February Update
Xin nian kuai le (Happy New Year),
Last month we got our first topic request. Woo Hoo! Please keep them coming. It is a lot more interesting being able to write about something that you want to learn about. This month in addition to the usual updates I’m going to write about food: what we eat, grocery shopping, Chinese food and some of the differences between Australia and Beijing. I’m also going to create a new gallery with photos of food 
. This should be a lot of fun. On with the update.
Questions and Answers
Q: Nathaniel, have you found a job?
A: Maybe. I have an interview on Monday that looks fairly promising.
Q: What’s an expat?
A: An expat is an abbreviation of expatriate. An expatriate is someone who is voluntarily living overseas.
Q: What is Big 2?
A: Big 2 is a card game that is very popular in China. It’s like a combination of scumbag and poker. You can find the rules at http://www.answers.com/topic/big-two
Food
So what is food like in China? Well that really depends on where you live, what you want to eat and what you can afford. In Beijing we can get basically anything. There are lots of restaurants and import stores all over the place and from what I’ve been told the other major cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong are the same. If there is anything that you really miss from home then you can always buy it over the Internet or get friends and family to send it to you.
What we eat
At the moment we are eating a mixture of Chinese food and restaurant food. Lately we’ve had Italian, Indian, Thai, Brazilian, Canadian, French, Mexican and fast food. Our Ayi (maid) cooks for us on Monday and Thursday so always have dinner at home at least two nights a week. She generally cooks three dishes which have Chinese and Western influences. Apart from those two nights we usually eat at restaurants because it’s cheaper to eat out than cook at home. One of the nicest things about China is that over here we can afford to eat at restaurants instead of just fast food which is only what we could afford in Australia. We can eat like Kings and Queens at really posh Chinese restaurants for less than $10. Not only that but we’ve eaten at some of the best restaurants in Beijing and my most expensive meal so far was less than $30.
Here’s a summary of some of the places we’ve eaten:
Restaurants:
* Cheap Chinese restaurant = $4
* Fancy Chinese restaurant = $7
* Italian (local franchise) = $7
* Indian = $10
* Thai = $10
* Brazilian (Very Posh) = $16
* Canadian (Diner) = $10
* Mexican (local franchise) = $10
* French (Very Posh/romantic) = $30
Western Franchises:
* Pizza Hut = $15 (In China it’s a upmarket franchise)
* Dominos = $3 for a meal deal or $10 for a pizza.
* McDonalds = $5
* KFC = $4
* TGI Fridays = $15
* Starbucks = $5 (coffee is still expensive)
Cooking at home:
* Curry = $10
* Nachos = $16
* Steak = $10
Grocery shopping
So why is cooking at home so expensive? Well part of the problem is that most of the ingredients that we’re use to cook with at the moment are imported. The other part of them problem is that we often have to go to multiple import stores to get the ingredients that we need. The reason why we have to travel all over the city is because the import stores are constantly changing their stock. So while you might be able to buy something here this week it doesn’t mean it will be there next week. If you are looking for specific ingredients, you might have to go to three or four different import stores. Even then the ingredients that you need may not actually be in stock. That being said lots of these products are slowly making their way into the local stores which makes life a little bit easier every day.
So if our ingredients are expensive then how can the restaurants make the same food cheaper than we can? Well most of the groceries we buy are processed. For example when we made nachos we bought salsa for $5, refried beans for $3 and corn chips for $5 and $3 worth of cheese. The restaurants on the other hand make the salsa and refried beans themselves and also buy in bulk. In China it’s really cheap to buy unprocessed food and labour is also cheap. So therefore it’s cheaper to make it from scratch than buy prepared and then make it. So with that in mind imagine a supermarket in Australia without any instant 5 or 10 minute foods, well that’s China at the moment. The situation is slowly changing and in the last two months they have introduced 5 minute curries where you just add meat and cook.
So shopping in China is annoying and expensive. What’s the good side? Well these days there are lots of import stores and while they have their quirks they are fairly good over all. The that thing makes up for all the quirks is that they have a larger ranger than Australian supermarkets. This is because they don’t just have Australian brands they also have American, European and other brands from all over the world, that we don’t have in Australia. It’s been a lot of fun trying lollies from all over the world. The local stores on the other hand have a lot more Chinese brands which are a lot cheaper than western brands, some times up to three times cheaper than the import stores. It’s also been fun trying local snack foods and drinks. Both of us have fallen in love with apple flavoured fanta and a local snack called Pokey, which is a long thin biscuit covered in chocolate.
