Category Archives: Food

Day 461 In Beijing: KKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN!!!!

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Me doing the famous "KHHHHHAAAANNNN!" yell popularized by William Shatner.

Me doing the famous “KHHHHHAAAANNNN!” yell popularized by William Shatner.

Any lovers of Star Trek will know immediately why I love the title of the blog post.

If you don’t know it, here is the classic over-acted scene by William Shatner, as James Tiberius Kirk, in Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan.

Unlike the Khan in the movie, this Kaan is an very kind, generous and wonderful person.

He also didn’t have a J.J. Abrams movie made about him that utterly stunk and has basically shown that there should never be an English accented Khan.  And that Abrams is a hack who is going to destroy the whole Star Trek mythos.

Shameful.

Our Kaan met Jill in 2006 at a wedding in Istanbul.

Kaan also lived in San Francisco but they didn’t really become friends until 2010 when she came over to live in Turkey for 3 months after quitting her job and deciding to strike out on her own.

Kaan is a really funny, and enthusiast guy, who also happens to be a cheese and wine connoisseur.

Jill had told me about this but we both didn’t realize nearly how specialized his knowledge, and his skills, were until we hung out with him during the evening.

First off, we bought some cheese as a gift and then felt incredibly embarrassed by our choice since the cheeses he brought were amazing!

We bought the classic white cheese that they have in Turkey.  We love it beyond belief and it is very hard to get it here in Beijing so we thought it would be good enough.

Kaan, being the cheese guru, had bought cheeses from Italy and they were incredibly tasty.

Kaan also makes his own wine so he pulled out a few bottles, including my favorite, “the mutt” which is a blend of a bunch of different grapes, all from the Thrace region in Turkey.

It was quite yummy and went great with the cheeses.

Kaan was a fantastic host and it was a joy to meet him.   He would be traveling, most of the rest of our trip, so we sadly didn’t get a chance to see him again, but we will when we start living in Turkey in a few years.

And, seriously, how cool is it I was able to do the “KHHHHHHAAAAANNNNNNN” yell with someone actually named Kaan.

You can see he is rather bemused, and very kind to humor me, in my silliness.

 

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Day 455 In Beijing: Sefa Restaurant.

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Getting ready to eat our delicious lunch!

Getting ready to eat our delicious lunch!

After visiting with Mike, Jill and I went to lunch.

Mike suggested we go to the Sefa Restaurant, which was close, and one of his favorites.

To give you a quick idea, the Hagia Sofia, the Basilica Cistern, the Blue Mosque, the Kybele Hotel, and the Sefa Restaurant are all within a 10 minute walking area.

I have to say that it is utterly mind blowing to have so much history is such a small area.

It is something that I would be continually reminded of as we traveled for this month and saw so much in Turkey and in Greece.

It reminded me of my trip to Italy about 7 years ago.

I’d be walking down this street, with a bunch of stores, and then turn a corner and BAM, right in my face is the Trevi or some other incredible artifact of times gone by.

The USA is too “new”to have that kind of history, other than the Native Americans, and it is a very different feeling than being in San Francisco, LA, or even NYC, since the East Coast has more “history” than the West Coast.

YUMMY! GET IN MY TUMMY!

YUMMY! GET IN MY TUMMY!

I enjoy being surprised by history and having my mind expanded and my beliefs tested by what I learn, each and every day, when I’m on the road.

Jill is the same way which is why we make such a great couple.

I still can’t believe we met 8 days before I left for China and she decided to join me over here.

That says a lot about her.

And maybe a little about me too.

The lunch, as Mike suggested it would be, was fantastic.

The food was filling, fresh and delicious, and very well priced.

Simply said, we loved it and felt, once again, like we were home.

 

Day 443 In Beijing: Rooftop Lunch And Call To Prayer.

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Cheers!

Cheers!

After stopping by the Blue Mosque, Jill and I decided to grab some lunch.

We walked around a bit of Istanbul and found a few restaurants that looked nice.

One, in particular, had a rooftop area that allowed us to look out over the Bosphorus.

We decided that would be the perfect way to spend our first lunch in Istanbul.

