Curry Anyone?

I forgot that I did snap this one of my dinner prep before my guests arrived. I fixed a beef curry because I wasn't able to locate any lamb over the weekend. It was sort of a combination of Indian and Thai flavors, and came out very well!

I also cooked some Teryaki spare ribs that came out wonderful, even though this was the first time I attempted to use the oven here.

I had planned to get some of the finished product, and of my guests, but as I said in the last post we got to talking and forgot about the camera. Well there's always next time, and judging by the comments on the meal I'm sure they'll be back for more!

A Sunny Day in the Part

The weather was so nice yesterday that I decided to go back to Chao Yang park and see how spring was progressing. It looks like it's coming along nicely! I spent about 2-3 hours wandering around the park, I sort of lost track of time so I don't know for sure. So I thought I'd share a few of the sites along my walk.










Look, up in the sky, it's a Bird, it's a Plane, no it's a Carp?
I took this one for you Lightnin! there was a pretty constant breeze so a lot of folks were out flying kites, this was the only shot that turned out decent though.

OK we have fish swimming in the air and Flying Saucers in the water. I'm thinking: "Only in Beijing.


















There's a nice walk along a canal that connects the lakes. They have boats for rent so that you can tour the park via water. Here's a couple bridges that I walked over.

Cherry Blossoms!
































Not sure what these are, but they were really large flowers; about the size of a Magnolia.




























Just another view of one of the lakes.















It was a gorgeous day and it felt good to get out ans stretch my legs and get some sun!
That night I fixed dinner for a couple of my new friends. We got so busy talking that we forgot to snap any photos though. :-(
I'm going to go to the Great Wall for the first time with them this Friday though, so I'll be sure to get some photos then!

Paradise Found!

I found my cheeseburger!

Well actually I took Jacki's advice and made it myself! Jacki is a fellow blogger and a pretty good recipe wrangler.

I figured that the German Butcher would have either hachefleisch (hamburger; I know I spelled that wrong!) or Steak Tartar (Basically fillet Mignon ground up very fine), and I was right they had both! I decided to go with the tartar. I know that sounds crazy, but I am seriously trying to lose some weight and get in better shape while I'm over here so I opted for the low fat choice. So knowing that it wouldn't have any fat in it I did add a touch of olive oil to it as I patted it out.

Just look at that lovely sight, complete with homemade fries (fried in olive/sunflower seed oil)and even some pork & beans (OK that was the unhealthy part)!

I bought a pound of the meat (well 500g to be exact), so I made 4 patties. I think I'm gonna' freeze the other 3 until this craving hits me again!

A City of Contrast!

I know that it sounds very cliche, but Beijing is really a city of contrast. There is a struggle between the desire to enter capitalism, and yet this is still very much a Communist country. This post is actually more about the contrast in scenery.




The air was very clear in the city the past few days so I was amazed by the view from my balcony when I got home yesterday evening. So I grabbed the camera and snapped off a few shots to share:









If you look behind the buildings you can see the mountains in the distance.

Here I tried to zoom in a bit, steadying the camera on the balcony railing







Keep in mind that my balcony faces west so those mountains are the separation between China and Mongolia, and sitting on top of them is the Great Wall. It's not visible in these photos, but one day it might be clear enough to see it. I've been told that one portion of the wall is only about an hour from here, but I'm saving that trip until Lightnin comes out to visit so we can both see it for the first time!

Like I said contrasts, this time in the scenery!

Two Milestones in 1 Week!

I thought I'd give mention to two major milestones in my life this week:

The first is that today (March 25th) marks my 17th year with the same company, although obviously not in the same location. This is a milestone because for a while there I know that both Lightnin and my Parents would hold their breath when I reached 5 years with a company because that seemed to be about my limit and then I'd move on to the next.

The second is that tomorrow (March 26th) my writings about China will be published in my local newspaper. The editor had approached me with the idea of writing a column for the paper when he heard that I was going to be taking this adventure. I sent him a few of my writings and he liked them! This could be the start of something, but we'll just have to see.

Mom, Dad, and Lightnin you can all breath easy I'm not quiting my "day job" yet!

Cheeseburger in Paradise?

Notice the question mark in the title, well of course there's a story behind that!

A couple of weeks ago Lightnin had made the statement that she was going to go out and get a cheeseburger, and I said that sounded pretty good and then tried to block that thought from my mind for a couple of reasons: 1) There's a huge variety of almost any food types, backgrounds, etc. here to choose from, and 2) I really don't know where to go to get one here, other than McD's (yes they have them here, although surprisingly KFC is much more represented!).

