Snacks to try when you are in Beijing

Snack sampling is something for the adventurous travellers...

Oily flat bread,  appears as the big version of an indian roti. I found it too oily to try .

"Donkey Rolling" --I like this the most, should try. 

Another snack for the royal, nothing special.

Syrup coated sour plum, popular among the kids in the olden days when there were not many choices

Yummy yogurt drink from a clay container, if melamine doesn't concern you.

Copper cooker for lamb steamboat

Steamboat meal is popupar in Beijing or rather the whole of China. But, copper steamboat are only found at Dong Lai Shun restaurant, a centuray old muslim restaurant which claims to serve the best lamb ever !!! 

Waiting for the soup to boil , burning charcoal is added from the top opening.



We had a very late lunch, very few customers at that time. Dinners streamed in from 5pm onwards --while we finished our late lunch.



Copper kettles, hardly found nowadays.



Some of our lunch

Beijing Marriot Hotel City Wall..rather disappointing

Travelled to Beijing last month as part of my job. We checked in to Beijing Marriot Hotel City Wall on 18June.

The moment when I checked in my room, I told my collegue that this hotel must have a low occupancy rate , as I saw a dusty plant on the writing desk. I tried to wiped it clean with a tissue and left one single leave uncleaned for the chamber miad.

But, that particular leave was still dusty on the day we checked out on 21June...

Travel blog creation

Yes, I love travelling very much. This blog is created upon the suggestion of a very dear friend, who lives on the other side of globe.

Shall start to share my travelling experiences by posting my recent trip to the Kansai area of Japan. Went to Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe , each of the three cities has its own beauty and interesting stories to tell.

This is my first time to see so many species of sakura in full bloom within just a short period of time, the beauty is just beyond speech, and I wasn't able to capture its beauty in full with  my present camera skill !!

I would say , Spring in Kyoto and Osaka is a must go trip for flower-loving travellers.

Nishiki market

Going to  Nishiki Market -- you may

From JR Kyoto Stn.
・Ride the Subway Karazuma Line, get off at [Shijo] station then walk for 3 min.
・Ride the Subway Tozai Line, get off at [Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae] station then walk for 10 min

From JR Kyoto Stn.
・Take city bus route no. 5, get off the bus at stop "Shijo-Takakura (in front of Daimaru dept.)" then walk for about 2 min.


・Get off at Hankyu Kyoto Line [Karazuma] Station then walk for 3 min.
・Get off at Hankyu Kyoto Line [Kawaramachi] Station then walk for 4 min

Pickled vegetables



Puffer fish -dare uou try ?



Dried food stuff, home delivery available

Japanese lady in traditional costume at Nishiki Market



Squid stuffed with quail egg 

 



Pickled cuumber that look very much like egg plant

Beijing trip and the best Peking duck you can find !!

If you are not a vegetarian, peking duck is a must try chinese cuisine when you are in Beijing . Almost every Chinese restaurant in Beijing offers Peking duck, sometimes it is referred as Peking roast duck.

Quan Ju De restaurant is one of the many chinese restaurants in Beijing that serves good Peking duck. There are at least two branches of Quan Ju De restaurant in Beijing itself -- one in WangFuJing and the other branch is located at the QianMen shopping area.

Though I'm a semi-vegetarian, I still accompanied my collegues to have an authentic peking duck dinner at the QianMen branch of Quan Ju De restaurant.

We arrived  immediately after 8:30pm .. was late for the main restaurant and forced to opt for the fast food version of peking duck, where sliced duck was served in disposible plates and soup served in paper cups.



Peking roast duck served indisposible plates and soup in paper cups. The roast duck is best washed down by local Yanjing beer.



Main entrance of QianMen QuanJuDe peking duck restaurant in Beijing. Make sure to arrive before 8:30 pm ! Or just go for the fast food version of Peking duck.



Train ride from Cairo to Luxor, Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan during Mubarak's rule

Glad that I visited Egypt long before the political unrest. If I had not done that many years ago, which was during Mubarak’s ruling,  in the mid 90s, before the digital era.  I certainly would not like to visit Egypt at this challenging period for the Egyptians.

Train ride from Cairo to Luxor, Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan, Valley of the King and Valley of the Queen …Sipping a glass of chilled ruby red hibiscus drink and enjoying the sunset at river Nile, the busy egyptian bazaar in Cairo which filled with great bargains like leather goods, carpets, spices , perfume bottles and many more, are just unforgettable.

And of course, there are the pyramids not to be missed. I am almost 100% sure that I must be the only tourist who visited Egypt without making a trip to the Giza pyramid. The pyramid was closed due to some security reasons on the very day that I planned my visit and I was leaving the country on the next day.

However, I made it to Saqqara pyramid at the beginning of my trip, thinking that I should save the grand Giza and Sphinx to the last day. It thought me a good lesson since then, do not ever save the important or must see until the very last day. You will never know what is going to happen next!!

If I were to visit Egypt again in the future, I will make sure Giza pyramid would the number one spot to visit in my itinerary.