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First day in Beijing...

Time: 12:40pm
Weather: Super windy and chilly!
Vanue: Crowne Plaza Beijing
Mood: Well rested - ready to walk and walk and walk hehe
Peak Agenda: So far so good! i was pushed once.. i only saw a person who kept on spitting like there was no tomorrow.. once (more like a habit i guess).. no drama mama and all i can say.. for someone who was not a big fan of exploring China... is thankful that her first day in Beijing was nowhere close to Shanghai... indeed a pleasant one!

Hey everyone... here we are in Beijing.. we got here early yesterday morning and the plane ride was a pleasant one.. right after shower we had a nap and after zohor prayer we were already getting ready to explore the area that we will be staying at for the next 10 days: Wangfujing. Hb will be busy for the next few days with exhibition and so far we hv bumped into one Halal restaurant.. I will go out later with Sonia to walk to the other side of the street... its all abt walking ey.. just hope both sonia and I will be able to find our way back to the hotel lol
So ok.. enjoy the pic that I managed to snap during our outing.. the bazzare food (to me it is cos i hv never seen it for real except on telly).. the surprisingly pleasant ppl that we bumped into and the faces of my little one..


St Joseph's church also known as Wanfujiang Cathedral ..

The Wangfujing Cathedral (王府井天主堂), also named St. Joseph's Wangfujing Cathedral or to the locals, Dongtang (东堂, the East Cathedral) is a historic Catholiccathedral located in downtown Beijing, near Wangfujing. A small church was first established in 1653 on the open grounds by the Jesuit Father Lodovico Buglio.[1] Later several earthquakes and wars gradually destroyed the church. It was rebuilt in 1904 as aRomanesque cathedral, with strong pilasters and one high and two low vaults displaying a grandiose architectural style. After the restoration in 1980, the church reopened.[2][3]

Fm Wikipidia


Bronze sculptures of old Beijing - street musicians


This was our lunch cum dinner .. was super uber hungry and sushi was our choice..

Us and our dessert! Haagen Dazs ice cream!

The old Food Strip which is located inside a small alley along the main pedestrian area of Wang Fu Jing. - Wangfujiang snack street.



There are little boothes with red and white stripped canopies next to one another on Wang Fu Jiang Food Street. . Besides the many varieties of meat kebabs you can get sugar coated fruit kebabs, soups, fried dumplings, sweets, noodles, drinks, and much much more.



Here it is all abt on-the-go eating, like having a hot dog in New York or having burger Ramlee in Malaysia (huhu i miss Burger Ramlee) - you eat on the street. There is a wide variety of food here, much of which originates from Xinjiang province, such as squid, fish, crab, chicken and lamb kebabs.

Tang hu lu or candied fruits on a stick are among one of the most eaten on this stretch of street! the guy that u see in this pic later wanted us to take a pic of him and Sonia using our camera hahha apakah?!

What in the world are those? lol - some sea creatures? :op On the right are "Buffalo horn nuts"..

For the more adventurous diners there are scorpions and other bug kebabs..

See the queue? err

Black and huge scorpions - waiting to be fried - they move and are still alive!

Fishballs - i think lol



Even if you are not planning on eating here, this place is worth a visit just to explore all of the interesting critters on display


.... and not forgetting the souvenirs which u can take home for ur family and friends..

Sonia decided that she was not into taking any pics yesterday! grrr


The one and only Halal shop that we saw yesterday.. i will go here for lunch later and let u know what i ate ok..

Street fruit seller.. we bought oranges (6pc) and bananas (4pc) fm him.. damage ... S$2! dirt cheap!


Sonia on rickshaw.. one of the bronze sculptures of old Beijing.. shes the center of attention everywhere she goes lol.. ppl will look at her.. smile and say that shes pretty aka hen piao liang hehe.. back then in Shanghai I was the center of attention cos the ppl there will gv me that "look" almost like as tho I'm some kinda alien or a black woman with a white man and that irritated me big time!

Night food market - the "new" Food street

Remember the St Joseph's cathedral?? this is how it looks like at night.. err plus LOTS of ppl doing line dancing in front of it! hehe

69 comments:

KG said...

yeay berjaya berblogging and fb ing frm there! kalau jumpa colour powder ingat kat i , get some for me....and borong kain buat baju raya nxt year siap siap...enjoys!

Sizuka said...

Rima,

Beijing sounds fun! Tapikan, like u, i'm not that fond of exploring/visiting china. hehe.. err.. the bugs kebabs look yummy :P

Anonymous said...

nice pics Rima! somehow China made me a more patient man :}

have a great time there!

AZ said...

Sonia is so cute, of course she'll be the center of attention. Hehehe. You dress her so well, kak Rima. Tres chic!

Anonymous said...