However, this past Saturday morning I awoke with one thing on my mind: CHEESEBURGER! I guess I really need to go back to Friday night in order to explain this craving. You see most of the workforce here is made up of folks in the same age range as our children, and just like our children have done in the past, the challenge was laid out to this "Old Guy" that I should come pub crawling with the "Young Guy's" after we went out for dinner. So not being of a competitive nature I naturally turned them down.

Oh come on, you know me better than that, of course I went out on the town with them! ;-)

We started off at with dinner at a Hunan style restaurant (I guess I should take another side trip here to explain some more, but I promise I'll get back to the cheeseburger. You see Beijing is the capital city of Mainland China, so the representatives from each province live and work here. Well it seems they are a lot like us in that they like to eat foods that they grew up with, so there are different foods available in the different areas of town for instance Hunan, Sechuan, etc. are all totally separate provinces, styles of cooking, and different restaurants!). Anyway the food was great,and it helped to give a layer of protection for what was to lie ahead for the evening. Now back to the 1st diversion from the Cheeseburger!

From dinner we proceeded to hit several of the hottest, most popular night spots in the city. We started at a place that was giving your first two beers (Tsing Tao) for free and any additional beers (Tsing Tao) for 1/2 off or 5RMB, about 70 cents USD. So we stayed there and listened to music and talked for a couple of hours and moved onto the next hot spot. Well this went on until about 2:30am, at which point I decided It was about time to head back home and get a little rest. Feeling satisfied that I had proved that the "Old Guy"could still hang!

So after a hard night out on the town I slept in until about 10am the next morning (something that I very rarely do), time enough to get cleaned up and then head out for lunch (having missed breakfast, again something that I very rarely do), And that's when the cheeseburger craving hit me!

So as I lay there I start thinking about my plan of attack and just where was I going to get a cheeseburger? I'm not talking about one of those pre-stamped burgers from the clown shop either, I'm talking a real honest to goodness patted out thick juicy chuck of meat with melted cheese on a bun! Aha, I'm walking distance from the Hard Rock Cafe and I'll bet they've got a cheeseburger on the menu.

I get cleaned up and head out all the while imagining how good that burger's gonna' taste, ooh and fries too, with ketchup! By the time I see the place my mouth is actually starting to water. I head up the steps, past the armed guards (another post), and open the door to find "What the...closed for renovations!?" Yep they were redoing the inside of the place o prepare for the upcoming crowds brought in by the Olympics.

Well, do I get into a taxi and head for Hooter's (which is a bit of false advertising here I've been told!) to see if I can get one there? No, I spend enough time in a taxi as it is I need to walk. So I head back towards the apartment and decide to stop and get the next best thing to a cheeseburger, good old German style Brats at the Paulaner Brewhaus. It wasn't the same, but a couple of Dunkle's, Brats with Sauerkraut later and I'm somewhat satisfied.

I'm not sure if my new friends are keeping the location of these newly proclaimed delicacies a secret from me, or if they even exist here, but I'm on a quest now to locate and devour a real cheeseburger! I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Views From the Taxi

Since I spend about 2 hours of my life each day riding in the back of a taxi, I thought it might be a good idea to start taking my camera with me. Yesterday (Easter Sunday) was a sunny and clear day, and today looks to be just a clear and sunny with high winds though.

So I was able to snap a few photos of some of the things that I see from the back of the cab:

These first two were of a couple of Temples that we passed on the way to the Champagne Brunch yesterday. I'm not sure what they are temples for, but I just thought that they helped to show some more examples of the contrast between modern and historic that is so prevalent in this city.

The next 2 photos I was able to snap on my way into work this morning:

This is the Olympic Stadium. Depending on traffic, and which route the cab driver decides to take, I go past this structure either on my way to or from work.

This is just another example of the competitive architectural game that is being played out all over the city. I'm not sure exactly what the shape would be called, or what the name of the building is, but you have to admit it is pretty interesting.

I never know what I'll see on the way home, but I'll have my camera with me and I'll try to capture it on film (well I guess technically it's not film, but is a stored electrical charge that can be converted into a digitally formatted image that can then be uploaded and viewed!).

Oh and Lightnin to your earlier question: I finally caught a glimpse of the gas prices here yesterday too. It looks like they are around 5.50 RMB per liter, which would convert to about $3.14 USD/gallon.

