Healthy Living - Vegetarian Food in Beijing

After all the excessive eating over the Chinese New Year, it's a good time to eat something a that's bit easier on the stomach. Of course, Chinese eat many vegetable-only dishes anyway, but nevertheless there are many good vegetarian and vegan restaurants in town, and I went to one of my favourite ones recently, see photos.

Now don't get turned off by the thought of bland vegetarian food which you get in the West, such as beans, lentils, raw carrots, alfafa or plain tofu even. Here in Beijing you can find many different vegetarian dishes, with different styles and different tastes. They can be quite different to the mock meat dishes you get in Hong Kong, where it can be too oily or too sweet.

 

China has a long tradition of vegetarian food starting over 1500 years ago in Buddhist temples, and no egg, garlic or spring onion was allowed. Confucius was probably vegetarian as well. From there it spread to the imperial family and then to ordinary citizens. The main ingredients used are soybean products such as tofu, fresh vegetables and even some flowers and tea leaves.

There are several dozen different restaurants to choose from in Beijing, some near tourist sites, some in outlying temples, some easy to find, others hidden down narrow hutongs; some with character and charm, some decorated like fast food cafes; some with cheap buffets, and a few with expensive a la carte menus. Some are state-owned with minimal service and traditional dishes, and some are privately-owned with innovative fusion food; some cater to foreigners whilst others don't have any English-speaking staff at all. 

Some have Buddhist inspired names such as "Lotus in Moonlight", "Pure Lotus", "Still Thoughts", "Sea of Mercy" and "Bodhi-Sake", so you can expect calming and tasteful decor. Others have more common names such as Veggie Love Kitchen, Loving Hut, and Vegetarian Tiger (particularly appropriate for this year). Some, such as Wo Xing Wo Su and Xu Xiang Zhai, are unpronouncable and won't mean anything to you unless you know Chinese and the pinyin system of 'spelling'. Talking about pinyin, perhaps the phrases 'wo bu chi rou' or 'wo chi su' for "I don't eat meat" and "I am vegetarian" will come in handy for you.

There are some good vegetarian restaurants near the National Museum of Fine Arts, Lama Temple and Confucius Temple (see blog on Ancient Scholars July 2009) or MOMA, which you might be visiting as part of an architectural tour (see blog on Beijing Architecture Jan. 2010). Try Roast Beijing Duck without the duck, or Chicken in Chili Sauce or Stir-fried Prawns or Grilled Fish Country Style, all meatless. Another dish I saw on the menu, Steamed Sliced Pork with White Gourd, said it can "....promote weight loss, reduce inflammation, release heat and purge pollution and toxins....". We certainly need that with all the recent sandstorms!

Beijing's Fabric Market is Fab!

Some of my clients have been to Beijing several times and so want to go somewhere different, away from the must-see sights full of tour groups. I wrote about Badachu (8 Great Temples) last August and shopping at my local market last July. Well, this time I want to tell you about a huge market, the so-called fabric market. There, you can fit yourself out with a complete new wardrobe, tailor-made if you want, choose soft furnishings for your whole house, and lots more!

I took a friend to this off-the-beaten track market recently and he raved about the unique fabrics available. It doesn't look promising from the outside, a series of dull warehouse buildings on a dusty, crowded road, but inside, well a whole new world of weird and wonderful goods: not just fabrics, such as linens, cashmere, silks, cottons, printed, woven, cut to any size or length you need, but also accessories, cosmetics, bags, wallets, belts, jewelry, clocks and watches, .....if you like markets, if you like hunting for something unusual, if you want a unique souvenir from China, then this is a fun place I can take you to! 

Of course if you are a Harrods, John Lewis, Macy's or Nordstrom customer (or perhaps in these days of recession a Wal-Mart customer), you won't want to go near this market. Silk Alley, Friendship Store, Yashow or any of Beijing's new shopping malls will be enough of a downgrade for you. Similarly if you are on a 10-day-see-all-of-China tour then you won't have time to go off the beaten track for some adventure. Not only is the market a 40 min drive to the edge of town, it's also laid out in a random way.

However, if like my friend, you want to explore places where the locals go and get an unbeatable opportunity to pick up a bargain, then this is the place for you. The service can be a bit, well, minimalist, but I can help you deal with that. And although everything is very cheap, I can help to negotiate the price down even further for you.

You can be creative, mix and match, choose your material and accessories and then take them to a tailor to make something to your own design....or make a copy of your favourite Armani shirt or whatever. Just let your imagination go! How about new curtains, or sofa covers or duvet cover? How about making a new suit or shirt? Silk underwear? Leather trousers? A new party frock?

I couldn't resist getting something. I picked out a cotton print with a colourful flowery pattern, just like a Paul Smith design, and will take it to my favourite tailor, the one who made the winter coat I showed you in January's blog, to make into a new shirt for the Spring. I'll show it to you - and the market - next time you come!

Chinese New Year - still celebrating!

We're nearly there! After all the build up and excitement before February 14th, the start of the Chinese New Year, it will soon be day 15, which marks the official end of the "tiger" celebrations.

And thank goodness. No more paying high prices for vegetables and fruit. No more dumpling making and dumpling dinners. No more crowding in the parks to see the temple fairs, and 50 yuan (7USD) charges if you want to park your car nearby.

