If you get a chance, check out the blog of my friends Clifton and Rozanne Cornelius. I attended church with them at Crosswind in Corinth. They are preparing to come to Beijing to adopt a little girl named An Zhen.
http://cliftoncornelius.blogspot.com/
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Snow In the City...
A surprise snow hit Beijing this week:
View From My Office Window
A Teahouse Near My Work
Parking Lot Next Door To My Apartment Building
View From My Office Window
A Teahouse Near My Work
Parking Lot Next Door To My Apartment Building
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A Trip To Mississippi (Without Leaving Beijing)...
At the advice of a coworker, I took the subway over to the Jianguomen embassy area to try out the Mississippi Steakhouse. According to a post I read on The Beijinger website, this restaurant is owned by a man who went to Mississippi as a child and loved it. What follows is a review of the experience:
The restaurant- Mississippi Steakhouse
Ambience- You really do feel like you are in a steak house you might go into in Mississippi. Wood floors give it a homey feel. There is an oval shaped bar in the middle of the restaurant. It would be nice if there was a Mississippi theme to it, for example it would be nice to hear blues playing over the speakers rather than pop music. They do try to theme it somewhat with the cocktails: blue hawaii becomes blue mississippi and sex on the beach becomes deep sea sex. Some catfish and turnip greens on the menu would have been a nice touch but alas this was missing.
Service- Service was attentive. There weren't many customers save for the bar area, so I had a personal fuwuyan. It was proper Western style service. He took my drink order, brought the drink, and took the food order and then checked on me once. He didn't hover but made sure I knew he was there if needed.
Food- I ordered the New Zealand ribeye; this came with a bowl of the soup of the day (What's the soup du jour? It's the soup of the day. Yummy! I'll have that.) and two sides. The soup was pumpkin, a real Chinese soup. The soup was the consistency of cream of mushroom. It was good, sweet and hot. It tasted kind of like Thanksgiving. That's really only how I know to describe it. The steak was kind of thin and a bit overcooked but seasoned to perfection and still tender. The french fries on the side were crinkle cut: a first for me in Beijing and the steamed veggies actually seemed fresh. It was a mix of broccoli, carrots, and zucchini. I had a similar mix at an American style diner restaurant awhile back and they had obviously been microwaved from frozen, these were much better. The steak also came with your choice of sauce (more like gravy) I chose the mushroom and couldn't decide which was better: the steak with the sauce or without the sauce. All in all, this meal pleased this Mississippi boy.
The Price- My total bill came out to 124 yuan- about 18.00 USD. Where else can you get a decent steak for that price? Certainly at none of the Western chains in town like Tgi Fridays or Outback and not even at any of the American owned diner restaurants.
Total Sweet Potatos- 4/5 While the food was good, the lack of true Mississippi flavor detracts somewhat from a restaurant named after the Magnolia State.
The restaurant- Mississippi Steakhouse
Ambience- You really do feel like you are in a steak house you might go into in Mississippi. Wood floors give it a homey feel. There is an oval shaped bar in the middle of the restaurant. It would be nice if there was a Mississippi theme to it, for example it would be nice to hear blues playing over the speakers rather than pop music. They do try to theme it somewhat with the cocktails: blue hawaii becomes blue mississippi and sex on the beach becomes deep sea sex. Some catfish and turnip greens on the menu would have been a nice touch but alas this was missing.
Service- Service was attentive. There weren't many customers save for the bar area, so I had a personal fuwuyan. It was proper Western style service. He took my drink order, brought the drink, and took the food order and then checked on me once. He didn't hover but made sure I knew he was there if needed.
Food- I ordered the New Zealand ribeye; this came with a bowl of the soup of the day (What's the soup du jour? It's the soup of the day. Yummy! I'll have that.) and two sides. The soup was pumpkin, a real Chinese soup. The soup was the consistency of cream of mushroom. It was good, sweet and hot. It tasted kind of like Thanksgiving. That's really only how I know to describe it. The steak was kind of thin and a bit overcooked but seasoned to perfection and still tender. The french fries on the side were crinkle cut: a first for me in Beijing and the steamed veggies actually seemed fresh. It was a mix of broccoli, carrots, and zucchini. I had a similar mix at an American style diner restaurant awhile back and they had obviously been microwaved from frozen, these were much better. The steak also came with your choice of sauce (more like gravy) I chose the mushroom and couldn't decide which was better: the steak with the sauce or without the sauce. All in all, this meal pleased this Mississippi boy.
The Price- My total bill came out to 124 yuan- about 18.00 USD. Where else can you get a decent steak for that price? Certainly at none of the Western chains in town like Tgi Fridays or Outback and not even at any of the American owned diner restaurants.
Total Sweet Potatos- 4/5 While the food was good, the lack of true Mississippi flavor detracts somewhat from a restaurant named after the Magnolia State.
Monday, February 9, 2009
I'm OK...
For those of you back in the states watching on the news the huge hotel fire in Beijing right now, I am okay. The fire is occurring on the east side of town and I live on the west side. Early reports state that no one was in the building; it was a hotel that had not opened yet. Thank God for that, but keep people living in the area in your prayers as the fire is being fought.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Chun Jie Day...
