The dining experience

We were a little apprehensive about the dining experience in China, but have been very pleasantly surprised.

Our first meal was a Vietnamese lunch (of course) but that night we had a fantastic Chinese degustation dinner at The Source (recommended by Chris Manfield in her latest book). We couldn't find this restaurant and ended up taking refuge from the cold in a hotel who rang the restaurant who sent one of their staff to get us....yes travel in China can be challenging.

There were food challenges also, but we ate well. The only real let down was a recommended Yunnan restaurant whose menu was very obscure and the menu pictures even more so. We couldn't find a bowl of boiled rice on the menu and the only picture of rice was rice stuffed inside two large pineapples (a desert). Mandy, ever the charade expert, believed she had conveyed the message and yes it did appear that the waitress had understood........but alas....the two pineapples were returned apologetically to the kitchen!

There are, of course, some very weird (to us) ingredients on the menus and we probably haven't been as adventurous as some, but we have tried and did not really have a bad meal in Beijing.

The highlights were a Hakka restaurant near our hostel which was challenging but delicious, with a young female staff who were hilarious, and our first Peking ( Beijing or Roast) Duck in a fantastic, family run,chaotic retaurant called Li Quin. The retaurant was down a tiny hutong, the entrance opened to many ducks roasting in an open fire oven, mess everywhere, communal tables, staff running around like the proverbial chook, a wonderful ambience!. You order, your duck is presented for viewing and the feeding process begins...pancakes etc..though not as formal as some. It was great.

There is a lot more to experience.