Traveling to Xi’an

In keeping with our epicurean’s jaunt through Zagat, two of the last three meals have been special or distinct in some way. Eating is something that is big in China and with the bulk of my traveling companions it approaches art. After my last post, we closed the evening with a Beijing requirement – the Peking duck dinner. I am not sure why the shift to Pinyin (“Beijing”) from Wade-Giles (“Peking”) in Western script has bypassed the restaurant world, but perhaps there is something tasty about the hard “k”?

The duck was fabulous, of course, and we had chanced upon a restaurant in which fabulous food was only fabulous in the presence of exquisite presentation. Tropical islands made of olives and sprigs of green, swelling mountains of crushed ice, and checkerboard slices of duck reduced us to photographing each item as they began to stream out. Our reactive fear that all we would get in this meal would be the initial two items led to a rapid devouring of what we started with. As the evening wore on and it became apparent that the chef’s goal was to try to fill the lazy Susan (“lazy Suzhou?”) before we could finish any one plate, we feared for our stomachs. Even worse, our guilt that a plate of delicacies would go untouched and possibly insult the chef, resulted in someone volunteering to try at least everything once. The table was almost as full when we pushed away as when we were at the heart of the dinner. We felt shamed.

This morning we prepped for the flight to Xi’an by visiting the spanking-new Capital Museum. Of concern was its lack of presence in all of our guidebooks but one – what museum doesn’t show up on a tourist map? We were assured by our guides that it did exist – and there it was! For the first time on this trip, we split up to see its offerings. I managed to miss the celebration via temporary exhibit of some important Communist Party event, but did enjoy the history of the city and the traditional displays of Beijinger life.

From there, we raced to a surprise lunch – a surprise in content, rather than a surprise that we were eating lunch. The unique element of this place was its emphasis on Beijing cuisine (of the non-duck variety) done entirely in a vegetarian oeuvre. Dishes looked just like fish, flank steak, chicken wings, even meatloaf – but all were assuredly not as they appeared. On a special note, in seeking a utensil for one of the party I made the symbol for a fork. It is not, apparently, as universal as one might believe – we were provided with a nice cup of hot water in response.

And then, to the Beijing airport for a domestic flight. Our Beijing guide, Victor, serenaded us on the last little bit – which was followed by Erin’s brother, Doug, assuring him in a speech that we know we were a bit more demanding than the average tour group and we appreciated his good humor. I wonder what he thought of on his three-hour commute to his home in the Beijing exurbs.