Rima, nice photos. Thanks for sharing with us. First time seeing horn nuts. I am not so keen of exploring china. Btw, you dah check out mereka punya public toilet? Betul kah tiada pintu? Last time bumped into china ladies in singapore checkpoint toilet. I terkejut besar, mostly guna toilet, tapi mereka tak tutup pintu toilet. I was so traumatised seeing that.

Love looking at Sonia's boots and jacket. So pretty, so cute.

Enjoy your trip :)

Hugs from Singapore,
Sally

Ribbon and Circus said...

K Rima,

Suka tgk gambar Sonia n her dad tu.. preciious!

My hubby is going there next week.. I tak ikut since dah plan nak ikut his next trip.. kalau ikut gi Beijing, sure boleh jupe u kat sana kan.. ;p

Have fun exploring Beijing.. :D

Ria said...

yeye..dpt bersiaran dr Beijing..hehe..bru nk rndu tup2 ade new post trus xjd rndu..haha..best n enjoy sgt tgk sume pic..mcm kite ade kt situ gak..agak2 npe ye man tu suruh ambik gamba??die ade instinct u nk letak kt blog agak ny..hehe..

K.Nor said...

10days? wahh lama tu.. enjoy yr holiday ya... jgn lupa bawak balik ole2 hehe

hairani said...

Salam Rima,

Were at Beijing 2yrs back with hubby fr vacations joining my daughter whom hd sch attachment fr2 wks there.Wang Fu Jiang Street really happening but i tak tahan bau2 mkanan cinoneh along that street.. there's a mall nearby cant remember its name, do visit the supermarket n also gt ice kating ring perhaps can bring sonia main2 disana.. its a must to climb the great wall of china ok...if u got to the top, ada certificate n medal that u can engrave fr remembrance...try their mangoes small but v sweet n d cherries so cheap, if ada musim..

zarin said...

erghhh the bugs kebab..uishh harus ku lari duluk..terasa rasa geli kat tekak :D
anyway, hv fun in beijing ;-)

anakcikbob said...

have a save journey n take care. :)

Unknown said...

sonie such a cutie! ewwww those kebabs....bluekkk nasib baik dh lunch hahaah...anyway, enjoy ur trip!

Shal said...

Rima behave ya while u r thr, kalau diaorg buli u u sekeh diaorg blk hahaks n miss sonia i heart2 u boots

Rima said...

Yani
Food colouring? ehehe boleh luper pulak nak check out if there is any bakery supply shop here.. nanti akan ku find out.. there this small bakery next to our hotel.. they sell lots of cakes and guess how much is a slice of their most expensive cake? 10 yuen aka $2.. the mango cake punya lah sedap!

Rima said...

Shidah
I actually memang into travel dari anak dara lagi.. but kan ape lah nasib waktu first time gi china.. was a bad experience.. tu sebab ku macam weak when my hb tanya if i wanna go.. lucky i listen to him when he told me that maybe i might like it beijing.. so far so good lah.. touch wood!

Rima said...

Noir
LOL not me when i first jejak kaki kat china.. now bila orang tolak ku senyum saja :op

Rima said...

Azlina
Kids nowadays lucky.. mama dia pakai aper pun dah tak cute mute so whatever yg i never get to wear.. i get it for sonia.. both hb and i as so so into clothing.. especially her clothing.. u dont want to see her wardrobe.. she has two wardrobes!

Rima said...

Sally
LOL kesian nye.. public toilet kat mall all super bersih leh.. unlike when i was in shanghai.. maybe i gi kat their new mall tu yg bersih .. they tutup pintu bila nak buang air kecil..

Buffalo horn nut.. my first time n hb was the one yg explained to me abt that nut..

Tks sally.. kids.. pakai aper pun nampak cute

Rima said...

RC
Actually kan we were supposed to fly to Europe end of oct.. my original plan tu tak nak ikut but mana kan europe trip postponed sampai mid january.. i decided to tag along.. if not nanti sampai hujung tahun tak naik plane hehe

Yes i love that shot too! sonia memang manja dgn papa dia.. she will back up papa dia anytime and always blame me for everything.. sigh anak bapak!

Rima said...

Ria
huhu kira tak jadi nak rindu merindu lah tu hehe

Tak tahu ape motif si mamat tu.. suka hati dia lah

Rima said...

KNor
Ah ah cos exhibitionnye ends friday.. kira kita extend 3 days so that kita can explore beijing.. :o)

Rima said...

Hairani
Ty.. will go to great wall of china this weekend.. nak climb tu biar mak pikir kan dulu.. if jalan on it kira ok jugak kan hehe

Supermarket i only went to one that is close to our hotel.. tak besar sangat and a little smelly pulak.. belum nampak big chain market .. will explore more..

Rima said...

Zarin
mesti lah rasa geli .. kita pulak nampak nasi minyak awak macam telan air liuq ajer.. dah dua hari tak makan nasi.. boleh jadi marah hehe

Rima said...

Marina
ty dear!

Rima said...

