I had some friends round for a birthday hotpot on Tuesday night (Caroline, Maude, Christian) which was delicious.
Last night I then invited some more friends round for a Thai Red Curry (Hannah, Amy, Jess) which was another success.
All in all this week has been busy in terms of culinary creation and whilst its lovely to have people round for dinner I can safely say that I’m glad that me and Siqi only have to cook for the two of us tonight!
Me and Siqi have been busy in the kitchen over the last couple of weeks and have churned out some tasty meals. Here are a couple of things we’ve made recently:
Cola Chicken Wings
Chicken wings cooked in a cola sauce with plenty of spice to go with it! Yum…
京酱肉丝
Pork strips cooked in a hoisin sauce on a bed of 豆腐 (Tofu Skin). Traditional Beijing dish.
Next on the list is my favourite dish: 宫保鸡丁 (Kung Pao Chicken) - but that’s going to take some serious practice to get right!
Caroline - a French friend from Paris - came around for some internet squatting last week (the connection in her dormitory is atrocious and doesn’t deserve to be called internet). We treated her to her first ever Chinese Hotpot and she’s now a convert. Couple of pics 
Okay, went to another Temple Festival yesterday with Siqi and her cousin, only this time it was much bigger, with a lot more people and a lot more things going on. We got up nice and early and made it in time to watch a reenactment of the QingLong Emperor (Qing dynasty) during a prayer service - which was interesting. Afterwards, we went to another stage to see some traditional Beijing entertainment - Cross-talk (a form of standup comedy with two comedians, lots of playing with words, incredibly funny if you understand!), Beijing Wrestling, Chinese Magician, 快�?� (A singer with two wooden clackers - a bit like castanets - who creates a rhythm and sings along - again, usually very very funny lyrics!), Acrobatics and a few other things.
After all that, it was time for a food break. Temple festivals are very popular for their lamb kebabs (originating from Xinjiang province- where there are lots of Muslims) and today’s were not at all a letdown. Even better (and quite randomly) there was Spanish Churros for sale (deep fried donut-like twists covered with sugar and chocolate) and 臭豆�? - stinky tofu - tofu that has been left to ferment and smells like my Dad’s socks; which is then deep fried and coated in a spicy sauce and eaten with cocktail sticks… YUM!
To finish off the day, me and Siqi took a bus to the French Cultural Centre in Chaoyang District (lots of foreigners live and work here) and watched a French film (also has Chinese subtitles) called “Filles Uniques”. Its a great little cinema that I go to quite regularly (got to keep my French up!) and its less than a pound per showing for students.
All in all a great day out, gonna take it easy today and laze around in the house again
Below are some photos for you to peek at:
Jono
