Not the Greatest of Days - But Great Dumplings!

Some days - people just annoy you.

Having a waitress hanging over your table, with a firm hand on the menu intent to suggest special delicacies (suitable for foreigners) and desperate to practice her almost incomprehensible English doesn’t help.

“No thank you, we do not want gong bao ji ding or ma po tofu.  Yes, we like our food spicy.  We eat Chinese food all the time and we are not tourists who managed to stumble in to this place randomly (in Tianzhu town – really!). We live here and that is why we speak to you in your own language so can we please look through the menu in peace and order whatever the f#€%&ck we want!” … or something along those lines.  We were not having the greatest of days.

We were at a dumpling place on Tianbei Lu, on the way to the airport, almost opposite the Giant Store. Stacey had been there before and raved about the dumplings – the inventive fillings and thin skins. We brought our friend Marianne and though I was the one having the very bad day; I am embarrassed to say that it quickly wore off on my friends and the over attentive (obnoxious) hostess didn’t help.

It is like that living here in China; your mood goes up and down and can be triggered by what seems like the smallest, stupidest things. Living here isn’t hard but it is exhausting and if you are not open to accept all the quirks and annoyances each and every day there will be bad days. That is why, after a while, when we see someone throw a fit over the lack of cheerios at the store or how they pack the groceries at check-out or why the waitress cannot just bring ice water instead of steaming hot, we smile in recognition – we have all been there. Still, we were there to sample the food and that was what we did.

Ever since we had lotus root-filled dumplings at a Hoshayu eatery, we always ask for it. The combination of the crunchy filling in the soft skin is delicious but, sadly, very few places offer it and this one was no exception. Instead we chose one plate of jiaozi filled with mushrooms and one with fennel, another novelty – both also including minced pork. As side dishes we choose Szechuan green beans (a requirement when you eat with Marianne), tofu skins with celery, and spicy eggplant – all very good. The dumplings, when they arrived, were perfect - soft and thin skinned with a juicy filling, the beans spicy as we like them and the eggplant flavorful. We were especially impressed with how (temperature) hot everything was. Clearly everything went straight from wok to serving dish to table.

A few Nanjing beers later (to cool of the burnt insides of our mouths), we had exhausted all the reasons for the bad mood. Living here might cause mood swings but we are used to helping each other out, right? We are in this together, experiencing Beijing and China and sharing our struggles. Trust and respect is crucial since your friends become your family. And thank God for good food!

We have no complains about the food at this place and would go back any day we crave dumplings – hiding in a corner trying to avoid the attack of the overzealous waitress….

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So, you may be asking why there are no pictures of the food.  This is, after all, a food blog.  Well, we somehow managed to delete the pictures from this visit and just had to go back again (what a shame!).

We hoped that we could avoid youknowwho on our second visit .... but alas, no such luck!  Though we were greeted by a friendly hostess and directed to a table right by the window - BANG!  There she was again - telling us what to do, holding her firm hand on the menu.  We are very patient and generally polite but this one is just pushing it!  We managed to order finally (whatever WE wanted!) and did not have to wait long for our food to arrive.  We tried a shrimp and egg dish this time which was perfect for those who like their flavors subtle - for us, it definitely needed a kick.

We ordered the fabulous fennel dumplings and eggplant once again, and they did not disappoint.  Deciding to break out of our routine, we also tried a yummy dish of preserved vegetables with garlic.  Strangely addictive, it would have been even better folded inside little pancakes or stuffing into little breads.  Finally, we tried Sara's favorite noodles made with sweet potato starch.  They were lovely little gelatinous bites covered with a chili sauce.

Sweet Potato Noodles

Fabulous Fennel Dumplings

Perfect Eggplant

Preserved Vegetables with Chili and Garlic

We finished our meal and asked for the bill - in Chinese. She starts rambling about that we have to pay in RMB and we say yes, yes, no problem assuming they don't take cards (which would be a bit weird since the restaurant is located in a hotel) but it turns out that they cannot take foreign currency! As if that is what we are used to here?! Remember too that we have been speaking to her in Chinese throughout these two visits and told her over and over again that we live here!

