![]() The crispy fried shiitakes with coriander were also outstanding, I thought. I love those anyway, but the pumpkin gave the filling a delectable creaminess that was a nice twist on the normal version. It was a ton of food for the four of us but we devoured most of it. If you just said "holy crap" ( 我靠 wǒkào) in your head you are well-justified. And for dessert: Candied sweet potato with sweet cream ( 拔丝红薯 básī hóngshǔ) Pine nut beef stir fry ( 松仁牛肉 sōngrén niúròu) Cashew kung-pao chicken ( 宫保鸡丁 gōngbǎo jīdīng) Garlic broccoli with goji berries ( 蒜蓉西兰花 suàn róng xīlánhuā) Red-braised pork belly ( 红烧肉 hóng shāo ròu) Wok fried string beans ( 干炒豆角 gān chǎo dòujiǎo) Red-braised eggplant ( 红烧茄子 hóng shāo qiézi) Flash fried lamb with leeks ( 葱爆羊肉 cōng bào yángròu) ![]() Fried shiitake mushrooms with coriander and carrots ( 素炒膳丝 sù chǎo shàn sī) Pork and pumpkin potstickers ( 猪肉南瓜锅贴 zhūròu nánguā guōtiē) The food was prepared in sight by Jen's former cooking teachers, and it was a sampling of some traditional favorites as well as some more creative options. She was nice enough to set us up with a special reservation on short notice and she signed us up for the awesome 10-course dinner complete with wine and the ever-popular Yanjing beer ( 燕京啤酒 Yānjīng píjiǔ). In true last-minute style (and encouraged by my mom), I emailed Jen from the airport in San Francisco a few hours before we left for Beijing to see if she was around. You have to contact BSK ahead of time to make a reservation either for dinner or actual cooking classes. Jen's place was in - where else? Black Sesame hutong ( 黑芝麻胡同 hēizhīma hútòng), No. The hutongs date from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and some have cool, whimsical names like Silver Bowl hutong, Chicken Claw hutong, and Big Tea Leaf hutong (where I lived for a little while). Jen's place turned out to be the first of three surprisingly delightful culinary and brewtastic finds that we came across in the alleyways.īeijing is famous for its ancient alleys, known as "hutongs," ( 胡同, hútòng). I found this fascinating, because when I left in 1999, a foreigner operating a business in an old hutong would have been difficult to pull off at best, if not impossible (as far as I know). The restaurant is in the back of a renovated courtyard in one of Beijing's dwindling historic alleyways. First up: Beijing!ĭongcheng District, Beijing, China 100009Īfter a full day of going through three boxes of my crap at my friend Rao Shan's parents' house that had been there gathering dust for the last decade, we set out for my Journalism School classmate, Jen Lin-Liu's restaurant/cooking school in the heart of Beijing's old city.īlack Sesame Kitchen ( 黑芝麻厨房 hēizhīma chúfáng) is not easy to find, but it is worth the search. Welcome to Chomping Thru China, ( 中国食记, Zhōngguó shí jì) a three-part travelogue about where to eat in different cities in China! This is not a comprehensive guide, it is more just a bunch of places we ate at and liked on our recent visit to China.
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