Beijing
Money is not everything. Money cannot buy love, health and happiness. That is what many advice me. To me, money might not be everything but money is definitely something.
If you don’t have money, how can you buy roses for your love one on valentine? Without money, who is going to pay for hospital bills and how are you going to buy iPhone to cheer up yourself?
Let me show you what I do with my money. Nowadays, with money, you can do just about anything. And that includes becoming an Emperor for few minutes.
I am not talking about wearing the emperor costume for photo shoot. All I am saying is to experience a lavish spread of imperial Chinese cuisines in Fangshan Restaurant, Beijing.
As soon as you enter the main entrance, you get to experience a truly unique ambiance and real ancient décor signifying numerous ruling Chinese dynasties in the past.
The dining hall is adorned with beautiful royal painting on the ceiling and even traditional Chinese art. Of course you are greeted with waitresses wearing original imperial dresses.
Gold and yellow used to be the Emperor’s color. If you are spotted using those colors, you will probably behead instantly but that was long long ago. The historic setting with yellow and gold in dining hall surely add the imperial effect into it.
As far as food is concerned, you get to experience truly sumptuous dishes as long as you are willing to pay the bill. As for me, I go for the set of RMB 298/per person (~RM 150). If you are richer, there are also set of RMB 2880/person (~RM 1440).
What I get as a start are Appetizing Cold Dish, Mashed Peas Pudding and Rolls of Kidney Bean Flour, Stir-fried Scallops and Brocolli and Ginseng Red Date and Deer Tendon Soup.
Despite the place is very congested, I personally give 9/10 to the waitresses as the services are pretty efficient. As soon as I almost finish my dishes, they instantly served me with new one.
This time I get Braised Sea Cucumber with Quail Eggs, Braised Camel’s Paw with Scallion, Sautéed Prawns with Spicy Garlic Sauce, Deep-fried Duck Rolls and Pork Rolls. Yes, you got it right! CAMEL PAW!
I must say I get to savor the authentic flavors of former imperial’s meals. Some of it might look exotic to me but hey, no harm to give it a try right? Besides, this is the finest dining you will ever get.
On top of what they served earlier, here are the remaining from the menu, Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish, Sautéed Vegetables with Mushrooms, Sesame Cakes with Minced Meat, Assorted Palace Dim Sum and Mixed Fruits.
If you have some spare time, try to visit the “Imperial’s Toilet”. I must say, now I know where the emperors did his big and small business.
The bills cost me about RMB 952. It might appear to be slightly on the expensive side but it is definitely an experience that is worth trying. Money is not everything? Think again!
Fangshan Restaurant
Inside Beihai Park’s south gate, Beijing, China
TEL: +86 10 6401 1889, +86 10 6401 1879
Opening Hours:
Lunch: 11 am – 1:30 pm (Mon-Fri); 10:30 am – 1:30 pm(Sat-Sun)
Dinner: 5 pm – 7:30 pm (Mon-Fri); 4:30 pm – 8 pm (Sat-Sun)
GPS:
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Not many people noticed my blog rarely post about food anymore. Why? i) I am on diet plan ii) Many restaurants in China forbid the use of camera iii) Most food are way beyond what Malaysian’s taste buds can take.
No matter what the challenges are, I can still find needle in the haystack. I break my diet plan in preparation for winter (fat building), sneak in my wife, iPhone and continuously hunt for good food.
Despite many failures, I was destined to Macau Street. It is not in Hong Kong and it is not a street but a decent restaurant in the middle of World Trade Center, Beijing.
As usual, you really need to get to the bottom for great pleasure. I am not talking about 18sx stuff here. What I am trying to say is, this restaurant is located under the World Center and dining in here will give you a great satisfaction.
Quality of food is normally gauged by the number of customers. Well, at least that is how I determined which restaurant to go to when in foreign places. This one is crowded.
Sniff sniff, yea.. it is Hong Kong’s style cuisine. Dim sums such as “phoenix claws”, custard bun, chee cheong fun etc are common here. All are good except wanton noodles soup which tastes slightly plain as compared to what we normally have in Malaysia.
Ohh..Mushroom Pork with Sesame Walnuts is highly recommended. Just by thinking about it makes me drool.
One night I dreamt of eating char siu, siu yok, and pak cham kai. Maybe I was away from Malaysia for too long but I woke up craving for it.
Luckily this restaurant served all three at the same time. The dish is served with 3 types of dip sauces; assam, garlic, soy sauce. So, instead of 3, I get to try 3 x 3 different tastes all together.
No one should leave the restaurant unless you try the Yin Yong (drink made by mixing coffee and tea). I am not too impressed with the taste of it but I have alternate drinks.
Oh yea.. Red Bean Yin Yong. Mixing red bean + coffee + tea are actually perfect combinations. The tastes are self compromising to each other and this makes the drink very special.