We climbed up the 4 flights of very steep stairs and found the place almost empty.

There were two other Canadian couples sitting there, but that was it.

We talked with them for a bit and found out that one was a psychiatrist and ran his own department back in Toronto.  Small world.

They were on a cruise and only in town for a day.

Jill and I thought of how we had a week and were grateful that we had so much time.

The view from the rooftop terrace.

The view from the rooftop terrace.

There is so much to see and do in Istanbul that a day, or even 3 days, wouldn’t be nearly enough for us.

Honestly, we could spend a month in Istanbul alone, if we had the time, and still feel like we haven’t seen everything.

They were nice enough to take a few pictures of us and we enjoyed meeting them.

When they left, we had the whole rooftop terrace to ourselves and it was incredibly peaceful and serene.  And the food was fantastic.

Just watching the clouds, the Bosphorus and the ships go by as we enjoyed our meal and our time together.

In case you were wondering, the mosques have speakers attached to them so that is how the sound is projected for the followers to hear and know to come to pray.

 

 

Day 408 in Beijing: Beans. Beans. The Magical Fruit.

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Beans drying with the store owners sitting in the shade.

Beans drying with the store owners sitting in the shade.

Jill and I were walking home and she noticed this rather innovative way to dry beans outside our apartment.

It has been incredibly hot the last week, averaging around 90-100 degrees, and quite sunny.

We have been enjoying it and have been going out and having fun in the beautiful summer weather.

The pollution, after a week of being horrible, has cleared off and allowed for gorgeous weather.

These beans belong to a couple that owns a small restaurant right beside out apartment.

We haven’t eaten there yet but we may just have to try it when we return from our vacation to Turkey and Greece.

By the way, when you read this, we will be about 4 days into our vacation in Turkey and probably having dinner somewhere near the Bosphorus.

The weather there is supposed to be perfect and we are looking forward on posting about our vacation once we get back to China.

Day 399 in Beijing: Meat. It Is What I Will Never Eat For Dinner In China.

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Reminds me of Monty Python and the vomit scene.

Reminds me of Monty Python and the vomit scene.

Honestly, most of the meat in China is utterly disgusting.

I went vegetarian, on January 1st of 2014, and haven’t looked back since.

I honestly wish I had gone vegetarian before I arrived in China.

This picture gives you a good idea why I am one now.

You may not be able to see it, but there are flies on this pile of meat.

Close up of the assorted meat.

Close up of the assorted meat.

It is chicken, steak, and pork all mixed together.

And it was about 90 degrees, Fahrenheit, when I took this picture and the guy was driving around delivering to local stores.

My friends own restaurants but they import their meat from Australia, the USA, New Zealand or elsewhere.

They won’t buy local meat because they don’t trust it to be anything close to healthy or sanitary.

I don’t blame them and I appreciate what they are doing to protect us.

Simply said, I may eat meat in the future, but not while I live in China.

Day 351in Beijing: Our Fakeamix Has Arrived!

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Cheers!

Cheers!

Jill and I decided we want to eat more healthily and really wanted a Vitamix.

We’ve been vegetarians for 5 months now and wanted to take the next step.

I have a Vitamix back home, sitting and waiting for me, at my friend Sue’s house.

However, it weighs a ton and it is too expensive to ship over to China.

Therefore, we asked our friends Martin and Kenn, at The Local, and they suggested we buy the same ones they just bought a few days ago.

So, they ordered it for us and we received our new Fakeamix blender a few days ago.

It is almost exactly like the Vitamix I had at home and it works wonderfully.

It also only cost about 100 USD, which is a nice savings, and is quite easy to use, clean, and store when we don’t need it out on the counters.

Honestly, it is the little things, like having good friends order a blender for us, that make being an expatriate so much more enjoyable and easy.

Our Fakeamix is made by Hyundai and is actually more quiet than my real Vitamix.

This may be because the engine isn’t as powerful but it seems to do just fine for what we need as we mostly make green smoothies with it and it blends them up perfectly.

 

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Day 335 in Beijing: Pizza A8 Pub And Chinglish.

