We were on our way to 雍和宫 Lama Temple when we spotted 雍Cafe Yong Cafe having 50% discount for takeaway coffee.
And so our first cup of latte in Beijing cost only RMB15!! For this price, the coffee was not bad.
And it felt really good to have something hot to drink in the cold 🙂
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Peking duck is one of the must-try when one is in Beijing. With prices ranging from relatively cheap ¥100+ per bird to exorbitant (¥888 for roast duck coated in real gold), we are really spoilt for choice!
After much Googling and getting recommendations from friends, we decided to narrow down to 大董烤鸭 Da Dong and 四季民福 Sijiminfu.
Our first duck stop was at 大董烤鸭 Da Dong, for the main shop was quite near our hotel.
We reached the restaurant around 12.40pm and did not have to wait too long for a table.
This was a huge place and decorated beautifully, with menu thicker than my Mathematics textbooks 😮 The prices were also rather steep, but this restaurant has won multiple awards before too.
We decided to stick to basics and ordered Half a Duck (¥144 ~S$30) with Duck Condiments (¥12/person).
After dinner at 烤肉季 Kaorouji, we strolled around the area, which had plenty of night-life activities! Bright lights everywhere, it was definitely different from what we have seen so far.
We also went to the nearby 烟袋斜街 Yandai Xiejie aka Skewed Tobacco Pouch Street, which is named after the Chinese pipe, 烟袋 Yandai, that was traditionally sold on this street. Despite being a relatively short street, there were many interesting shops selling a wide variety of stuff.
After we had walked enough to create some space in our stomach, we went back to this 吕记北京甑糕 that we saw when walking from the Subway station earlier.
The word 甑 (zeng in fourth sound) refers to the ancient kitchen utensil made of clay that was used to steam mainly rice.
For ¥20, we got a set of 4 cakes with all 4 flavours and toppings. The texture of the cake reminded us of Kueh Tutu aka Putu Piring, and the flavours were sweet and tangy, making it a lovely dessert!
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Long ago, hubby had to travel for work, and he came to 烤肉季饭庄 Kaorouji for dinner alone. This time, there are 2 of us but eating the same amount of food, haha!
This was one of the most popular 清真 halal establishment and apparently, they started 160 years ago in 1848!
It started with a farmer whose surname was 季 who sold roast beef and mutton along 什刹海 Shichahai as a street hawker back in the days of Qing Dynasty. The meat dishes were so fragrant they attracted many praises from the people in the many big mansions along Shichahai, and began calling him 烤肉季. In those days, when it comes to roast meat in Beijing, people always say 南宛北季, with 北季 referring to 烤肉季 in Shichahai.
Hence, we definitely need to check out this place!
We woke up extra early to visit 金山岭长城 Jinshanling Great Wall on our second day of arrival in Beijing!
Luckily it was still clear skies this morning, and we grabbed the buns that we bought last night and went to take the subway to 望京西站 Wangjing West Station.
At 望京西站 Wangjing West Station, we exited through Exit B, which led directly to an overhead bridge. We could see another bus interchange when we looked towards the right, but that was NOT the one. Instead, we took the stairs on the left at the end of the bridge and turned right to see a small police station on the right. We kept walking straight, past the public toilets, and saw a bus interchange with 2 gates and took the left one that says 金山岭 Jinshanling.
We had arrived just before 7.50am this Sunday morning, and there were easily 30 people in front of us (There needs to be a minimum of 20 passengers before the bus will move off, and the bus has a capacity of 50 passengers.)! Continue reading
We finally visited Beijing!
Wanting to have a taste of old Beijing, our lodging for the first 2 nights in Beijing was very near 护国寺小吃街 Huguosi Street, aka Huguosi Hutong Snack Street.
This street was first formed in the Yuan Dynasty and was named after the former 护国寺 Huguosi Temple. It was reopened on 26 October 2011, after undergoing 2 years of renovations. It starts from 新街口南大街 Xinjiekou Nandajie in the west and ends at 德胜门内大街 Deshengmennei Dajie in the east, and forms an intersection in the middle with 棉花胡同 Mianhua Hutong towards the north, and 护仓胡同 Hucang Hutong towards the south. It is a popular street known for its wide variety of snacks.
Though the hotel staff recommended that we should take a proper meal before trying out the snacks (as she was not sure if we would like the flavours) we opted to just snack our night away. Do note that most of the restaurants are not authentic local Beijing food, as we were told that most of them were opened by non-Beijing Chinese.
We finally made it to Australia!
This was our mostly unplanned itinerary for our recent trip to Melbourne and Sydney, as our main aim was to visit our friends in the 2 cities.
Each day, we would google for what looked interesting. Some days, a spur-of-the-moment thought or a sudden craving might make us decide to walk 30 minutes to go in search of it.
The weather in Sydney was way better than in Melbourne where daily temperatures could go up to 22 degrees. We didn’t have to wear our thick jackets at all in Sydney.
Our serviced apartment at Meriton Serviced Apartment Campbell was also way better than the Airbnb in Melbourne but of course, it cost a lot more too. 🙂 We do highly recommend it if your budget allows. 🙂
Most of Sydney’s markets are unlike Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market or South Melbourne Market which are fixed buildings and stalls operate from within the building and around the peripherals of the building.
Instead, most of them are temporary in nature and often make use of school compounds to stage the marketplace during weekends or designated days of the week.
Markets also differ in nature where some are dedicated to just food, like The Rocks Friday Foodie Market, others are more varied which could include fashion, accessories, art pieces of various forms (paintings, carvings, ornaments etc.), furniture, and daily tools and accessories.
When we decided to visit Ms I in Sydney and began our research, Sydney Fish Market (SFM) popped up on Google Maps and I made a note that we must come and visit because we are so fond of fish markets with its fresh seafood (or markets in general, really… Haha)!
After more research, we realized that this is the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere and the 3rd largest fish market in the world in terms of variety. It is also a popular place with over 2.7 million visitors coming here annually.
But the most exciting part for us is SFM also includes many seafood eateries within its premises and one can buy fresh seafood to cook at home, or order them and have them cooked on the spot in various styles!
We woke up bright and early this Sunday morning to catch a tram at Townhall Station to Circular Quay for the 8.10am ferry to Manly.
On Sundays, it is a flat A$2.50 for all-day travel using Opal card (if you tap on and off correctly), so it will save you a bit of money if you plan your day trips on Sundays because the normal ferry ride to Manly is A$7 one-way (Opal card is not valid for the fast ferry).
Since we thought the rest of the world might be thinking the same thing, we thought that it might be a good idea to have an early start, and have our breakfast before visiting the Manly Weekend Market, which starts at 10am.
Eat.Eat.Walk.Walk . 吃吃走走 