Macau Street, World Trade Center, Beijing
GPS: 39.908749, 116.459343
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Y2K used to be in every headline across the world before when the clock was ticking from 1999 to 2000. If you were born in the same era like me, you will realize that many were unprepared for this as this event only happens once in every millennium.
Millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years. It does not happens everyday and if you miss it this time, you have to wait for your great great great grandsons to experience it again.
I considered myself lucky as I got to experience it twice at my age now (please note that I am still 18 this year). The first time was during Y2K of course. I remember I was doing “big business” in toilet at that time:p Do you believe it?
What about the second time? I spent almost a week in Grand Millennium Hotel Beijing. So, that is the second time? Oh yea! It is an international standard hotel that worth to pay for a visit.
Staying on 18 (surely rich in Chinese) floor makes me feel slightly richer for the whole duration. Despite a long walk to my room, it traded nicely with a nice contemporary room. The room layout is rather simple but elegant.
On top of that, the latest interior design makes me feel like wanting to stay there longer. By paying reasonable price, you get a comfy king size bed like in any hotel and classy work desk that really perfect for both business and leisure.
Did I mention leisure? Oh yea.. I am here mainly to play bubble bath in the bath tub. Categorically, the washroom is almost half the size of the room. So you can run around naked in your own private corner.
Remember to keep your window blind close before you do all those act. This is to avoid someone posts your uncivilized behavior in youTube
If you are a gadget freak, I bet you will stick to the tv most of the time. The room comes with high-tech built in tv that you can surf net, email, watch inhouse entertainment, play games etc.
Not only that, even the room phone is kind cool. The room also equipped with safety measures such as safe box and breathing mask.. just in case..
Beside complimentary foot wares, all your bubble bath liquid is provided with no extra charge. Not all things are free here. If you accidently drink from the Evian bottle, they will charge CNY 78 (~RM 39) per bottle.
One spot that you might like in this hotel is their facilities. I cannot manage to get more photos from the indoor pool, spa and gym as it is a restricted area for photography but it is definitely worth to utilize it.
Before you know it, your stay is expired. You just have to move on but I will come back again if I happen to be in Beijing in the near future.
Grand Millennium Beijing
7 Dongsanhuan Middle Road,
朝阳区 Beijing, China, 100020
TEL: +86 10 8587 6888
GPS: 39.917367, 116.459316
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When I write eXotic, please don’t confuse it with eRotic as both actually carry totally different meaning. As you know, my blog is suitable for all walks of life including those who are underage 
Underage might know more than me? Let’s not try to go there. Exotic means strangely unusual while erotic, please use your dictionary if you are really “that” innocent.
Strangely unusual can be very relative to many. Western claimed chicken claw as exotic food but Chinese treat it as a treasure. Photos above are just for illustration purposes because hawker stalls is never a strangely unusual place to me but the products are.
Selling skewer meats or having plastic insects’ décor on stalls does not fit into exotic category. So what are the exotic foods that I am trying to share here then?
Skewered meatballs, sea urchin, pigeon, stinky beancurd, squid or odd shape crabs? These are really exotic in my eyes. Probably not all of it but stinky beancurd is definitely in the list and the odd shape crabs too.
Do not ask me if the food here is fresh? Frankly, I have no clue. It looks like all foods are spontaneously prepared but why bother? You are going to get stomachache for sure as well. Not because the food unhygienic but because your stomach is not tailored for it.
Those are just appetizers. The real crust of “really” exotic (no more relative) food journey is about to begin. I procrastinated if I really want to include all these photos of insects here as it might drive away all my readers especially I posted a lot about food before.
Catching fly with chopstick and eat it? Nothing special about that but over here, you get skewered scorpions, bugs, beetles, silkworms, centipede, crickets, grasshopper and many more. Ewww…
If you are thinking of having seafood, think again! All are not just an ordinary seafood but a lot of other weird stuffs. Starfish, sea snakes, serpent alike fish, mantis prawns, sea horse, some amphibians and many more..
If by any chance you see cockroaches or whatever moving things, don’t kill it.. eat it! Maybe you can sandwich them and put some seasoning/flavoring sauce to improve the taste of it. OR to save time, just eat it raw if you dare!
If that is not fear factor enough for you, try this, all internal organs starting from testicles, penis, kidneys, heart, stomach etc. I am not sure about you but it turned me straight off and felt like puking even when I just glanced at the photos.
I might be adventurous but not to that extend/desperate yet. I do not mind to spend more on food but not this kind of food.
But But.. I managed to catch a daring foreigner who tried to excruciate himself by trying out the deep fried scorpions. To him, it tastes like chicken in taste and peanuts in texture.
Still I am not up to that challenge YET and never will.
Wang Fu Jing Street
Beijing,China
GPS: 39.910543, 116.411079
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Did you know that ancient people secured food through two methods, hunting and gathering and agricultural? Due to civilization and globalization, lands become very limited for agricultural activities, mostly filled with modern buildings.