Local Stores:
* Can Coke = $0.30
* 600ml Coke = $ 0.50
* 2.5L Coke = $1.00
* Magnum = $0.50
* Chips = $1.50
* 1L Juice = $1.50
* Snacks = $1.00
* 1L Milk = $1.00
Import Stores:
* Can Dr Pepper = $1
* Tim Tams = $5
* Large Doritos = $10
* 1Kg Pastry = $15
* Herbs/Spices = $3
Chinese food
Lets get one thing straight before we even start. Chinese takeaway in Australia is nothing like real Chinese food. Even if you find a dish with the same name it rarely taste the same. Now that we’ve got that out of the way lets get down to business. When ever we look through the menu we always have to be fairly careful. Generally at least half of the menu is “weird stuff” like tongue, feet or other offal that we don’t generally eat in the west. Lots of Chinese dishes also have bones because Chinese think that meat on the bone has more flavour and is better for you. So once we’ve eliminated half the menu the rest of the dishes are fairly good. Some of my favourite dishes are rose favoured beef, sizzling beef, stir fried broccoli, crushed cucumber, jiaozi (dumplings) and toffee banana. They also have a lot of desserts using pumpkin that aren’t too bad.
Oddities
No discussion about food in China would be complete if it didn’t mention food on sticks and street vendors. Chinese seem to eat virtually anything on a stick, starfish, sea horse, silk cocoons, baby birds, scorpion, squid, sheep’s penises and my favourite toffee fruit. Sheree loves toffee banana and toffee strawberries. Generally the food on a stick is sold by street vendors which generally have their store on the back of a bike. At the moment it’s still cold so they are selling fruit on a stick (in summer the toffee melts) and baked sweet potatoes. Street vendors generally sell food for a couple of kuai (less than 50c). There are also street vendors that sell plants, drinks, socks, watches, jewellery, basically anything that’s small and portable. From what I’ve been told none of the street vendors are legal so every now and then they will grab their stuff and pedal off in random directions because they’ve been tipped off that a raids about to happen. As well as the numerous temporary stands there are also some semi-permanent stands in city that sell breakfast every morning but close up shop by 10am.
February
There were a lot of little things that happened during February but they were not as impressive as Chinese New Year which was absolutely amazing. Here’s a quick list of some of the things we did:
* We went to a couple of new restaurants.
* We went to the Yan Oasis Resort for two nights for a belated anniversary.
* We relaxed at home and went shopping.
* We visited a Chinese village for Chinese New Year.
Chinese New Year
Nothing can truly describe Chinese. You can only experience it. That being said I’m going to try to do my best to describe Chinese New Year. Imagine it’s the day before Chinese New Year and for the last couple of weeks you’ve heard rumours about Chinese New Year. Some people say it’s amazing, other say not to go out doors because it’s so dangerous. For the last couple of weeks small fireworks have been going off. Initially you were shocked by the sound of Chinese bangers (firecrackers that go bang, bang, bang, bang depending on length) that can go off anywhere and at anytime, but by now you are use to them and don’t even turn around. Now that the scene has been set lets get on with the story.
Throughout the whole day Chinese bangers have been going off every hour. At 7:00pm it start to get dark and there were occasional small fireworks but you ignore them and enjoy dinner. After you have enjoyed dinner at talked for a while you decided to go down stairs and light your own fireworks.
By now it’s about 9:00pm and the fireworks are being set off more frequently around your apartment. You light some of the smaller fireworks but then you hear a big firework explode nearby and 5 or 6 car alarms start going off around you. You can see the show from where you are so you grab your fireworks and try to find somewhere where you will have a better view. You arrive at the park where you have a much better view of the surrounding area. You start lighting some more fireworks and within 5 minutes there are 5 other groups nearby letting off fireworks in addition to the fireworks going off in the distance. Over the next half hour you use up most of your smaller fireworks, fountains, cherry bombs, flash bangs, strobe lights, Roman candles, etc. You are all getting cold and you’ve decided to save your big fireworks for later on, so you all head home to relax.