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I really love Chinglish.

Even if I hated Google, which I don’t, I’d love them for their translation software because I’m pretty sure 90% of Chinglish is formed by using Google Translate.

Pizza A8 Pub is a restaurant that Jill and I frequent about once a week and I’ve blogged about before.

They have incredibly yummy greek pizza and other vegetarian food and it isn’t as crazy as the other pizza/pub bars around I.E.B.U., which is the university across the street.

Being that the university is across the street, lots of drunk teens, and young adults often show up to the places around here.

That is fine but it does make for a loud dinner which is not what we usually want.

Yes, you can hear me saying, “These darn kids! They have no respect!  When I was a teen, we had to walk to school, 17 miles, uphill both ways!  And for shoes we only have wooden planks with nails pointing upwards touching our feet!  These kids have no respect!”

That isn’t what I mean as we’ve partied with the college students and a lot of our friends are college students.

We just like a little peace and quiet, sometimes, and Pizza A8 Pub affords us this.

Anyway, I’ll just let you read the different specials and let you comment on the Chinglish.

 

pub

Day 313 in Beijing: The Speciality Ices the sand Nursing one’ health Machine.

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Martin and the Fakeamix Blender.

Martin and the Fakeamix Blender.

Those of you that follow my blog know that Jill and I love The Local.

It is a great bar/restaurant here in Beijing, and the owners, Martin, Kenn and Jessie, are awesome people.

They are funny, kind and work 14-16 hours a day and yet never complain or get annoyed.

I doubt I could do the work they do and stay as positive and cheerful.

We love hanging out with them and we often play “Beeriocart” with them when they are taking a well deserved break.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jessie play so far and we need to get her in on the fun!

Beeriocart, by the way, is the video game, “Mariocart” but when we play we drink at the same time.  Mariocart is a car racing game that is a blast.  Martin and Kenn are amazing at it.  Jill and I?  Not so much.

The rules are simple: there are four players who race the cars around different tracks. The person that gets last place, usually Jill or me, has to do a shot of alcohol.  The person that gets first place also has to do a shot.  Now, this is a very fair way of dealing with winning and losing because if you suck, like Jill and I do, you get a little drunk and have fun.  However, if you are great, like Martin and Kenn, you get drunk and start driving worse and it brings you down to our level.  Well, not down to our level but it does give us a little edge once in a while.

Anyway, Jill and I have been looking for a Vitamix since we moved here and noticed that The Local had a Vitamix!

I bought a Vitamix about 3 years ago, with the help of my mom and dad as a present for becoming a Licensed Marriage and Family therapist, and have done a 10 day green smoothie/juice fast which I loved.

Jill and I want to do one here but we haven’t been able to find a blender that is powerful enough.

I was hoping our problem was solved.

However, we soon found out that this was no Vitamix but instead, as I’m going to call it, a “Fakeamix.”

We asked them about it and they said it has been amazing.  They want to buy a new one since their’s is dying but they can’t find them anywhere.

Martin let us take a picture of it because the Chinglish on it is utterly hilarious.

I honestly love the look on Martin’s face.  It think it says it all.

Because who doesn’t want a blender that is, “A Machine Multiuse” and has the ability to be “The Speciality Ices the sand Nursing one’ health Machine.”

By the way, it is, as they openly declare, a “High Perform ance commercial Blender.”

Agreementness, would Eye have.  Question with out not, Perform ance.

 

Day 311 in Beijing: Wine Time at Carrefour!

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The wine, the people, and the view from Peter's apartment.

The wine, the people, and the view from Peter’s apartment.

Carrefour is a major grocery store chain in France.

It does a lot of business here in Beijing also.

We love Carrefour because they run a 4 day, all you can taste, wine event every 6 months.

We went in October of 2013, for the first time, and met a bunch of wonderful people who have become dear friends here in Beijing.