Should you be in the neighbourhood; say on your way to or from the airport or have had to visit the GIANT store for sure, eating here is worth your money. It is clean, the food is good, the price is very affordable, the service is fast and efficient.  Just stay clear of the fanatical hostess.

Were we really on holiday?!?

Our National Holiday plans changed at the very last minute – again.  Instead of a fun girls’ trip in Bangkok, followed by a holiday in Sri Lanka, the Bangkok trip had to be cancelled and the Sri Lankan holiday became a half work half play adventure. Considering the alternative, staying in Beijing with kids while husband went on all work trip for two weeks, there was simply no other alternative.

We had a wonderful week in Sri Lanka. While husband worked, we relaxed on the beach and in the pool at the beautiful Mount Lavinia Hotel.  When husband got two days off, we headed down the coast to Bentota and the amazingly serene Club Villa. Sri Lanka is a wonderful holiday destination with beautiful beaches, wildlife, culture and culinary highlights. Though the roads are in great need of TLC and the traffic is manic, it is less hectic than in Beijing. Is it the warm and humid weather? I don’t know but the pace is slower and less…aggressive. And, isn’t the phrase: “Would you like some tea m’am?” just the most beautiful phrase ever? So civilized.

Local wildlife

The food is varied; we have to talk more about the food! The fruit tastes like it is supposed to, the curries and stir fries are inventive and fragrant and with an amazing breakfast dish called a ‘hopper’ – what can go wrong?! Being an island obviously the seafood is to die for; sweet succulent crabs in spicy chili sauce, giant tiger prawns doused in garlic – inventive salads and breads of various kinds to scoop up the sauces. Though in many ways similar to Indian cuisine it is slightly different, not better or worse just different and because the majority of the population is Buddhist, and therefore vegetarian, vegetables and fruits are prepared in a myriad of ways, all delicious.

Succulent chili crab

After a three and a half hour car ride through bumpy Sri Lankan villages, a smooth ride on the highway only interrupted by a huge iguana slithering across the road, another jerky canter through Colombo alleyways - made longer because the driver went to the wrong hotel to drop off husband – and the joys of kids and car sickness, we finally arrive at Colombo airport for our return flight with time to spare.

Garlicky Tiger Prawns

I don’t mind travelling alone with my children. They have been on planes since in utero and are great travellers. They do not eat (who can blame them!) and they keep themselves busy with the in-flight entertainment, iPads, books, games and sleep, and can at most times even use the bathroom without me having to come with.

I had planned it perfectly; they in two seats next to each other – window and aisle – no one to bother them, and me across the aisle in the aisle seat in a row of four.  The three seats next to me remained unoccupied until suddenly, a woman throws herself down next to me and immediately picks up the throw-up bag. Her companions, I’m assuming husband and son, settle in next to her quietly, calmly but she jitters around, looks this way and that, tears are starting to roll down her cheeks as she picks up the bag and starts to hyperventilate, violently. My kids are thankfully unaware.  I didn’t know what to do but gave her glances like: “Are you ok?” “Can I do anything for you?”.  She speaks no English, but smiled at me and declined the tissues I was offering to dry her tears. She calmed down eventually and I was tending to the kids, breaking up a stupid fight about who would get to sit closer to me and finally the flight takes off.

After a while, the lady next to me has calmed down and we make a quick stop in Mattala in the South East to exchange passengers before heading to Beijing.  As we continue, the husband and child move to two unoccupied seats on the other side of the plane leaving crazy lady and me in a row of four. She is incognito for a while but then suddenly, she throws herself down in her seat again, flipping through the inflight magazine frantically. Her companions are at this point fast asleep in their seats leaving Mrs. Whatiswrongwithyou? and me on our row of four. At this point I don’t know if she is drunk, on drugs or has a mental illness. She is very friendly to me though, offering me three seats in our row of four so that I can lie down and read my book and get some rest, but she remains jittery, erratic and unstable.

With the exception of myself and my two children and a handful or two of Sri Lankans, the plane is full of Chinese. It never ceases to amaze me how when many Chinese people travel it is like they are on a middle school class trip. They are socializing across the isles, snacking and sipping from the thermoses they have brought with them throughout the whole trip, taking part of conversations and seem to know everyone - though I know most of them are not travelling together.

