Banquet in Beijing

Dining in Beijing is best done in groups. I learned this the hard way when I was alone for the first two days of my trip. Meals of one are hard already, but in China where the style of eating is banquet style makes things extra lonely!

Fortunately, soon thereafter, my friends Fei and Auggie came into town, then I met up with Hayes who was already here. Them combined with new friends Annie and Greg, who ended up meeting us in Hong Kong made for some big meals that really brought back what it was like to be a students with masses of friends in Beijing.

Together we went to a restaurant that we refer to in Chinese as 漂亮杯子, otherwise known as Beautiful Cup. I have no idea what the actual restaurant name is, which makes it hard when you're trying to give people directions on how to get there.

Ordering more than 10 entrees in a private room combined with 3 750mL beers each will always remind me of Beijing. Good times :)

The summer after I left Beijing in 2007, all of my friends that stayed in the city discovered this restaurant - Alameda. Alameda is Brazilian cuisine with a 60 kuai business lunch special that was truly a delight!

Here's a peek at our dishes!

I'm glad to see that it was still there two years later. Clockwise from the Left: Pumpkin soup, Peking Duck, Filet with Gorgonzola sauce, Risotto.

There were plenty of missed restaurants that I didn't get to go to: 123, the Hunan place with the spicy fish, Dog Meat City, the French place, the German Tankstelle next to the Saudi Arabian embassy, Che - the "Spanish" restaurant that had Destiny's Child songs playing on projector in the background - the songs were so good I couldn't concentrate on hanging out with friends, Pure Lotus.... that Beijing doesn't even exist anymore I think.

On a separate note, some people have voiced their incredulous opinion that they do not understand why I post pictures of food on my blog. THIS is a food and travel blog, not that they will ever read this.