The Sneaky Magpie

I was really excited about eating authentic Chinese food. However, I had been warned about lack of vegetarian dishes. It was hard. Most menus don’t make any sense as names of dishes are translated directly from dictionaries so you often come across things like Barbecue Speculation, Third Time Explosion or Buddha Jumped Over Great Wall Soup, whatever they can be!

I’ve tried dishes I’ve never heard of before, one of them was Mongolian hotpot (like the Japanese Nabe). You are presented with all kinds of bits and pieces like cabbage, fish balls, mushrooms and cook it in boiling stock. It was very very tasty and a healthy option too. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photograph of it as my husband was being force fed by an over-friendly waitress while I was left with some scraps.

I love street food and Beijing has lots of it – buns and pancakes with cabbage and garlic filling, sweet buns with coconut and caramelized onions (it does work). I did draw the line at fried silkworms and locusts.

I’ve discovered a brilliant dim sum canteen called May 1st in Xi’an – super cheap, tasty buns and dumplings, with lashings of MSG.

After a 20h train ride, arriving in Shanghai, I really craved European food. The first stop was M on the Bund – a flash restaurant with one of the best views of the waterfront – the Bund. We started our evening with cocktails at the Glamour Bar, one floor up from the restaurant, moving to M for a tasty feast of spring risotto and salt baked lamb for my other half, washed down with good Riesling. M has got a big balcony overlooking the Pudong district and the view is truly magical. The evening was perfect.

The best restaurants and bars in Shanghai are in exclusive shopping areas on the Bund. We visited Landis, Whampoa Club at Three on the Bund and Bar Rouge at Eighteen on the Bund.

Landis has fabulous European food, we went there for brunch. I had poached eggs with truffles followed by a fruit plate and my husband had the prefect omelette followed by cinnamon doughnuts with fresh chocolate, very naughty.

Whampoa Club serves modern and sophisticated Chinese food and I was very happy with the vegetarian lunch which had the prettiest dumplings.

One of the best teas I ever had – fresh camomile flowers and goji berries. Gillian McKeith would approve :-)

Leaving Beijing was a bit sad but I was really looking forward to get to our next destination – Xi’an.

One of the most terrifying experiences in China was arriving at Beijing station – it was absolute mayhem, thousands of people lying around in every available square inch of space, everyone with a mountain of enormous bags, and no apparent way to get to the gate. After the initial panic, the crowd started to move towards the train and it suddenly became an incredibly well organized operation shifting everyone to their respective carriages.

Xi’an is a very important city and has got a lot of history -the Han Dynasty established the city as its capital and the Silk Road started there leading all the way to the Roman Empire. A few important archaeological discoveries were made here like the 5000 year old Neolithic village at Banpo and the Terracotta Army dating back to 3rd century BC.

As we were staying in Xi’an for only two days we decided to go and visit the Terracotta Army on our first day. We got onto a rickety bus and for 7RMB we got to our destination. Once inside you really have to fight off various tour guides and salesmen.

The ancient Army was discovered in 1974 by peasants trying to dig up a well. Apparently the man that discovered the site can be found in one of the tourist shops where he signs postcard – somehow I don’t believe it. The site is vast and has got three venues, only one of them is properly uncovered but still not finished.

We spent the second day strolling through the city, the main part of town is within city walls and the whole area is walkable, you can also rent bikes and spend few hours cycling on the walls. In the very center of town you will find the Bell Tower, bit further down you will see the Drum Tower. Behind it we discovered a great treat – Muslim Quarter with endless markets selling street food, dried fruit of any kind, sweets, fabrics and Mao memorabilia. We took a trip on a crazy scooter taxi to get to the center of this part of town where the Great Mosque is.

The Drum Tower with a lovely McDonald’s logo.

I have spent a couple of weeks in China this year. We arrived in Beijing in a steamy hot weather in May, the city is one of the strangest places I have ever been to – tidy and chaotic at the same time. The people are very hospitable and friendly however lack of English doesn’t make things easy.

One of the places we visited is the Forbidden City – a massive complex of palaces, gardens and little courtyards surrounded by walls, watchtowers and a moat. It’s a great example of the Ming architecture, the buildings are impressive however the exhibits are all very dusty and badly kept.

Next to the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square – a huge bland communist square housing the pickled chairman Mao.

We were lucky enough to be in Beijing a couple of months before the Olympics, here are few snaps of the Bird’s Nest through a fence and a massive pollution.

Afterwards we jumped into a cab and went out of town to the Summer Palace. We spent majority of the time on a boat and hiking. The views are stunning, you can see the Marble Boat that Empress Cixi Dowager built, walk into buddhist temples or take a relaxing walk.

The Great Wall – a very steep hike.

Hutongs – old alleyways, cannot get more authentic Beijing. We were lucky enough to stay in one of them.

798 Art Zone – absolutely favorite place in Beijing. This old factory has been remade into lots of modern art galleries. Being there was like attending the Venice Biennale, the talent was incredible, Beijing is definitely a hot creative hub.