(this happened on) 5th November 2010, Forbidden City
I actually managed to get up in time for breakfast, but instead we opted to miss it and go straight out towards the forbidden city, with the hope of a Coffee along the way.
Tes was proclaiming that this was a bad idea, and with reason. As we walked down Wangfujing street at 9am most of the big stores containing coffee shops were of course closed. After a good 30 minute walk we arrived at Tianamen Square. This is my second time there and the sheer size still impresses me. Tes was rather underwhelmed by it all with comments like “So that’s it then?”.
We made our way to the Forbidden City, we had the usual confusion due to a lack of signs in English and lot’s of pushing and shoving Chinese tourists ensued, however, we really enjoyed the massive scale and sheer opulence of this Palace, which is really a fortress. We enjoyed a much need rest and coffee in the city, and then trapesed on eventually exiting the North Gate (opposite to our entry) around 1:30pm.
We had a very interesting walk back to the Hotel, again in the opposite direction, arriving at the Hotel just after 2pm.
We wanted to try the Duck restaurant in the Hotel, but it was closed for lunch by this time. I decided we had to try something different and spied a very Chinese looking restaurant nearby. Trepidations, I asked “English Menu?”, the guy on the door laughed and said “Yes of course sir”. However the waitresses could hardly speak a word of English:
- Small pieces of Duck liver rolled in almonds and fried
- Kung Pau King Prawns
- ½ Crispy Aromatic Duck with all the trimmings.
Washed down with Chinese beer
The small pieces of duck liver were just amazing, but predictably too rich for us to finish. The Kung Pau Prawns were great, although they bore more of a resemblance to Spicy Sweet and Sour, something you might expect in a Thai restaurant. As for the Duck it was OK, but just OK, the Hoi Sin was rather watered down with soy and a little too salty. The Duck was not that aromatic and tasted nice but nothing special.
Tuckered out, we staggered back the Hotel and slept, after all we had walked around eight miles and much of it up and down stairs.
We awoke at 7:30pm hungry and decided to try the steak restaurant in the Hotel. OK I know this seems weird in Beijing, but we were knackered and the food looked great.
We had
- Filet Mignon (Medium Rare) with
- Baked potatoes
- Grilled Asparagus
- Sautéed Mushrooms
- Shallot wine sauce
- 3 mini crème brulee with fruit
- (Raspberry, vanilla, green tea)
Washed down with Cabernet Sauvignon in Tes’ case and Chinese Beer in mine.
All in all the meal was fantastic; my steak was a little over done and Tes’s was a little rare, so we simply swapped.
The sauce was a perfect accompaniment to the steak, all wine and caramelized shallot. The asparagus and mushrooms were also a perfect foil and excellently cooked.
The desert was delicious and really fun with the different flavors, but it was not Brule, in other words no caramelized sugar on top, it seems that crème Brule has become a posh name for any sort of flavored custard these days.
To Bed… deep sleep…
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