Beijing Olympic Stadium

北北京京欢欢迎迎你你！

The most innovative stadium design, the best opening ceremony, and the most kawaii Olympic mascots ever in the history of the Games - at least in my opinion - is right here in Beijing.

I was really looking forward to visit the Olympic Village in Beijing, and we drove past it a couple of times before we finally landed on the Village itself.

We were dropped some distance away from the Stadium by the cab driver - I have no idea why. Anyway, it gave some photo shoot opportunities!

This was supposed to be a really high-end shopping center and apartment, but it was eerily empty when we were there in June 2009.

The Stadium against a back drop of clear blue skies. I'm glad the weather held up!

The lights are really fascinating - and so is the scores of people around!!

There they are!! 欢欢，你你，京京，北北，迎迎 - in order from left to right.

Well, there is nothing much in the Stadium except the mascots, but it was a great experience to be there!

Beside the Stadium is the Water Cube where the water sports were held, but we didn't go in as you need to buy another entrance fee to go in! And we thought that there will not be anything much inside anyway.

On top of the Great Wall, I think China can add the Olympic Stadium as another wonder of the world! :)

全聚德烤鸭店

It was our last night in Beijing - we were walking up and down this street trying to decide where to have our dinner. I was hungry, exhausted, sticky, grouchy and missing home.

Then I saw a Chinese restaurant which was quite crowded, so I told J that we should just eat here and get it over and done with, and I was prepared to pay a bomb after my experience in 大董。

The waitresses (or are they supposed to be door bitches??) were unfriendly and instructed us to take the lift to Basement 1 and wait for our table. But we can't see "B1" on the lift button?? Finally realised it's "L-1"! Duh.

I saw the words 全聚德 - but it still didn't register because I read Chinese words real sloooow.......until finally, it hit me! I'm in the legendary 全聚德 famous for their Peking Duck!!

I perked up and started to read their menu more enthusiastically and told J we MUST have the Peking Duck!!! J said "NO" because he was afraid of a 大董 de-ja-vu! But I told him this is 全聚德 and we must eat the PEKING DUCK!!! *stare fiercely at him*

And I'm glad I "persuaded" him to order the duck :)

This was supposed to be the best part of the duck - the skin from the breast - and it was served first with a flourish by the waiter.

It was good! Really crispy with a thin layer of fat, and it tasted heavenly dipped in sugar! Who would thought of that? The crunchy sugar crystals goes really well with the skin as it helps to lighten the taste of the fattiness. Will they look at me strangely if I ask for sugar when I eat Peking Duck in Singapore now?

The duck meat also tasted good with a hint of smokiness to it. And although you can still see a layer of fat under the skin, it doesn't taste that oily in your mouth. I think the sugar really helps!

I ordered this dish because it was just too "eggy" to resist :) I love salted eggs, century eggs and century quail eggs?? Now this dish I must try! And it just sounded so decadent to eat 3 different types of eggs at once! I love the salted eggs best because they were served in black vinegar with some garnishes like spring onion - simple but nice. The sour vinegar made the salty eggs even more umami! Nice combination.

This is the BEST vermicelli prawn in claypot I've ever had! Big bursty prawns, with well seasoned vermicelli - I couldn't help spooning more of it onto my plate!

Just as we were about the surrender to good food coma, the vegetable dish arrived! This is grilled mushrooms stir-fried with some green vegetables in chili oil. Sounds complicated? But you have to try this dish to believe it! The mushroom was so fragrant and chewy - it reminds me of bak kwa! And the chili oil added a nice spicy kick to it. It was so addictive that I couldn't stop myself from eating more pieces of the mushroom although I'm bursting full.

It was a satisfying meal indeed and the bill came up to about SGD70 for the two of us, which is quite ok given that it is considered a high end restaurant that has served many emperors before! Yes, they have a history of hundreds of years!

It was indeed a good end to our holiday!

Now I know...

...why Louis Vuitton stuff is expensive. Just look at the box my LV shades came in.