No more deafening fireworks and firecrackers which keep you up after midnight or wake you up at dawn (especially on the fifth day, 'po wu', when it seemed everyone rushed out to be the first to get up and let off fireworks in the early moming!). No more forgetting what the date is since during this period we count the days starting from February 14th, which is 'chu yi' or '1st day of the month'.

Of course it has been fun in many ways.

We decorated our flat with papercuts and flowers, including fragrant narcissus which have bloomed throughout the holiday.

It was a good time for me to get together with my family, not just brothers and sisters, but also uncles, aunts, cousins and their children and children's children, who call me 'yeye' or grandad! Each kid was particularly excited to see me and other relatives because each one expected a 'hongbao' or red packet with money.

Thank goodness each family only has one child! I don't mind because one day when I really look like a grandad they will be giving me 'hongbao'!

There was time to play cards with friends and relatives. Driving around was a pleasure with few cars on the road, except near each temple fair.

You can see some interesting things at the temple fairs, some even get up your nose! The shopping malls were all open and decorated with lots of red colour.

I bought a new hat to welcome the spring - don't I look cool, haha (but it doesn't match my new coat I showed you last month)! And of course, when it was too cold to go out, there was lots of TV, and lots of repeats of old and new spring festival gala shows.

For those of you who like numbers, here are some taken from the "Global Times":

Fireworks
90 � number of fires caused by fireworks from New Year's Eve to the fifth day of the Spring Festival
347 � number of injuries caused by the fires
960 � number of cameras in Beijing's 11 parks watching out for firework accidents
2,200 � number of security guards prepared to prevent firework accidents in Beijing's 11 parks
79.69 tons � firecracker remains cleaned up on the morning of Near Year's Day
730,000 � number of police sent out to prevent accidents and control fireworks on Feb 18, the fifth day of the Spring Festival
Transportation
200,000 � number of people returning to Beijing on Feb 18
Restaurants
1,500 � number of trays of dumplings sold by Huifeng Traditional Beijing Restaurant on Feb 18
300,000 yuan � turnover in one day at Gushengli Barbecue, Ditan Temple Fair during the first five days of the Festival
35.9% � sales increase in Beijing's restaurants on Spring Festival eve
Accidents
621 � number of ambulances sent out on Feb 13 and Feb 14
563 � number of emergency medical technicians travelling around to give medical treatment on Feb 13 to 14
288 � number of injures caused in total on Feb 13 and Feb 14
Temple fairs
25,000 � number of visitors Ditan temple fair welcomed on Feb 13, the first day it opened
66,000 � number of visitors Changdian temple fair welcomed on Feb 14, the first day it opened
80,000 � number of tourists attending Chaoyang Park International Temple Fair on Feb 15
50,000 � number of visitors Shijingshan Temple Fair welcomed on Feb 15
Tourist attractions
166,500 � number of visitors Beijing's 19 most important tourist attractions welcomed on the first day of the Spring Festival
60,000 � number of pilgrims visiting the Lama Temple on Feb 14

Feb 28th marks the Lantern Festival (and further eating, this time of round dumplings called yuanxiao).

Wouldn't you like to taste those delicious balls (made of glutinous rice powder with a sweet filling)? I can save some for your next visit, if you like.

Happy New Year of the Tiger!

In case you didn't know, the Chinese New Year starts on 14th February this year. If you are 36 or 48 or 60 (or other multiples of 12) years old this year, then it's your year, Tiger! Join such famous people as Marco Polo, Beethoven and Marx, and be prepared for lots of good fortune, energy and power, as well as 'virility, prowess and cunning', as shown by theTiger Man, courtesy of Utopia.  

Like Christmas in the West, this is a time for family reunions. Out-of-town workers have been going home since the start of the 40-day travel season end of January.

That's why there have been long queues at main railway stations to buy tickets, and even more pushing and squeezing to get on a train. It is estimated that 210 million train journeys and 29 million plane trips will be made in the 40 days, that's almost the whole of the population of the USA on the go! Luckily I just have to drive my car for less an hour to get to my old family home.

Also like Christmas, it's a time for eating, eating and eating! I've already had several dinners and reunions with friends and relatives whom we don't normally have time to meet during the rest of the year. I've also made several shopping trips to local markets and supermarkets to prepare for eating and cooking at home.

Every family will make dumplings, whereas the richer ones will splash out on a banquet at a restaurant. However, although business will be brisk, the owners, as well as flower and chocolate sellers say it's a disaster for them that Valentine's day is also at this time.

According to the fortune tellers, it's not a good year for marriage, this year being a so-called widow year, so there has been a last minute rush to get married in the old bull year. If you didn't make it in time, you'll just have to live in sin and/or keep up the Valentine romance for the rest of the new year. And if you're lucky (or unlucky) enough to be single, and you're looking for a mate, then beware of those tigers (and tigresses)out there, especially the beautiful young 24-yr olds, they could be strong, aggressive and difficult to tame. 

New Year decorations and papercuts will be put up everywhere, with red being the favourite lucky colour of course. Even used coke cans have their uses, as the model of the China pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, beginning this May, shows.

Tigers can be seen in every shape and size. And my younger relatives are all waiting for me to give them red packets, hong bao, or lucky money.

This is my last blog for the old year, and I've covered a whole range of topics which I hope you have found interesting. Do let me know if there is anything you want me to tell you more about. I look forward to being in touch with you again in the new year.