Renovation, Not Demolition!

It looks like they're renovating the building across the street rather than prepping for demolition. I'm certainly glad about that because I've seen them basically gutting the building since I've been here, and I was wondering if I was going to get enough warning to seal the cracks of the windows and doors before the thing came crashing down. I'm glad to know I don't need to worry about that anymore!

I don't think you can see it, but these guy's are repairing the perimeter around this courtyard.











Mike, you might appreciate these photos!





Making concrete "old school"!




























This city is in the middle of change. It's growing, while trying to hold on to it's past, and prepping for the Olympics!



I can't say it enough, it's an exciting time to be here!

Happy Easter!

It's Easter Sunday even in Beijing!


Today I went to a Champagne brunch with a mix of locals and Ex-pat's, it was a blast! The food was great and the conversation was even better.


The food was a mix of everything you can think of, including: sushi, shushimi, grilled lamb, roast duck, and even BBQ'd beef brisket (which made me a bit homesick for good old KC BBQ!). The drink was a mix of some of the best champagnes: Vuve Clicquot, Moet & Chandon, Mumm, and Laurent-Perrier.








He chooses!

He strikes!

We had a mix of folks from China, France, Ireland, and the US (New York, Ohio, and California). It was a great day that was made even better by the clear skies, bright sunshine, and a bit of humidity. It's usually only about 10% humidity at best, but today it was up to 20% and you could actually feel the difference. You spend a lot of time doing skin protection and repair in the mornings and evenings because the air is so dry. I'm guessing it's about the same as living in the US southwest, like say Nevada or Arizona.

I hope you all have a happy Easter!

Happy St. Patrick's Day (And Happy Anniversary Lightnin)!

I just wanted to say Happy St. Patrick's Day from Beijing and to wish Lightnin Happy Anniversary

This past Monday was the 25th anniversary of our very first date! So St. Patrick's day has always had special meaning to us. it became even more meaningful due to the fact that out of the 17 years that we've lived in Cincinnati I have usually been traveling on business on our actual wedding anniversay, but have always been home for St. Patty's Day so we adopted it as the anniversary to celebrate. This year unfortunately that wasn't the case as I'm obvisously on the other side of the earth from home.

I also wanted to share a couple of the sites of celebrating the occasion in China!

Happy Anniversary Sweetie, I wish you could have been here to celebrate!

A City of Change

First I think it's worth mentioning that the movie "Anger Management" is on while I'm writing this. I found that somewhat ironic after today's shopping experience! ;-) Also the sun is about a 1/2 an hour from setting which means it'll soon be rising on the East Coast of the US.

I've written a flurry of posts here today because I've found that I can get a better connection on the weekends, so I'm writing while I can. However for some reason today I can read other posts, but I can't get the comments pages to open so that I can comment. Now back to the current post

One thing I've noticed is that this city is booming with new buildings going up everywhere. However it's not just about placing a new building on the block, it seems to be an architectural competition of sorts where each new building has to be even more challenging and eye-catching then the last.

As an example I give you the CCTV tower:

I don't think that my photos capture it well enough to truly see, but I did what I could from a moving car. This structure is made up of two supports that are leaning towards each other and are connected at the top.












I was told that they waited until the coldest day of the year this past winter to make the actual connection betwen the two supports so that there wouldn't be any expansion of the steel during the process.









It's an exciting time to be here, with many changes happening! Not just because of the coming Olympics, but this is a fast growing city that is also facing the challenge of holding onto it's past.

The Beijing Shopping Experience, Solo!

My new friends here had accompanied me on the frist couple of shopping trips to make sure I got set up with necessities (Of course it didn't hurt to bribe them with the offer to cook for them!). Well today it was time for me to try it solo.

First and foremost: Never and I mean NEVER go grocery shopping on Sunday! What was I thinking? Most folks, in this city of 21 million people, work 6 days a week with Sunday's off, so of course where do they go?

First you fight through a crowd of folks to find what you need, keeping in mind that you took a taxi so don't buy anything you can't carry. Then you stand in line for no less than an hour and a half, inching your way as the line moves in front of you.