Today was New Year's day in the Year of the Ox. After sleeping in late, I met up with some colleagues to head over to Ditan Park (Temple of Earth Park) to check out a traditional Chinese New Year festivite: the Temple Fair. Temple fairs started many years ago during the New Year celebration for people making piligrimages back home to buy all the supplies they would need both for prayers in the temple and for their celebrations. While the temple does still exist in this park and some praying does go on there, it is very much a commercialized affair with everything imaginable for sale.
After entering the park, we quickly realized that a few others had heard about this event as well:
First on the agenda was FOOD! After a satisfying lunch of grilled spicy lamb kebabs and noodles, I found a snack I had been trying to locate for some time: fried balls of dough dipped in sugar. These are very similar to New Orleans Beignets but they use regular sugar rather than powdered sugar. Oh yeah, and before you judge my hat, the Chinese girls say I look cute in it! It keeps me warm as well.
After eating, we wandered around checking out some of the booths. There were masks, fireworks, balloons, and everything else that is cheap and made in China. We then checked out two performances: a traditional Chinese dance and a Chinese magician who did a very impressive Square Circle routine in which he made a big pot of tea appear.
While playing this game just a few feet away from the temple's altar, I couldn't help thinking if this is what things looked like when Jesus cleared the Jerusalem temple of the moneychangers. Were they selling junk like this too?
Also, if you are reading this on facebook, you will need to go to the actual blog to see the photos: http://beijingtim.blogspot.com
After entering the park, we quickly realized that a few others had heard about this event as well:
First on the agenda was FOOD! After a satisfying lunch of grilled spicy lamb kebabs and noodles, I found a snack I had been trying to locate for some time: fried balls of dough dipped in sugar. These are very similar to New Orleans Beignets but they use regular sugar rather than powdered sugar. Oh yeah, and before you judge my hat, the Chinese girls say I look cute in it! It keeps me warm as well.
After eating, we wandered around checking out some of the booths. There were masks, fireworks, balloons, and everything else that is cheap and made in China. We then checked out two performances: a traditional Chinese dance and a Chinese magician who did a very impressive Square Circle routine in which he made a big pot of tea appear.
The actual temple area was lined with carnival games. I stopped to play one game where you toss coins onto small circles (how do you say step right up and win some crap in Chinese?), but alas did not win anything.
While playing this game just a few feet away from the temple's altar, I couldn't help thinking if this is what things looked like when Jesus cleared the Jerusalem temple of the moneychangers. Were they selling junk like this too?
On the way out, I stopped to pick up a scary mask. Masks are traditional at Chinese New Year because they scare away the evil spirits much like masks at our Halloween. If you dont' want to be scared don't read any further, my mask was really scary.
YES WE CAN! BOO! (Actually I think I look more like a black Nixon, maybe its the peace sign.)
After the fair, I headed over to the Crowne Plaza hotel to meet Gray Line tours for an evening of Chinese Acrobatics and Peking Roast Duck. Thomas, our excellent tour guide, took me and 2 ladies who were visiting China in his personal SUV. The show was good consisting of various acts including contortion, plate spinning, tumbling, climbing, and unicycle riding. It wasn't exactly Cirque Du Soleil but these kids have some talent. Afterwards, it was on to a nearby restaurant for Peking Duck, the duck that so many Americans know as being in the last scene of A Christmas Story. Actually our dinner consisted of many items: beef, veggies, fried rice and the duck. No it wasn't smiling at me. This restaurant knows a lot of westerners will be dining there and the head on the duck doesn't fly (no pun intended) with most westerners. Actually I was hoping it did have the head on just I could say that classic line. The chef carved the duck tableside and then our fuwuyaun showed us how to eat it. You wrap the meat in a thin tortilla type pancake with vegetables and plum sauce and eat with your hands. Later in the meal the fuwuyuan approached me for some help with his English, that is one of the daily experiences of being a foreigner here. He proudly proclaimed to me he was learning American English and was so appreciative that I took a few minutes out of my meal to help him practice a new sentence.
Tomorrow is the second day of Chinese New Year and is considered to be the birthday of all dogs, so do something special for your canine companions and tell them Chun Jie Kuai Le!
Also, if you are reading this on facebook, you will need to go to the actual blog to see the photos: http://beijingtim.blogspot.com
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Chun Jie Fireworks...
Fireworks have been exploding all over the city tonight, so much so that it sounds like a war zone outside. I gave up on going over to Tianenman Square to watch fireworks due to the cold, so a little before midnight, I decided to wander over to my window and see if I could see any. Could I ever! Colorful sparks were exploding just outside my window and as far as I could see.
Here is some video I shot from my apartment window:
Tomorrow, some of my coworkers and I plan to go check out a temple fair at Ditan Park and then I am going to attend a Chinese Acrobatic Show and Peking Duck dinner with Gray Line tours in the evening. Check back for highlights from both of these.
Here is some video I shot from my apartment window:
Tomorrow, some of my coworkers and I plan to go check out a temple fair at Ditan Park and then I am going to attend a Chinese Acrobatic Show and Peking Duck dinner with Gray Line tours in the evening. Check back for highlights from both of these.
Chun Jie Kuai Le...
Chun Jie Kuai Le! (Happy New Year)
It is year of the Ox in China. Fireworks are exploding all around me. People are excited. More info coming later.
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