FREE table for two to preview Gourmet Month!
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Sorry, but this contest is closed! Congratulations to the winner listed below!
Want to get a jump start on the Gourmet Month food festival? Simply answer the question below and be eligible to win a FREE table for two at one of our participating restaurants!
Only the most powerful, most moving, or most hilarious answer will win! Preference is given to those who are active in regularly posting listings, events, reviews or comments.
To check out what IS Gourmet Month, click here
To see the list of participating restaurants, click here
Now answer the question below!
and Bon Appetit!
Comments Add a public comment
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I went to a Chinese place on Chaoyangmen N. with a Chinese gal and she actually ordered every single thing that I pointed to on the menu as a what-do-you-think-about-this idea. We ended up with a table full of food for just the 2 of us.
It wasn't a scam--she offered to pay. I only wished I had a fridge for the leftovers.
Will
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Ordering what clearly on the menu was listed as Chicken (in english) in leaf and getting frog instead.....
does not taste like chicken!
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We came to a regular japanese restaurant nearby our appartments with our friends, ordered some lunch sets, and ask the waitress to bring a fresh cucumber. We like the way they do it in Sichuan restaurants, so we just wanted to check if they could make a sort of thing there. The waitress brought a single fresh cucumber and ask us what we would like to do with it. Of course our answer was that we wanted to eat the cucumber. We asked to cut it. A minute later she broght the same cucmber cut in four rolls, as there were four of us I suppose. However surprising for her we asked to cut each roll in four peaces that time, and showed directions. As a result we had 16 carefully measured pieaces of cucumber and a curious waitresses walking around trying to catch our way of eating them. We poured some soy dressing on them and enjoyed just invented sophisticated dish.
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It was 7 o'clock in the morning, we were a bunch of after-party survivers looking for some freshment at a local breakfast place. It was a mixed crew, the chinese ordered some porridge, baozi and chao gan (fried liver, a typical beijing xiaochi), and the foreigners asked for more beers but wanted to try the chao gan too.
The place was full of laobeijings (original beijing seniors) who were giving us looks. So a friend (chinese) made a joke, 'these laobeijings must be thinking, who are these chao gan snaching outsiders?' And one of the foreigners responded, in perfect mandarin, with a strong beijing accent, "他们是老北京，我们是老老外"！
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I work in a small company, which is headed by a rather disturbed individual prone to fits of passive-aggression. He claims to be allergic to just about everything under the sun (including chrysanthemum tea). In addition, his taste in food is extremely limited. For these and many other reasons, we employees constantly poke fun at him.
Anyway, this past Christmas, our small band of workers was patiently awaiting word on the date and location of the office holiday luncheon. By the time that the final working-day before the X-mas arrived, we still had not received any notice regarding a company celebration. Further, on this particular day (as was often the case) the boss had not yet arrived at the office or even called to say when he might arrive. Accordingly, we took it upon ourselves to make arrangements.
Since I recently had sampled Cafe St. Laurent's brunch offerings and found them to my liking, I recommended that we try lunch at Alfa. My co-workers were receptive, so we set-off.
En route, we received a call from our boss. He had suddenly realized that it was Christmas, and he wanted to take us out to First Star ( a restaurant located curiously nearby the boss's apartment). Unfortunately, we were already half way to Gongti, so I told him that we really didn't want to turn around and head back the other way. Reluctantly, he agreed to join us.
When we arrived at the venue, it was freezing. Furthermore, the menu was not exactly bursting with choices. In fact, we kept looking over at the food being enjoyed by the next table and wondering whether we could get some of the same. The waiter asked the kitchen, but returned with a flat denial. It seemed that the next table consisted of people who were owners of the establishment enjoying a specially ordered and prepared menu. There simply wasn't any extra to be had for us.
Upon viewing the both the food at the next table and the selections on the menu, the boss's displeasure was evident. From the perch he had seized at the head of the table, he mumbled something about not being happy with the selection of main courses, then settled on some soup and french fries.
