Miscellaneous Observations

Catch a flight and buy a car at the airport

From what I could see, Beijing is still bumbling along despite signs of an economic slowdown.

Restaurants like Din Tai Fung are doing a roaring business before 6pm, and Da Dong Roast Duck is serving dishes on Dragon Air.

However there are some empty store fronts and particularly at Panjiayuan many temporary stalls were not occupied which was unusual.

What is also interesting is that many of my local friends told me of their employers, state-owned enterprises, soliciting employees for new ways to make more money.

Seems like the good old days of stimulus packages and subsidies may be over.

Nevertheless for the most part my friends seem to be doing well, finding their way through the system or taking a break from it by studying abroad, mostly on scholarships.

It's those who break away from the state-owned enterprises who begin to flourish because they see possibilities outside the system.

Those left behind seem stagnant though the salary is steady, perks are not bad, but there is hardly a chance for promotion or change.

Watch out for the manhole cover!

Hopefully those who escape the state system will be able to find their feet in more progressive companies; or if anything realize the possibilities of doing things differently.

And French car maker Citroen is trying to stand out from the crowd.

I was surprised to see the car showcased at Beijing Capital International Airport.

It came complete with a young well-dressed woman manning the booth, though she didn't seem keen at doing her job.

But who is going to buy a car at the airport?

Or is this a marketing ploy to get all touchy feely with potential customers who have the money to fly?

Perhaps, but seemed strange.

Another anomaly is seeing road projects left unfinished, particularly sidewalks.

Why are they making sidewalks so hazardous to walk on?

A not quite finished curb that can be dangerous at night

That's because many of the sidewalks that are paved with bricks aren't all finished properly, especially at the curbs. And those places surrounding manholes aren't properly finished either.

The worst part is trying to walk home at night and not being able to see the uneven pavement in front of you and possibly tripping.

It seemed that the stretch from where my hotel was, at Dongsishitiao all the way east towards Sanlitun, either the edges of the sidewalk were unfinished or the curbs.

Even worse, some have extra bricks lying around near the holes and no one finishing the job off.

Very annoying.

Oh well, as I say, TIC -- This Is China.

The Power of Weibo

A friend eagerly told me today about the power of weibo, or the Chinese version of Twitter.

She believes this is the best way for people to voice their opinions, particularly criticisms of officials and using this form of social media to make them accountable.

A recent example she cited was about a party official from the Yuexiu district government in Guangzhou who got into a physical and verbal fight with a flight attendant.

Fang Daguo, 41, was boarding a China Southern Airlines flight from Hefei, Anhui province to Guangzhou with his wife last Wednesday.

He allegedly confronted flight attendant Zhou Yumeng because she had told the couple to put their luggage away in the overhead compartment but did not help them.

Zhou posted her side of the incident on Weibo, saying that Fang verbally threatened her, saying he had good relations with her boss, and that he bruised her arm after he grabbed it. She also cried in the incident.

In her post, she said she did not want financial compensation, but an apology.

And as expected, he said nothing.

Chinese netizens or internet users were all angered after reading Zhou's version of the events and demanded Fang apologize.

But now we hear the ending of the story -- China Daily is reporting that Fang has now been suspended and that he, a political commissar for the Yuexiu district Armed Forces Department, is being investigated.

There were rumours that Zhou was fired from her job, but China Southern Airlines says she still works for the company.

It's victories like these that make netizens excited about their ability to influence the government and make its officials more accountable for their actions.

In Fang's case, if the allegations are true, it's just another official who thinks it's beneath him to take orders from someone else and believes guanxi will save him.

That kind of arrogance is exactly what the Chinese hate the most.

And they will make sure these officials get what they think they deserve -- a public flogging online.

Lost and Found

Looking out at Dongsishitiao around 10am on Monday

Today was absolutely gorgeous -- after the rains the sky was so clear and blue today it was amazing this was Beijing.

Friends had told me that just before I arrived the air was so polluted, with no wind to clear the air or rain to wash the dust away.

Mao just barely visible behind the green sheeting

It wasn't too hot and perfect to walk outside which is what I did.

Before lunch I paid a quick visit to Tiananmen Square but was disappointed to see the Gate of Heavenly Peace with Chairman Mao's portrait obscured by green scaffolding. Perhaps they are fixing up the area before the 18th National People's Congress, the date of which has yet to be revealed.

