Bugs, Books and Ducks

Beijing, July 8
Unless you go to a particularly historical area there is not much to take pictures of during a shopping trip. I was focused today on the purchase possibilities and not on architecture and people so I am not posting any images this time. The malls in Beijing look very much like malls in toronto or Halifax or Vancouver. The signs are in a different language but many of the store names are the same, and many of the products on sale are quite similar.

Three of us shared a significantly large dim sum lunch: szechuan dumplings, chicken feet, soup inside buns and what were dishes four, five and six? (Why did I not write them down after lunch?) Then we shared a wonderful mango and sago dessert as well as a bean dessert which had a disappointing colour but a pleasant flavour.

Then my host and I headed to the famous Wangfujing Street to do some serous shopping. I am not a serious shopper most of the time, but I can stay focused on shopping for several hours if necessary to get what I consider to be the best gift for a particular person. Wangfujing Street is featured in many tourist guides mainly for its food market. It has its own Wikipedia page. Apparently if it is edible it is available on Wangfujing Street. We walked past at least two shops featuring scorpions on a stick. There is at least one video on Youtube about this dish. And there are probably contests every night to find out which guy can eat the most of these "treats". I say probably because I know guys who will do anything on a dare, especially after a few beers.

Wangfujing Street is a pedestrian only area, at least the main shopping area. There are many big Chinese brands in various stores as well as well known international brands. One of the important things to know about Chinese companies is their potential size. A company that operates only in China has the potential to sell goods to about 1/4 of the world's population. Why would they need to become multi-national?

Because the area is well-known there are lots and lots and lots and lots of souvenir shops and stalls. And lots and lots and lots and lots of people eager to sell you whatever you might want, and everything is offered at the best price in Beijing. (And if you believe the last bit about price, stay away from this part of Beijing.) We walked through one narrow area of souvenir stalls and we got out alive and without spending any money. That's because both of us stared at the exit and kept moving, occassionaly having to make a hand motion to say "no". These sellers are quite persistent, one man even grabbed my arm briefly. Unfortunately for their sales techniques, their merchandise was almost all the same, arranged differently in different stalls. But it was the same statues and bracelets and wooden things that I have seen in many places since I hae been here.

We went into one department store that had one floor of toys. Such a place! Some toys were internationally known, like "Transformers", others were new to me. Some were distinctly Chinese, others could have been sold anywhere in North America (basketball, dart guns, etc.). There were some lovely intricate wooden kits of various historical buildings in Beijing as well as wooden dinosaurs and doll house furniture. After fifteen or twenty minutes on this floor the rest of the store looked pretty plain.

We also spent considerable time in the Wangfujing Bookstore. If I remember correctly it has been on the same site for about sixty-two years. If you are a book lover this is a place to go. Only new books are sold on the four floors, and more than half are in Chinese of course. Even so, the selection of English language books is quite wide. I saw English language books in many categories: recent novels, classics of literature, cookbooks, dictionaries, children's books and more. There are lots of books for people who speak Chinese to learn other languages and people who speak other languages to learn Chinese. One of the things that amazed me was the number of people under fourteen reading and talking about books to each other. My host explained that at least some of them were groups of children from local day camps. Even that is amazing, who in Canada or the U.S. would take kids in day camp on a field trip to a book store? But these kids were swarming over the books, excitedly enjoying them. I saw copies of one of Stephen Hawking's books in Chinese in the children / young adult area. When I mentioned this to my host she reminded me she has one nine year old student who wants her to tell him about Einstein's General Relativity equations.

We both managed to spend some money in the bookstore and other places along Wangfujing. Then we made our way back to the hotel. I left my bags behind and we went to the restaurant next door to have the world famous Peking / Beijing Duck. (In the ten minute walk from the subway station to the hotel there are at least four restaurants that specialize in duck. We picked this one because ??) First thing to know is there is no one correct way that Peking Duck can be served and eaten. Some cookbooks say one way, others describe other ways. Whatever way you like and whatever restaurant you like is the "right way". Second thing to know is that it is duck (unlike Bombay Duck which is a fish), so it is bound to taste good. Third thing is unless you can eat enormous amounts or like lots of leftovers, go with at least one other person, preferably two or three other people.

So I had my first Peking Duck meal in Beijing -- what could be better -- at least as far as first tastes of a world famous dish. And we had an incredible mushroom and bacon dish which I think I may be able to cook correctly myself, if I can get the same quality of bacon. Of all the wonderful things I have eaten here so far, this one dish is right at the top of the list. This mushroom and bacon dish, along with the egg and tomato dish I have had a couple of times, would make a perfect breakfast or brunch or lunch or light supper for a family. With rice and some green vegetable (brocolli or something similar) it would be filling family meal. I am not saying anything mroe about this dish until I learn how to cook it myself.