As I wear down my sandal straps by wondering aimlessly through the city's neighborhoods, I'll tell you about my favorite food finds.

Last night, on my way to Joy City in Xidan to check out a durian dessert (because for our Aug. 14th's issue of CW, I'm recommending some stinky foods for our Themed Review in Wine&Dine), I strolled over to the alleyways that connect the department stores located across the street from Joy City. There are lots of food booths along these streets, lining the first floor of Xidan Zhubao in particular. Among snacks like teppanyaki squid, mala tang (basically hot pot on-the-go), and stinky tofu, the vendors also sell grilled corn-on-the cob. Except here, they brush the corn with a thick coat of red pepper sauce before handing it to you on a stick. Most corn sold on the street here is quite mealy, but add some spice- yum! The combo of the sweet chewiness and mouth-numbing spice was addictive. I ate two (¥2.5-¥3/each), with the hot sauce dripping on my toes and smeared all over my face. My mouth waters even now.

I then went off to Joy City for durian, but I'd also read that there was a Taiwanese tea shop on the sixth floor selling shaved ice. I couldn't not go.
i-Tea (找茶台湾泡沫红茶店) has the most intensely red bean-flavored shaved ice (红豆炼乳冰沙, ¥18) I've tasted yet. The ice part wasn't plain ice. It was red bean blended with ice into a slushy, and only then are red beans and condensed milk drizzles on top. I almost thought it was too much red bean. Almost. i-Tea sells shaved ice in many fruit flavors, as well as peanut and coffee. They have this banana shaved ice bowl featuring banana-flavored ice, banana slices, and then a scoop of mango ice cream. It was screaming my name, but the red bean shaved ice screamed even louder.