This past weekend, in a moment of hunger, inquisitiveness, birthday celebration anticipation and child-like delight, Z and I ordered McDonalds delivered to our apartment. De-livered. What glutinous gluttons!
I am almost embarrassed to tell you about it, but the sheer fact that McDonalds delivery exists at all is reason enough to have tried it and to have lived to tell the tale. Besides, it was Z's birthday, so it was a special occasion of the lazy - we don't feel like leaving the apartment today - and if you could have anything you want delivered to the door right now what would you want - variety. Hot fries, a Big Mac, and Chicken McNuggets it is! Coming right up!
I have eaten fast-food three times since we arrived in Beijing. That amounts to exactly three times more fast-food consumption in the past three months than in all of the past year in the States (not counting that drunken evening that involved over indulging in White Castle's menu of miniature munchies).
Let me tell you: there may be no better fry than the one that is delivered piping hot to your own front door.
On the flip side of that fast food frenzy burger that same day, was this: dinner at a fabulous Chinese restaurant with six new friends. Since I too, am a December baby a mere three days apart from Z, we celebrated together in style at the China Lounge.
The glitz and swank of the China Lounge is highlighted by its high back black-and-white chairs, purple accents, modern colorful art, crystal chandeliers and sparkles of silver. The atmosphere was made all the more special because we were, by far, the loudest, laughing, group of all the quiet restaurant's patrons.
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| the sparkle |
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In between stories, and getting-to-know-yous, at a large round table for eight, we shared dish after dish of modern Beijing cuisine: pork spare ribs with a citrus crunch, melt in your mouth mushrooms with a brown sugar glaze, egg and jasmine jiaoza, spicy pickled cucumber, mini pork buns (amazing!), gong bao ji ding, tofu sticks that disguised themselves as fried cheese, chicken curry, spicy beef... .
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| mini pork buns |
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| spare ribs |
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| spicy pickled cucumber |
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| melt in your mouth mushrooms. who knew?! |
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| december birthday babies |
It was memorable meal with friends, followed by a drink or two at another swanky bar nearby. Our search for a good dirty martini in Beijing may be over for two reasons: (1) George's bar inside Worker's Stadium makes a real* and a really good dirty martini (2) so does my husband, especially when he's got the right barware with which to shake it.
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| the after party |
To wrap up the evening, the after after-party was a quiet celebration between A and Z. I sang my best Mandarin rendition of Happy Birthday, while Z blew out the candles on the brownie cake I made him (compliments again of that handy metal steamer), and we enjoyed our favorite classic drink in our new martini glasses (thanks to our friend who's been enduring our complaints about Beijing's lack of dirty martinis).
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| beijing brownie birthday cake |
So, cheers, to us! Cheers to birthdays in Beijing! Cheers to new friends, unexpected gifts, and sharing good food together!
Cheers!
*Up until recently, the search for the perfect dirty martini in Beijing brought us only laughter, confusion and muddled olives. Despite being told that what we had before us was indeed, dirty, we have been served lychee martinis (impostors!), "did they chew these olives and spit them into the glass?" and "is this just water?"
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