Just when I can see the register coming in front of me a fight breaks out between the woman in front of me and someone who is actually crazy enough to try to cut into the line. OMG!!! there was yelling, gesturing, and at this point I'm pretty sure swearing [It was a good thing I can't translate yet because I'm sure it was far too harsh for my sensitive ears ;-) ]. Two of the store employees come over to try to calm the situation down, and as they're doing so the two women in front of me grab my cart and pull it directly behind theirs to basically block this intruder, all the while the women behind me is shoving me forward with her cart to make sure she stays in her spot too. The next thing I know is that the cutter's cart goes scooting down the aisle next to us! When I turn back around to face the register the woman in front of me, who by the way made sure I didn't lose my place in line, is laughing and smiling as if this is just part of the entertainment.

I place my items at the register pay and carry my bags of goodies out to the line of taxi's waiting to run us all back to our residence's. I start down the line showing my address to each driver trying to find one that is willing to go that direction. The fourth one in line accepts the challenge and off we go. The problem is that I live on a fairly well known street, but the specific address is not something that the drivers are familiar with so I always end up having to keep my eyes peeled so that when I'm about a block or two away I can tell them where to turn.

Now if you payed attention earlier you know that I haven't yet learned the language so the interaction between myself and the driver has got to be a hilarious site to someone watching, or listening, but hey it works and I'm back home.

I get back to the room, open the door, and there on the floor is a sheet of paper that was slid under my door. On it is the new schedule of shuttle runs from the apartment complex to the grocery store! I notice that the shuttle doesn't run on Sunday. I think to myself : "Huh, go figure"!

Lucky Street

This is a place called "Lucky Street". I passed it on the way to the park. It's about a 5 minute walk from my place. It's a row of international restaurants and pastry shops.

This is the German Bakery where I can get a Cappuccino on the weekends.












There was also a Thai place there that I decided to stop at for lunch today (sorry no photo, yet). I had Tham Kau Kai (spicy chicken coconut soup), Chrystal Noodle Salad, and Chicken & Black Peppercorns. The good thing about this place was you had a little bit of a choice as to how hot you want the food. Knowing they have a lot more tolerance than I'm even used to, I asked for mine to be a little spicy, but not too hot. It came out perfect, just spicy enough to make my head sweat and my nose run, but not so hot that you lose a layer of skin off your tongue!

The soup is sort of a sweet & sour mixture of lime juice and coconut milk, with chicken, mushrooms, onion, little red Thai chili's (diced), and lemon grass. The Noodle Salad was mixture of clear rice noodles, shrimp, peanuts, a bunch of those Thai chili's (minced), thin strips of carrots and tomatoes, and scallions with a tangy lime juice dressing. The Chicken with Black Peppercorns was chicken with different veggies in a brown sauce, with of course black peppercorns scattered throughout.

I'm definitely taking Lightnin there for at least one meal!

More Photos of the Park

I'm still having some issues maintaining connection to the internet so I needed to split this into a couple of posts.

This was one of the lakes. They had little boat that you could rent and motor around on it if you wanted.

Just a view of some of the trees.

The one that got away. I was really surprised to see this couple, especially not on a serving platter! Duck, it's what's for dinner!

I'll be back to see more of this park during my stay.

Just A Walk In The Park

This past Friday I finally felt as though I had shaken off my jet lag. For the past week I had been living in this sort of foggy state between awake and asleep, but never really being either one. So to celebrate a few of my new friends took me out to dinner and then to see a band that they knew. It was a fun evening and really good band (there'll be more about the band on another post).

I was planning to go shopping yesterday (Saturday) I needed to get a coffee pot, coffee grinder, mixing bowls, and some groceries, but the sun was out and the air was so clear that I cut the shopping trip short with the first store getting the coffee pot and mixing bowls. Because when the air is clear, the sun is out, and it's 60F in Beijing, you get outside and enjoy it. So I did just that!

I decided to visit one of the city parks that was in walking distance from my apartment. It was definitely a good choice. Spring is starting to show here with the trees budding and blooming. It felt good to get out and stretch my legs and get some sun on my face.

I think this is a Cherry tree blooming on the way to the park. There are Dog Woods here too, but I didn't see any this day

Here's a layout of the park

I sort of felt like I was in Central Park with the view of the sky scrapers beyond the trees.

This was a shrine of some sort, I haven't learned the written word yet so I don't know exactly for sure, but there was some really mello jazz music playing on the speaker on the walk up to this so it really helped put you in a calm, relaxed mood when you go up to it.

This one is for you FC! It seemed to be a monument to rocks! ;-)

I walked myself tired and decided to get back to the apartment to get my laundry done, after all I'll have to finish my shopping on Sunday.