Hunting is proven working for centuries. Great method should be cultivated to prevent extinction. That is why, TikkoSS always hunt for food to feed his fat.
If you follow my blog, you must have come across Food Hunting in KimChiLand (part 1/2) and Food Hunting in KimChiLand (part 2/2) before. This is another food hunting but in different land, in “Pirate”land.
Not only Wang Fu Jing is a famous shopping street, this place is a heaven of oriental food. If you are a big eater with bottomless stomach like me, you can easily get it filled here with various local and traditional food.
Do not walk on the main street as you will only find fast food restaurants or high class cafés. Try on back alley. If you are not adventurous enough or have a weak stomach, please bring along your stomachache medication 
Please stop reading this if you are in diet mode or hungry. The following food hunt evidences will definitely help anorexic to build their desire to eat more! Over here, you get a lot of desserts, drinks, cookies.. more like if you name it, you get it.
If you happen to be here, give it a try on local yogurt. It is sourishly refreshing. If you drink on spot and return the bottle, you save about 1 RMB (~RM0.50) but hey, if you like agriculture, the bottles are just nice as an alternative to vase.
Well, there are plenty of foods here but I can only select few to write. One of the “DO NOT TRY” is the stinky beancurd. From the innocent appearance, I thought it is just a normal fried beancurd with deliciously tempting sauce.
BUT HELL NO.. the smell is awfully disgusting. I tried this stinky stuff before inMalaysiaand I am not a big fan of it although it tastes not too bad when you put in your mouth. Now, is another fear factor moment for me.
DANG..it tastes even worse when you munch it. The feeling is like biting a piece of hard-soft textured S*** in your mouth. YUKS! Make sure you have mouth refresher later..
On the other side of the coins, the BBQ scallops and osyters are a must try. If I remember correctly, I think it is only cost about RMB 5-10 (RM 2.50 – RM 5.00). Cheap and so not the same like the stinky beancurd.
Both are slightly cheesy and spicy but with nice fragrant especially when it is newly barbequed. The seafood here apparently is very fresh although I did not spotted any water source beside the Wang Fu Well .. hehe
If you think that is about it, you are so wrong. The food street does not end here. If you are patient enough to walk around, I bet you will find a lot other interesting delicacies such as china-made meat burger, desserts and pastries. All are equally delicious.
Not to shock you, I have removed most of the foods that I ate that day and only show you 1% of food that I tried. Some good and some bad .. I mean really bad but hey, it is not the foods but it is the adventure that counts, right?
Wang Fu Jing Street
Beijing,China
GPS: 39.909378, 116.410999
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Have you ever think about why is it 360o and not 400o or 800o? 360 is an approximate number of days, a full rotation of arc and an equivalent of 2π. Sometimes, 360o is also referred to oo as both are pointing in the same direction in geometrical chart.
Don’t be shocked if you see 361o in China. It is not a mistake as everything is possible in China. In fact, 361o is one of the famous brands here in mainland. Being 1o ahead of everyone or only 1o as compare to others is something you have to figure it out.
More like if I tell you, I will have to kill you kinda thingy. BUT what I can tell you is this “well”, once a source of soul saviour, an elixir of life which now turned into the famous landmark in Beijing.
IF you are a shopaholic, you might want to inform your driver to bring you here, to Wang Fu Jing Street. Don’t get cheated by the skyscraper shopping mall as the jewel is just right below your feet.
Shopping is not my cup of strawberry juice but food and interesting handicraft are. Instead of paying few hundred bucks for Chinese orchestra, you get one here for free. Maybe my right brain was not at work at that time but definitely I need an ear muff
A few skilled handymen were spotted while sneaking around the back alley. Not to worry as this place is kind of safe except you need to particularly look after your own wallet and purse.
If you are there, you must catch these two miniature model maker and soap crafter. Their fine artworks are stunningly detailed.
Just like any other tourist attraction spot, you get almost everything you want to see. A lot of live performers, exhibitions, high tech electronic stuffs bla bla. I am lucky to catch the BMW M3 Tiger Edition official launching.
Nothing special about the car except it is expensive with citrusy striking color. Coincidently, I came across a stall that sells interesting dynamic LED display on T-Shirt. Oh yea.. light up with colourful message when you wear it. Creative isn’t it?
Not only that, I covertly snapped a few photos that are irresistibly interesting. Don’t think a side when you see a t-shirt with a printed wording “I Love BJ”. It means nothing but I Love BlackJack. Yea.. BlackJack.
See.. the “Chinese version” of Obama is in traditional Communist uniform. Please don’t confuse with “real” President Obama in US when you see this. He might not be very happy to know about this.
Before end this, ICBC bank also caught my attention because ICBC means want die cannot die in Hokkien.. ROFLMAO.. There are plenty more things to see and you should experience it yourself.
Wang Fu Jing Street
Beijing, China
GPS: 39.909802,116.411412
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