Another edited shot for prosperity.

I should wear this to Simmy's BLING party!!

大董 烤鸭店, Beijing

I really wanted to have mind-blowing Beijing roast duck while in Beijing and the first stop is 大董烤鸭店。This restaurant is highly recommended by some friends, who said that this was even better than the legendary 全聚德烤鸭。

The restaurant was packed! And EK has kindly queued up for us for nearly an hour!

We were finally seated on the 2nd floor, and the whole decor of the place just shouts "expensive"! Nothing on the menu is less than RMB100...with these kind of prices and the never-ending queue, I am really expecting mega mind blowing-ness! Yeah!

This is their signature beef dish - it was kind of un-memorable. I couldn't remember the taste much. It just looks pretty presented on a rock - not mind blowing at all... :(

We got a whole duck and the chef said they cut 108 pieces out of the whole duck. In Beijing, they carve up the whole duck, so there is no leftover meat for you to stir fry with bean sprouts or noodles as they usually do in Singapore.

The only thing that "blows" my mind is how fatty the duck is! I'm thinking if I could actually swallow the duck skin with the thick layer of fat!? :( I didn't enjoy the duck much as the skin is not crispy enough and it's just too fatty! Makes me nauseous just feeling the fats squishing in my mouth.

They gave us some sesame buns to wrap the slices of duck, which tastes quite good. But I just could not get over the fats! Eeew....

The only dish I like is probably the couscous rice with 梅菜。I feel so much healthier just eating this after all the fats from the duck!

I still don't understand the pull of 大董but I'm certainly not coming back here again. See my post on 全聚德 and you will know why :)

The Great Wall, Beijing, China

I had better finish all my China holiday posts like NOW!? Or at least before I go on another holiday next week and before I forget the little details of the trip!

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We woke up early and was greeted with overcast skies and a very lame buffet breakfast that cost a bomb. After the disastrous breakfast, we were glad to see a Subway right across our hotel and had breakfast there every day after that!

Destination for the day: The Great Wall of China.

No introduction is needed here, I just hope that I have the stamina to climb!

But as the day was cloudy and it rained a little, I'm kind of disappointed with the pictures I took, but I think I will be visiting Beijing a few more times as long as EK is staying there :)

One World One Dream...old and new co-existing together...

China has land and PEOPLE!

This model is showing you how steep the Great Wall it is!

We gave up climbing after an hour because we didn't know there is a certificate waiting for us somewhere up the wall...! Honestly the scenery was not as fantastic I was hoping for, but the driver was telling us that we should head to Mu Tian Yu (幕田欲) part of the Great Wall the next time for better scenery and lesser crowds. Apparently, there are various sites to go and climb up the Great Wall.

This is my favourite shot of the Great Wall.

After the Great Wall, we went over to the Ming Tombs (明朝十三陵). Hmmm...nothing much here except big expanse of space and more space! But I guess it would be more interesting if we had a guide to explain to us the significance of the tombs.

We left after walking around for awhile and headed back to town to prepare for dinner with friends - separately of course!

I met up with EK for dinner and she brought me to this really cool place called which she called 1949. I was intrigued by the name already!

It's a noodle bar that serves really nice beef noodles, and they have an area for drinks, etc. It's a whole complex of restaurants and bars...I like! Couldn't get good pics of the food as it was dark. But I can tell you the hot savoury soup of the beef noodles warmed us up in the chilly night, and we had a great time catching up.

After dinner, we walked around for a bit and I saw Uniqloo!!! And it's 4 storeys high! As it was getting late, J asked me to go back to the hotel soon as I will be going back alone in a cab :( But it's ok I will be back! And 三里屯 is where I hungg out in Beijing for the next few days!

Address: 1949 The Hidden City, Courtyard 4, Gongti Bei Lu (behind Pacific Century Place), Chaoyang district

朝阳区工体北路4号院

Opening: 11am-10pm daily

Phone: 6501 1949 ext 8807