When there is an alert over the sound system asking if there is a doctor or nurse on board the energy rises and everyone is looking around. Who is sick? Where is the person in need of medial assistance and privacy? They keep snacking and the sunflower seeds are flying like empty shells in a gunfight in an action movie. When the flight is not aborted nor averted they loose interest and start concentrating on the tax-free cart that is cruising up and down the aisles. Most people don’t pay attention when it rolls by; but here it’s like a party at Yashow market. Cigarettes and perfume boxes are inspected and the chatter continues? How much is this? Is it a good value? Is it cheaper elsewhere? The stewardesses and stewards have patience like I’ve never seen before and when they realize I can help with translations, a sigh of relief is visible and their whole persona relaxes.

Our holiday was exciting with visits to an elephant orphanage, releasing three-day old turtles into the ocean and surfing lessons but still – the real action happened on the plane.

BJU Bonus!

After living here for a while we can all name a few pet peeves (very large pets, Great Dane sized…): there’s the bank, IKEA, public bathrooms, the house of hell aka Zhongguancun (if you do not know what this is – do not ask, just pretend it doesn’t exist), any touristy area during a big holiday (the feeling of being special quickly wears off – and what do they do with the photographs they take of us anyway?), the markets (the haggling soon becomes a drag) and of course, the hospital. The reason to seek medical care is rarely by choice or a happy event (babies one of the few exceptions).

Still, while waiting for an appointment or caring for a sick family member or friend at BJU, we all have to eat at some point and we are very happy to share our newest find.

It is easy to relent to Comptoir De France’s overpriced coffee, sandwiches and quiches and let’s admit it; Annie’s is across the street and their cheap, quick Italian fare is not bad but….if you are in the mood for something quick, good, inexpensive and authenticly Chinese, in a clean, simple environment look no further than one block past the BJU entrance to this little dumpling place.

Stacey’s very competent driver Mr. Zhang took us to this place one day (no idea what it is called) when we were out and about.  We asked for something quick and good – no pressure!!   He knows we love local food, like it spicy and have high standards when it comes to quality but we had no idea what to expect when we optimistically entered the simple restaurant.  It was clean, popular, with a picture menu, and as we later discovered, an English dumpling menu as well.

As soon as we sat down, I spotted an old favorite at another table, cold, thick wheat noodles and thinly sliced cucumbers in a rich sesame sauce – zhi ma jiang mian. Back in the old days, the late 90s if you can believe it, we used to frequent what we called “Little Hilton”, a hole-in-the-wall in the hutong that used to be next to the Hilton on third north ring road and we would always order this dish. Once, during a summer rain, the place flooded and we were sitting with our feet in three inches of water but still, they continued to serve and we continued to slurp.

With its rich sesame sauce, slightly slimy noodles, cold crisp cucumbers and a touch of chili, it is the perfect warm day dish. And as it was a warm day we continued to order another favorite: cold sliced, silken tofu with century eggs or liang ban dou fu song hua dan, as it is called in Chinese. Mention this to anyone not familiar with the dish and you get a wrinkled nose and a eeuuwww but please, try it. The silky eggs (close your eyes if you don’t like the look of the green transparent whites and dark green hue of the yolk) in combination with the smooth tofu and with a dash of vinegar, soy and chili sauce is divine.

Another winner is tofu skins with celery, fu pi qin cai, also a cold dish. The chewy tofu with the crisp celery in the light sauce with a hint of sesame cools any tongue that was accidentally doused by too much chili sauce.

Of course we had to try the dumplings; it is a dumpling restaurant after all and they had gone through the trouble of translating the menu into Chinglish. We love dumplings with a different and unexpected texture and ordered the pork and lotus root filled dumplings, steamed, for a whooping 12 rmb for a plate. Unfortunately we have to say that we have had better. The skins were a bit too thick and chewy. There was nothing wrong with the filling but why have mediocre dumplings when there are so many places where you can enjoy great ones?