Much to the boss's chagrin, his fries arrived at the table before the soup. In addition, it seemed that they were far from piping hot. More grousing ensued, which whining was forestalled only by the arrival of the long-promised soup. He took two or three sips and seemed satisfied -- at last.
Just then, two of our co-workers began talking quietly in Chinese about something. They accentuated their conversation with swirling, pointing gestures aimed in the general direction of our employer.
Moments later, our boss's frustration boiled over. He slammed his spoon down with disgust. "There's a fly, or something, in my soup." The two co-workers who had been having the discussion in Chinese were not surprised. They had seen a small flying insect spiralling downward toward the boss's soup. When they notified him of their observations, the boss quickly said, "No! THIS fly came from the bottom of the soup. I'm sure, because it came up with my spoon." His agitation had reached the boiling point, and he was beyond reason.
The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, as we were too afraid that we might burst-out laughing. Little did we know that even greater powers of restraint would be required.
When all of us had finished, we all agreed that we had not enjoyed one of the better meals to be had in Beijing. Unfortunately, the boss could not leave it there. We called for the bill, which he immediately claimed was too high. Not satisfied with the itemization that had been provided, he demanded that the staff produce a calculator. He spent the next half-hour furiously pounding the buttons, as the rest of us tried to contain our laughter at this circus of absurdity. In the end, of course, there was no error.
For all these reasons, this meal was both the best and the worst meal that I have ever eaten in Beijing. While the culinary experience was completely forgettable, the unintentional comedy factor made it truly enjoyable.
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Happy hour had ended at Beer Mania in Sanlitun, an hour earlier than what was posted on the door. The owner indignantly allowed us our last drinks as we watched him scrape off the 8 from the sign that read “Happy Hour 5-8 pm.” The little spat with the owner made us even hungrier than we originally were, and we rejoiced that there was a Chinese restaurant right across the street. It was big and bright with Chinese ornamentation, flashing lights, and fuwuyuan standing outside to greet (or pounce on) potential customers. There was a consensus that at that precise moment in time there was nothing we wanted to eat more than piping hot steamed dumplings. To the left of this gleaming big restaurant, there was a small “xiao chi,” oddly jutting out of the side of a building like a malignant tumor. It was a run-down hole in the wall with folding tables and cheap plastic stools, but there were dumplings! We saw the steaming stacks of bamboo baskets and began to make a bee-line for the restaurant--only to be literally waylaid by the big restaurant fuwuyuan. They were like ogres blocking a bridge, not letting us pass and urging us to go into their restaurant. After stating our dumpling intentions, they enthusiastically declared that they too had dumplings, sure to be tastier than the ones at the little xiao chi. My one friend was highly skeptical, and asked every fuwuyuan if they had dumplings as we were led to our table. “You, you, we have dumplings!” Was the response from every single fuwuyuan until we got to our table, sat down, got our menus and ordered, only to have the manager come over and tell us at the last minute, very sorry, no dumplings. There was unanimous uproar. They lied! Blatant, calculated lies! Six chairs were simultaneously pushed back and the table abandoned as we stampeded out the door, ignoring the manager’s cries that they have “mushurou, doufu, and lazi jiding!” After that, the little xiaochi was heaven
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Last summer, a friend was going back to Frence, we arranged a party for him. Everybody invited friends and friend's friends. During the dinner, there were more than 50 people full of the whole restaurant, from different countries of the world and different cities of China. People were talking in different or same languages, drinking together, shareing the food ( it totally surprised us that so many people coming, so we didn't prepared enough food :P). it was a huge dinner party untile late late night, all so happy that we were there. it's Beijing! People come over from different place, we all enjoy the city and share the life on dinning table!