The square itself is looking less like a square and more like a concrete park with large rectangular screens broadcasting feel-good images of China, and more greenery perhaps to soften up its image. However there are intense security checks just to get into the square which completely deters anyone from even thinking of doing something that could cause a ruckus.

I crossed over to the north side and walked towards Wangfujing. Many people were eating yogurt popsicles, hanging out on street benches napping or chatting amongst themselves.

Wangfujing is just as commercial as it's always been. While Louis Vuitton and Gucci don't have an overt presence, stores like Nike, Van Cleef & Arpels, Hermes and Zara are there.

Security guard getting his shade thanks to McDonald's

And when a security guard has a McCafe umbrella to shade him from the sun, there must be some kind of guanxi between the government and McDonald's...

However people mostly wandered up and down the street gawking at the high-end merchandise.

While we didn't really need it today, all along the pedestrian-only path there are these tall metal machines with vents spewing cool mist.

It's a great idea to beat the heat, but is it really environmentally friendly, having these machines using energy to pump out mist that immediately evaporates?

Nevertheless, it was even more entertaining seeing some country bumpkins visiting the area, point at the machines and wonder what they were for. They probably thought those city folk just can't take the heat.

An energy-guzzling mist-making machine

Perhaps my happiest moment today was when I got my watch repaired.

Five years ago when I first lived in Beijing, I went to a repair shop in Wangfujing to get my watch fixed.

The repair man chastised me for not taking better care of my watch, exclaiming how dirty it was. He replaced a part and cleaned the watch as good as new and warned me not to get it wet.

But five years later, my watch would stop and start in the last few months and then yesterday the hands refused to move.

So I took it to Wangfujing, hoping the repair shop would still be there -- and it was!

The same repair man wasn't there, but a cheery one who meticulously took apart my watch, checked several parts and then revealed that one of them was broken and needed to be replaced. I can't remember if it was the same one, but I was relieved when the watch started working again.

He didn't criticize me for the state of my watch but cleaned it carefully before putting it back together.

I was so thrilled the watch was fixed as I've had it for at least a dozen years and find no reason to replace it.

The watch repair guy examining my timepiece

However my joy was short lived when I walked to the end of Wangfujing to a hutong where a friend had taken me to for dinner once.

It was purportedly the first restaurant in Beijing after the end of the Cultural Revolution and the beginning of reform and opening up in the late 1970s.

I don't remember the food being good, but very oily, however it was just the historical pedigree of the place that made it special. And it was filled with laobaixing or ordinary people who were probably residents in the area.

So I was sad to see the hutong surrounded by a metal wall and the hutong was demolished.

Where did the restaurant go? Where did the people go?

It's the sad reality of development in Beijing...

Checking Out More Old Haunts

Slow-baked salmon with spinach and figs

As soon as I had booked my ticket to Beijing, my next order of
business was to reserve a table for the famous Sunday brunch at Maison
Boulud.

I used to go there periodically especially when guests were in town
and particularly missed the warm madeleines at the end!

This morning it rained and I worried about how the rest of the day
would pan out. But then eventually the rain stopped and the weather
was cool and refreshing. Not only were the temperatures perfect, but
we also breathed in some nice clean air.

For today's brunch I brought a good friend with me as we had a lot to
catch up and enjoyed the meal at the same time.

Quail egg tartine with chicken liver crostini and duck confit

However I was dismayed to find many guests did not bother to wear
decent clothes. At one table, a Caucasian couple was dressed up with
the man wearing a jacket and cufflinks, while next to them were people
in hoodies, T-shirts and shorts. How disorienting is that?

Nevertheless, we were eager to try the brunch menu and I ordered the
quail egg tartine, chicken liver crostini, frisee herb salad and
ragout of duck confit.

There were a number of flavours and textures happening in the one
dish, making it complex but also refreshing.

On top were three fried quail eggs with the yolks slightly runny, on a
bed of greens covering the crostini of chicken liver. The crunchiness
of the greens and crostini contrasted with the smoothness of the
chicken liver and we enjoyed the hearty serving of duck meat that was
not too dry.

Norwegian smoked salmon with a yolk in the middle

My friend was curious about how escargot tasted like and quite enjoyed
them, cooked in herbed butter, garlic, parsley and ham. They were
chewy, and heavily seasoned in the pungent sauce.

