Jeremiah Watt Cycling around God's Creation

Post 7- Walking Beijing

By Jeremiah Watt-saddlemaker on June 2, 2014

Well, Pine and I have had a chance to walk and expierience the city of Beijing. We have not eaten at one western restaurant, nor dined where it would be considered safe by the travel guides. We simply watch for those restaurants with the most locals, and no “howlies”.

My friend Jack An, a Korean Prayer Warrior. Also walked acoss USA when he seventy to show appreciation for our US Vets of Korean era.

All good eats here, octopus, squid, shrimp etc.

Gelatins flavored with vegetable base…….suck like a vacume cleaner, trust me.

Bats of far left nasty furry lill buggers, sea worms, blood suckers, and desert scorpions

Yup, thats boiled Star Fish, braeak aleg off and get after it. Silk caccoons, and snake on a stick.

Crabs and what was like pickled seaweed all steamed together.

Jist cant get nuff them thar bugs and larvy……these were particularily ripe and full.

Huge centipedes there on the left, Tarantulas and more larvy, top row has snake coils, and silk worms

Not bad eats, sort of ground mystery meat balls

Freash fruit skewers were not the most popular.

Dumplings of all types were very popular to be sure.

Pine was after some books to read thru Mongolia, so we have had to hit the book store twice. He read a 300 pager last nite, and needed more. We walked plenty today, after we got done posting unneeded items home. Walked down to Tiannemen Square…….and Forbidden City, both pretty packed since it is a holiday weekend known as Dragon Boat Weekend.

Here goes with the Sea Horse

Decided we would take in a local food fair favorite, plenty of bbq food on a skewer, fruit and steamed as well as fried dumplings to eat. We tried it all, and found some of it repulsive, some of it ho-hum, and some like why bother. So, let me give you kids a rundown since this will appeal to you young type the most. Ask Mom to go buy two large pink pearl errasers, cut them up in small cubes and dip in fish oil, then pick it up with chopsticks to keep it fun- yes, you just aid squid on a stick.

Beef on a stick, the stick was indeed tenderer than the meat. But all good flavoured.

Now a Sea Horse is a little different, I suggest asking Mom to roast an old wooden pencil for several hours. With that done dip the pencil in fish oil and roll heavily in natural sea salt. Eat in small sections as a sea horse is small…….dont worry about the lead, I have heard it can be pulled out your pants later anyways. Scorpion maybe the most difficult to replicate, but I think we can get close in flavor and texture.

Chow down on some Scorpion…….yea, or not.
So ask Mom to save all the inion paper from peeling onions for about a month. Once you have a gob (metric for a bunch) , try cuttting in very small sections and arrange packed on say a tooth pick. Possibly spray with Pam and sift salt over the whole affair. When you bite it, it should be like salted nothing, and yet the nothing should have a distinct sort of thorassic crackle and crunch under yer teeth. Salt should be the overwhelming flavor, and crunch the most memorable essence of the meal.

Gotta luv that Squid

Maybe the most popular with locals was boiled stomach lining, drained, set this in a bowl and cover with cilantro, onions and pour a little hot chicken broth over it. I think that the dumplings fried are the best,while Pine is not a huge fan but prefers boiled.

Teeth are a must with squid, maybe also a lawn mower blade or old scizzors……its pretty tuff stuff.

Not sure how far we walked,but it was a fair piece to be sure. Cameback to a big bowl of noodles, pork somethings, and mini leeks, all a nut brown laundry rinse poured over it. Pine washed his down with ahuge cheap beer, and me with a Sprite.

The street view of the food fair, plenty of folks for sure.

just a little caera play here, its the front gates to one of the oldest districts in Beijing originally called rice alley.

This is the view out of our Hostel window. Its the train station from which we leave for Ulan bataar, Mongolia. This image has been posterized and some of the saturation taken out. I finger painted the edges for practise.
By for now, talk again later as time comes our way.