We went last night, with our friends, Brandon, from Pleasant Hill, California, Jimmy from Philadelphia (who we met the day before on our trip to Mongolia…that is a blog post that is coming up soon!), and Rachel, who was born here in Beijing but has lived in Boston and Buffalo and is sadly moving to Hong Kong in a month.  Jill and I met her at a Jing A Brewer’s Table beer event last month and we will miss her greatly.  She’s wonderful, funny and sweet.  She also helped us do the negotiations for our new apartment and is like family to us already!

The best part of the night is taking time to talk to the people selling the wine and getting so much information and seeing how friendly everyone is with each other.

We also enjoy the free wine, of course, and the chance to try wines that we normally would not have been able to try, or even afford, in many cases.

We had our palettes opened up to new wines and new wineries and we will be sure to visit them all when we go visit France in the very near future.

Some of our favorites were Chateau Coufran andChateau Verdignan, which our new friend, Federic Vicaire, was pouring for us.  He told us interesting stories about his family history and that his grandfather and his great grandfather owned two different wineries in Haut-Medoc region of France.  The family still owns them and the wine was amazing.

The other wineries we really enjoyed tasting were Albert Bichot and Jean Bouchard, which Christophe Bichot, was pouring for us and everyone else.  He had an amazing white wine,  from Mersault, named, “Les Charmes” the we loved.  Neither Jill nor I usually like whites but this was truly amazing.

We loved spending time talking to Federic and Christophe as they obviously loved the wines, the history and talking to people about them.

Last but not least, we were able to taste some wines from Margaux and Saint Emilion which were elegant and wonderful.

One of the true joys of the evening was the my co-worker, Peter, and his girlfriend, Gabrielle, came by and we were able to spend time with them drinking wine and discussing life and being expatriates in Beijing.

Peter was kind enough to invite us over to his apartment and we had pizza, wine and a great time with friends and his wonderful kids, having incredible conversations about everything we could think of and talk about together.

I honestly love being an expatriate 99% of the time.

The only time I don’t is when I miss someone’s birthday, or a wedding, or if a loss or death occurs and Jill and I aren’t able to return home for that event.

The trade offs, of missing those events, are balanced out with the chances to meet people from all over the world, see new places, and learn about our own strengths and how we can respond to adventures and changes in our own world.  We are tested, each day, by something new and we grow from it and learn more about ourselves, what we want, and what we value.

Jill and I have been thinking more and more about what we want to do in the future and where we want to live.

We probably won’t end up back in America for a very long time since we want to live somewhere by the water, live cheaply, and continue to explore places we’ve never visited yet.

According to Tripadvisor, I’ve been to 15 nations at this point, traveled 399,346 miles and seen 10% of the world.  I’m 45 years old.

I really would like to get that up to 100 nations, 1,000,000 miles and 50% of the world by the time I’m 55.

Being that Peter is from the Netherlands and Gabrielle is from Quebec, we now have connections there and will make sure to visit them if they are there when we go.

The 100 nations is not an actual goal but more of a journey that Jill and I want to accomplish as we travel, meet people, see the world, and experience life on the road.

I’m incredibly lucky and honored to have the job I have, the chance to live this way, and to be with Jill on this journey.

 

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Day 310 in Beijing: Pizza A8 Pub.

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The happy couple!

The happy couple!

Jill and I recently went out to dinner and decided to try someplace new.

It is a bit difficult, since we chose to eat vegetarian only, but it is worthwhile because we don’t really want to eat meat anymore, because of the disgusting and horrific way that animals are treated, and we also just don’t want to eat living creatures.

Yes, plants are living also but very different so don’t even go there.  🙂

We happened across Pizza A8 Pub and thought it looked sort of cool.

It hadn’t been here a month ago so it must be fairly now to the area.

It has lots of different nations’ flags hanging from the ceiling and has nice Western music playing all the time.

This pub is next to a major international university so they are trying to attract that crowd as well as the Chinese nationals that want to hang out at the university and want to meet expatriates.

Jill and I decided to have a little pizza and one of the cook came out and actually gave us some french fries.

We thanked him numerous times and he smiled back at us and thanked us.

We did notice a group of three guys drinking beer.

That isn’t unusual in a college type bar/restaurant.

What was unusual was the guy drinking beer through a straw.

I can’t say I’ve ever seen that before.

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