She also ordered the Norwegian smoked salmon, laid flat on the plate
and garnished with minced egg, a poached yolk in the middle and herb
salad with pumpernickel toast. She pronounced it delicious and
savoured each bite.

As for my main, it was prettily presented on the plate, a square piece
of slow-baked salmon, then spinach that looked like a dark green
rectangle block, then garnished with roasted black fig balsamic sauce.

On the whole it was an interesting dish that also had many flavours in
the mix. The salmon had a crispy crust but inside was moist and
perfectly cooked, while the spinach was warm and soft. There was a
small cube... couscous perhaps? It was a pity there were only two
slices of figs as this seemed like an intriguing combination with the
salmon.

Yummy madeleines that end the meal at Maison Boulud

In the end we were pretty much full (along with the French bread and
pastries), but definitely made room for the madeleines, light, lemony
mini sponge cakes sprinkled with icing sugar. A sated delight in each
bite. We felt obliged to try the petit fours but they were much too
sweet for us.

We walked off the brunch by going to Panjiayuan, another favourite
haunt of mine.

By observation there were noticeably fewer stalls open -- was this a
sign of the times? Or had people found a better way to sell their
goods?

In any event most of the things were the same. I tried to find curios
I hadn't seen before, but most were quite familiar, or variations on
things I'd seen.

Flipping through old school Chinese comic books

We wandered in the book stall area, a place I never went into before
and here many stalls were not open. There were tons of second-hand
books, mostly auction catalogues and old Chinese books, particularly
political ones. My friend was immediately brought back to her
childhood when she saw small comic books for sale. Some had historical
settings, others featured Donald Duck.

All kinds of collectable items were sold here, including coupons used
to exchange for cotton fabric, rice and meat. They were all in good
condition. There were also cigarette packages, some completely new,
others used and carefully extracted from the box. What would you do
with a whole stack of different packaging?

Then we went into the main covered market area and came to a Miao
ethnic minority woman's stall selling embroidery.

What do you do with cigarette packaging?

I've bought from them many times before and while I'm happy to buy the
embroidery, I'm sad to see that they are selling their cultural
identity for only a few hundred RMB. Many of the older pieces feature
very fine embroidery that is not done anymore. The newer designs are
colourful, but not nearly as intricate. She showed us a book pointing
out the various costumes they wore to show the different pieces of
fabric came from different parts of the outfit.

I wanted to show my friend the antique toy stall, but it was gone. It
had featured 1970s and 1980s toys made of metal and many of them moved
mechanically.

We also wandered to the back alley area where there used to be
temporary stalls next to each other, but only a few were left.

Newly-carved walnuts from the green fruit

On our way out we were surprised to see these round green fruits and
discover inside were walnuts. They were meticulously carved out of the
green flesh... but why would people want to buy them?

After seeing so many things our eyes were tired and we moved onto our
next destination -- Dawanglu.

I met another friend for dinner at Din Tai Fung. I came just before
6pm and was shocked to see the place was practically packed already.
This is arguably one of the most profitable restaurants in town.

Appetiser of seaweed, tofu and bean sprouts at Din Tai Fung

The menu has become a large red book filled with pictures. And the
variations on xiaolongbao are almost endless. There are even
xiaolongbao with black truffles inside.

But we stuck with the traditional ones and they were absolutely
divine. It's the thin skins that I love the most, holding together the
hot soup inside and combined with vinegar is a sublime experience.

We also ordered an appetizer of finely sliced seaweed, bean sprouts
and tofu that was refreshing and slightly spicy. The kaofu, or braised
wheat gluten was already sold out. Same with the river shrimps
stirfried with peas. How early do you have to come here to eat these
dishes? 5pm?

The perfectly delicious xiaolongbao

In the end we also ordered stir-fried pea shoots which were fine, but
I was disappointed with the shrimp and pork wontons, the shrimp seemed
smaller and overcooked, though the broth was the same standard as
before.

For dessert we ordered the mango with shaved ice and condensed milk.

We both gasped at the size, but the bowl was the same as the one I
remembered from before.

Nevertheless, we managed to finish the vast majority of it, the meaty
cubes of mango combined with cooling milk and ice.

Ending the meal with cubes of mango chilled in ice

By the time we finished our meal an hour and a half later, the table
next to us was about to have its third seating.

Amazing.