Everything tastes better with cold beer!  And we love the little glasses.

We have been fortunate lately and have not had to visit Beijing United Family Hospital in quite some time but still, if we were in the area, we would definitely go back here for lunch again.

  

To Review Or Not To Review; That Is The Question!

Ahhhh, there is so much eating to be done here in Beijing!

The STARAfood team favors two kinds of eating: the local hole-in-the-wall (or in some cases obscure huge chain restaurants that we never heard of) super cheap eatery with unexpectedly satisfying dishes or…the super nice, get dressed up to the nines and go all out to town restaurants. Most often we enjoy the first option and we live to tell the tale.

Unfortunately, there is also a lot of mediocre or just plain bad eating to be done. Restaurateurs with (hopefully) good intentions but who cannot quite follow through with the authenticity of the food, décor, hygiene, pricing….you pick!  We understand; Beijing is not an easy place to operate a service centered business; cultural and culinary differences are many and great and more often than not at least one of the two falls short.  

At STARAfood, we have come to the point where we simply can not review most of the western Shunyi establishments.  On the whole, they are mediocre attempts to bring Western food to the suberbs so each review will be a repeat.  We will focus instead on the good, surprising eats and share them with all of you.  We have no problems with being guinea pigs for this operation and will do our very best to share the results of our investigations!  We also have no problem being honest with our perspective on what we are not happy about and what needs to be improved.  Therefore, after much consideration, we have decided to focus on the unexpected and to find the gems in the culinary jewel box that is Beijing and hopefully inspire some readers to try something new.

Do you have any unexpected food finds?  Share them with us and all of our STARAfood readers.  Guess commentary welcome!

Back to Reality

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu…. Hello! Bonjour! Hej! Ni hao!

For expats around the world, spring is the time when we either pack up our belongings, say goodbye to our friends or just breathe a sigh of relief that we do not have to do either. All we have to do is get through the last few days or weeks of the school year, organize the class parties and teacher presents, attend countless going away parties, organize our house before summer, pre pay all bills, board the pet, instruct the help and pack our bags for a hopefully relaxing and rejuvenating summer holiday.

Coming back after the summer holiday is bittersweet. We leave clear blue skies, driving a car without feeling like part of a video game, picking berries and fruits straight from the tree, biking on country roads, meeting horses, easy parking and being able to go to one store, and one store only, for the whole shopping list. What luxury!

Coming back also means reconnecting with Beijing friends and, of course, meeting new people. We have all been there. Being new not only to a new home but to a new country, city, language and culture. And China is a special place to be new. It is overwhelming with its noise and dirt, all the people and the smells, strange food and people who already seem to know each other so well. Being an expat often means starting anew over and over again and there are times when we just don’t feel like it. When meeting new people seems like a chore and finding things to do is a struggle. The cashier becomes your new best friend because that is the face you see almost every single day.

As the STARA team embarks on our second year, we are happy to announce our Back to Reality event, held in tandem with our friends at Clicia’s Designs and Shayne’s Treasures.   Bring a new friend and join us for a drink and a nibble.  Please be sure to RSVP for yourself and your friend as there are special surprises for those who do!  

Back To Reality

Clicia's Design and Shayne's Treasure

Lake View Place at Dragon Bay Villas

Wednesday, September 3

11:30am – 4pm

RSVP - clicia@cliciasdesigns.com

This event is a great opportunity to grab a space in your favorite STARAcooking classes.  This year we will offer new takes on old favorites, along with some exciting additions (chocolate or tapas anyone?).  

We are also excited to announce our STARAseries.  These two four-week sessions focus on a different country each week, offering more in-depth tips and techniques.   Our first series focuses on the cuisines of the Old World - Italy, France, Spain and Scandinavia (or you choose!).  Our second takes us west to the New World of the Americas.  Dates for the STARAseries are flexible and will be set to the schedules of our students.  This is an excellent opportunity to gather a group of friends and have fun in a relaxing environment.  Contact us for more details.  

We look forward to seeing everyone soon!  As always, email us at starafood@gmail.com with any questions and check out the blog – www.starafood.blogspot.com.

Happy Cooking!