Sad News; Spanky the Dog Has Passed Away

While talking to Lightnin, and our friends back in Missouri who she was visiting, I was informed that Spanky had passed away just the other night. It was a sad day for our dear friends Rick and Netter.

Yes Another Sunset, But With Food Too!

First of all let me explain the lack of posts since I've been here. The Internet connection from my apartment has been pretty much hit or miss. I'm sure it's due to the amount of traffic along with other stuff, but I seem to have better luck during the day on the weekend. So you see the problem, when the weather is nice on the weekend I'm not inside blogging!!!!! ;-)

Anyway back to this post!

Yes I know another sunset (blah, blah, blah), but just wait until you see this one. It was a bit smoggy that evening so I used the rather thick atmosphere as a nice filter for some otherwise tricky photography.

Also you have to understand my work schedule. I live between 30 min and 2 hrs from work, depending upon the time of day and day of the week of course, and the experience level of the taxi driver. In the mornings if I leave my apartment at 6:30AM I can be to work by 7AM. If I leave at 7AM I can get there by 8AM. If I leave at 7:30AM I might get there by 9AM, but after that and it's easily 2 hrs or more. On Monday's and Friday's though you never know what's going to happen! I really have no idea distance wise how far I am from work, but the city has 4 rings (Hwys) that go around it. I live just inside the 3rd ring and work just outside the 4th.

Where was i going with this, oh yea, so if I do happen to get home before the sun sets I like to relax and drink a beer or a glass of wine and enjoy the view as I wind down from the day and the ride home! Ok, Ok here come the photos!

And here's the food:

I found wings at the grocery store! Fresh one's at that, and it gets better you can get just drummies or just flappers. As you can probably see from the photo, I like the flappers!

I whipped up a sauce from the juice of some small oranges and limes that I can get along with fresh ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, and these tiny red HOT peppers that I found at the market. Fried the wings in a mixture of olive and sunflower oil, drained them and then tossed them in the sauce.

Oh yea man, and with a bottle of Tsing Tao "Draft" beer they were goooood!

Oh the colorful stuff next to them on the plate. I steamed some tiny brussel sprouts, mushrooms and a carrot, and then marinated them in a basil infused olive oil, salt. pepper, and tossed in a few capers that were jarred in malt vinegar. They went very well with the wings!

That's about it for now I'll try to get on again this weekend and talk about something other than the sunset! ;-)

Sunset and Sunrise from the Balcony

Yesterday was a beautiful clear day, and I was able to get back home (wow, I'm already calling my apartment home!) just in time to catch a spectacular sunset!

This is a much better view of the "Clock Tower" that I spoke off in my earlier post.









As you can see from this photo my balcony faces directly west, so as I took this photo the sun was about an hour from rising in New York.
(think about that one for a minute!).

If you look just to the right of the tall building that the sun is sinking behind you can actually see the mountains in the background.





I was able to grab this shot this morning while drinking a cup of coffee. The sun was rising behind me and reflecting off of the same building as above.









STEB - It's funny that this apartment was my only choice because the other properties where my company places expatriates were already full, but I think that you'll agree that since the sun rises directly on my front door (where there is no view) and sets directly on my balcony that this was meant to be!

Tomorrow will be my first weekend here and it's supposed to be cloudy, but in the 60's (F).
My new friend, and partner on my project, is taking me out shopping for all my kitchen necessities and then I'm having the other expat's over for some curry! This should be the true test of my abilities because most of them have had the opportunity to sample the real deal and are unofficially qualified judges of the cuisine. I'm going to give it my best shot!

I think the hardest part will be trying to keep the conversation away from work!!! ;-)

More Pics of the New Dwelling and My First Meal

Well, I was going to try to get more pics on here.

I'll keep trying and see what I can do. Until the photos show up just use your imagination! ;-)

Here's the bathroom

The bedroom, sorry Lightnin, but I hadn't made the bed yet

Here's a couple of views from my balcony

I don't know if you can see it too clearly, but the third building from the left is the same "clock tower" that I could see from my hotel the first time I was here. I actually live within about a 5 minute walk from there.

And here's my first meal cooked in my new place: Curly pasta with a sort of marinara sauce. I'm already seeing the struggles I'm going to have finding my normal ingredients for stuff. Things like olive oil, fresh basil, etc., but hey that's what's going to keep it interesting!

I still haven't heard anything from the airline as to the whereabouts of my luggage, but I actually go into the office tomorrow. I was at least clever enough to pack some clothes in my carry on, but I hope they don't mind a "casual Thursday" by me.