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my most memorable meals in China was one of my first ones. It was a "welcome meals" where my contact at the "school" I was supposed to be teaching english at took me and his girlfriend out for a meal. he proceeded to order snails the size of my fist and pigs trotters. his girlfriend squealed in horror when she saw what came out, but tried to put on a brave face and force herself to eat some. I think he was testing me, to see if I was a squeamish westerner and willing to embrace Chinese food or not, so I did my best Indiana Jones, ate 3 snails, one trotter, sat back and smiled. Even the juice they served up was vile, so there was nothing to do but force this crap sludge down my neck and grin. When I got home proceeded to throw up for around 45 minutes. It was one of the most uncomfortable meals I've ever had, and completely unlike the other rather delicious ones I've enjoyed in China since (which makes it rather memorable). I'd also like to add that that bloke was a complete c*nt, and is probably impotent. that is all.
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One sheep, two pairs of gloves - going on a second date in Beijing!
As a newly arrived English man in Beijing, his very first time in Asia, my mind was open to the fact that I was in for a culture shock. But nothing could have prepared me for the delights of Beijing cuisine! We met online. He was tall, handsome, and spoke perfect English, although he assured me he was Beijing born and bred. We went out on a successful first date. Food, drink and a stroll in Wangfujing. Nothing unusual so far. It was then his turn to invite me. We jumped on a bus and headed south, past the Temple of Heaven, past the south 3rd ring road and into what can only be described politely as a ' very local' area. Dodging the food waste thrown out on the street we arrived at a pleasant restaurant full of Beijingren. A smiling waitress issued us with two thin pairs of plastic gloves and beckoned us to sit at a table with a large copper pot sat atop a rusty gas cylinder. She lit the gas, with a flame licking up the side of the pan, almost setting fire to us both. Worse was to come! The entire meal, and please bear in mind this was a date, consisted of sheep's vertebrae, hacked from the spine and warmed in a copper pot of questionable broth. And that was it. No vegetables, no rice, and certainly no dumplings in sight. Perhaps 4 or 5 pounds of bone and an ounce of meat, all eaten to the sound of old men sucking the marrow from inside the spine. Did we make it to the third date? Yes! Have we ever been back - no!
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Zhen cao mei..
Zhen cao mei means is very strawberry.. And my friend who kept repeating that phrase at our night's dinner might have confused it with zhen dao mei which means very unlucky.
It was a very zhen cao mei night at a restaurant which will forever be unnamed.
We were ordering our favorite dish of bibimbap and kimchi. And here comes the waitress with a pot of steaming hot tea. And the waitress dropped the tea pot while pouring it in our teacups! loads of hot tea poured all over the table! we quickly stood up and wipe some of the tea off our pants.
In fairness to the restaurant, we were quickly given a new table. And while we were eating the delicious dish and the previous disastrous event forgotten, the same waitress again appeared, this time with a cold pitcher of water for our empty glasses. And she again dropped the pitcher! And there was water everywhere!
It was truly a zhen cao mei night. And we went home drenched. And for that waitress, the last time i heard, she wasn't working at that restaurant anymore.
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Wow! Thanks for the great responses everyone! Its interesting to note that the large majority of the most memorable dining experiences in China have been negative. Hopefully we can change that with Gourmet Month!
Congratulations to chintao! We were impressed by the detailed and humourous account of your most memorable Beijing dining experience! chintao has gotten a voucher valued at 200RMB to dine at In and Out!.
City Weekend is always excited to offer exclusive prizes and deals. And we've got many more on the way. For those of you still hungry for free stuff, we're giving away a free trip to Huangshan International Mountain Bike Festival in the near future. We hold these competitions to reward our biggest fans, you. Yeah, that's cheesy, but hey it's true. Hope you'll help CW fight the good fight. Spread the word! "It's your site, use it often".
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Hilton Restaurant.The restaurant's name is One East On Third.About salad, the new vegetable is very good.About salmon is very nice. The pudding is really nice. Generally, the food is great. If you have time,you must try it.
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Here's the contest question: What is your most memorable Beijing dining experience?
Tell us that one dining story that stands out in your memory, with all its details! Whether it be sad, happy, romantic or just plain weird!
Most outstanding story wins! Contest ends April 6th.