At 10:30pm you decided to start walking to a spot that had good fireworks last year. Fireworks are still going off every couple of minutes and they were going off the entire time you were inside relaxing. At about 11:00pm there’s a really nice show a couple of blocks away right above a new hotel. It’s goes for about 15 minutes but by now you’re getting distracted by the other fireworks that are starting to go off. There are lots of fireworks going off near your complex and some more just to your right.
At about 11:30 the bangers start. The first ones you notice are in a small side street and they look like they have a lot of fireworks so you move closer to investigate. You watch their fireworks for a couple of minutes but by now fireworks are going off constantly in every direction possible. You decided to go back to the main main street to see what is happening there and when you arrive you are blown away (not literally). They have bangers going off on both sides of the street with a fountain just beyond them and the hotel at the end of the street has started up it’s show again. It’s crazy and at midnight it just gets even more insane. To talk to your friends you have to yell into their ears because it’s so load. For the next half hour the fireworks don’t stop. You’re curious about why the bangers and fountains haven’t stopped this entire time. As you walk down the street, fireworks are being lit ever 5 meters or so. You find out that they had almost 2 trolleys of bangers and the guy with the fountains had an entire 4 wheel drive full of fireworks. As the fireworks start winding down you watch a guy on his bike ride down the street with bangers still going off on either side.
By now it’s 1:30 and the fireworks are starting to become less frequent, a few every minute. You are getting tied and cold so you decided to walk home. On the way you catch up with some of your friends who went to other places in Beijing and find out that it has been the same all over Beijing and probably all over China. You finally get to bed at 3:00am with the fireworks still going strong. For next two weeks fireworks keep going off sporadically but nothing compared to Chinese New Year.
Sheree’s Update
Now that you’ve read Nat’s entry, hopefully you still have enough time and energy to read a little update from me.
Mimi still hasn’t had her kittens, but she is fat and must be about to pop any day now. We took her to the vet a week ago and found out that she is going to have 3 kittens. It’s exciting that we are going to be grandparents, but for then next 3 months at least we will end up having 4 cats in the apartment. So if you’re allergic to cats don’t plan to visit us in the next 3 months.
I had a week holiday over Chinese New Year and it was a nice break. But now I am back at school, full steam ahead through this month and into April when I get another week off for May 1st China Day. I have started to take on more responsibility this semester. I am running a Theatre Sports (Drama skills) group on Friday afternoons periods 6 and 7, this week I am starting a quilling club after school on Thursdays, and I have also just signed up to be the teacher liaison to the parents organisation. So I am being kept very busy with all of that, as well as the normal planning and teaching that I usually do.
Ummm what else to say…Shopping I can always talk about shopping!
I have found a new clothes store that I love. They seem to sell seconds stock of overseas brands. It’s called the 25 Kuai store and most items are 25 kuai (about $4) I was getting singlet tops (a Canadian brand) for 10 kuai, needless to say I bought about 6. I have also gotten some lovely sweaters, jumpers, gym pants and dress tops for 25 kuai each. But I made the mistake of sharing my great find with my friends and now they are showing their friends. Now when I go they are always low on stock or out of the larger sizes. But that’s life.
Today I bought the cutest handbag. It’s a stiletto shoe made into a handbag. It’s sooo cool, I’ll have to post a photo of it soon.
In other news, we are going to the Australian Ball this weekend (March 10th). Some friends of ours from the Embassy invited us. It seems like it will be a fun night, but of course it’s a black tie Ball and I needed a dress. I’m getting a Chinese style dress made it wasn’t cheap, but we didn’t really have a lot of time for bargaining. Compared to Australian prices it is worth it, but just not as cheap as we would like, considering that we live in Beijing and know the prices of a lot of things. In total I am paying just over $200 for a 2 piece dress. A full length black silk gown with a Chinese style long jacket in blue, with tall collar and Chinese knot design on the front. It falls open revealing the black gown underneath. Considering that it is custom made to fit my body shape perfectly and tailored for me in a week with a fitting before pickup I’m very happy. Once again I will post some pictures after I have picked it up.
Anyway, that’s going to have to be all from me. Thanks for reading your way through this essay. I hope that you learnt something. Hopefully the next one will be shorter and with less of a wait.
Till next time, love you all.
Blessings from China Nat, Sheree and Mimi xxx
