt Beijing

It’s hard to find a bad meal in Beijing and my hotel was no exception.

Braised cod at China Grill
Braised cod at China Grill
Pork and Prawn dumplings
Pork and Prawn dumplings

Dining with a view from the 63rd floor, in the sky, can’t be beaten.

A trip to Beijing can’t pass without trying Peking Duck. I consider myself a bit of an expert, having sampled it in Australia, Qatar, India, US and now…China.
Duck De Chine came highly recommended and while expensive, elevated the humble duck and condiments to high art.

In a city famed for roast duck, Duck de Chine, set in a chic refurbished factory complex is the big duck on campus.

Hoisin sauce as art
Hoisin sauce as art

the chefs have formulated what they believe to be the perfect Peking duck, that is 43-days-old, two-kilogram birds roasted for 65 minutes over 40-year-old jujube wood.

Condiments
Condiments

The construction of the duck at your table is also theater – a gong is struck and a chef appears, slicing and dicing your duck to perfection.

Construction begins
Construction begins
Pancake perfection
Pancake perfection

This is no backstreet lean to. My fellow diners were well heeled Beijingers enjoying the duck and the French 1960s music.

Glossy goodness
Glossy goodness

As far as dining experiences go perhaps the most interesting wasn’t in a high end hotel or restaurant I was lured to the hutongs to check out the famed Black Sesame Kitchen. Rated the number one restaurant in the city on Tripadvisor, how could I not?

Like a dinner party with friends you haven't met yet
Like a dinner party with friends you haven’t met yet

Also, apparently it’s a little exclusive, with many at my table admitting they had booked months in advance. Given I decided a week before I actually arrived in Beijing to travel there, I was lucky. Again, being a single girl helps!

Cooking up a storm
Cooking up a storm

The kitchen and dining room give the idea of a big dinner party. People on my evening included fellow Aussies, Chinese businesspeople, visiting American couples and repeat customers. The 10 course menu was a greatest hits of Cantonese cuisine.

Greatest hits menu
Greatest hits menu

The Aussie wine was free flowing and the company interesting. Our hostess Michelle (from NZ) and her sidekick Coco kept the night on track and the conversation flowing.

Nom Nom Nom
Nom Nom Nom

Dishes included a pork belly which was gelatinous and sticky, beef in black bean sauce like you have never had it and a candied sweet potato with black sesame ice cream.

Stir fried lamb
Stir fried lamb
Candied sweet potato and black sesame ice cream - alchemy
Candied sweet potato and black sesame ice cream – alchemy

This was my final meal (airline lounge gin and tonic notwithstanding) in this amazing city. Now I know why the Beijingers walk everywhere – it’s to walk off their fabulous food.

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