Rina
tell me abt it but i guess waktu i took all the photos.. tak rasa nak blueekk pulak.. maybe tak bau sangat and at the same time i was too eager to take pics

Nurwin Heny said...

Hi Rima
Lovely pictures. Enjoy your holiday in Beijing! Take care.

Rgds
Nurwin.

Mama said...

Mama is back....hah kak rima.. kat area i pon..ade gak buffalo horn nut...for d first time...i saw it..really curious coz memang looks like some kind horn and some dirt thing...macam tangkal lah senang citer...i found it in Econsave market klang...i take 1...then i show to my friend and tell them some wicked stories about it....then they advice me to throw it far from me...buang dalam sungai mengalir lah....jin tinggal kan kat rumah lah..ha ha ha ha ha ha....i feel sooo funny of them...and feel realy pity of them...coz they dont know whats the hell is the..actually the nut name is LUY SIOU or something a kind lah..then 1 of my chinese came up and suddenly he knows that...he also laugh at them... ha ha hah a...i really enjoy with this wicked nut..then i patahkan..dalam nyer ade white coloured nut...then the story is over......huhuhuhu...

Sumaiyyah said...

Good to hear and know that you're having a good time, Kak Rima, and that you've found a way to blog from China! The exotic food looks interesting... but oh no I cannot imagine how people can eat scorpions!!!

Yan said...

Salam Rima, Sonia is super cute. Lagi taknak amik pic lagi cute. Buffalo horn nuts zaman dulu ada pernah jual at our wet market and i've tried it. Takde rasa apa pun or maybe we all yg tak tau nak masak camne kut. Anyway, enjoy urself and take care.

Maya Marisa said...

Rima dear,

hv u encountered the fermented bean curd aka the stinky tofu. gosh the smell is horrendous. despite the annoying smell, the taste is actually nice - according to my colleagues la. i tot that thing halal, but when i heard that some of the seller actually added rice wine in the fermentation process, terus i tak jadi nak masuk mulut...
enjoy ur stay there & keep the photos coming yea!

Aishamirafiq said...

Rimaaaaaa.....

Geli tgk si bug kebab dan sewaktu dgn nyer....eeeeeeeeee

Huh? lama nyer 10 hari... baru nak order mac lagik for my son...

Btw, enjoy ur holiday... Take care!

Mr Aue - pls take care of my Sifu!

cicayanki said...

Hello Kak Rima,

Sonia is such a darling! No wonder lah jadi center of attention anywhere she goes, hehe.

Diyana

ps: nanti bila i dah balik KL for good, I will drive up to Spore for your mouth watering desserts :D

cahya indah said...

the Food Street looks fun - just for the sake of looking at what the locals eat :) and of course taking those lovely pictures.

Yat Maria said...

Babe

bagussss..so far cuma sorang ha tuiii..tak yah pakai poncho!!

I asolutely adore Sonia's pic on that old rickshaw!! classic...rambut pun pesen dolu2 cam Kak Marilyn kita...Sweet!!

Brenda said...

Hi Rima! Enjoy looking ur wonderful pics! I think there's lot to explore but remember beware of "pickpockets" at China! I almost kena during my last visit...just be extra careful when u walk around alone with Sonia. Hopes to see more interesting pics here!

SJB aka SUELYN J-B. said...

So many peoples.

Rima said...

Nurwin
Tks.. will do.. yesterday didnt take pic cos we were out only for a short while.. the young one kata she sejuk and nak balik hotel.. pufff!

Rima said...

Shal
sudah semestinye.. i try to behave but if kena tolak and kena pijak kaki cos they all nak cepat siapa boleh tahan seh.. satu dua kali ok lah.. if hari hari kena .. sure i will step on their feet balik one hahaha

So far so good.. tak de all that lah kat beijing ni.. esok lusa tak tahu lagi heheh

Boot.. i loike too.. sonia has abt 6 boots in total.. she heart this one in particular.

Rima said...

Mama
hehe part kena kan orang nbr one eh! tak per.. if gurau gurau ok jugak.. no harm done..

didnt know the name of horn nut tu aper again?? hehe

Rima said...

Sumaiyah
Hehhe i guess it must have taste crunchy tak? if u goreng or grill.. and then benda tu kan macam keras.. sure rasa macam makan ketam dgn kulit nye.. shrug

Rima said...

Yan
i think kat sg also jual but tak tahu lah if u can find it nowadays.. tak pernah makan pun.. yesterday i saw chestnut.. ade yg macam normal look.. ade yg macam nak terburai isi dia hahah.. gemok gemok.. nak beli but kan.. err

Rima said...

Maya dear
i thought fermented beancurd tu fm taiwan.. so far kat sini tak terbau lagi benda yg bacin tu but i know how it smell like lah.. akan ku lari jauh jauh if i terbau itew benda ahaks

Rima said...

Aisha
hehe i hv to take care of myself lahh.. dia pagi buta dah lari to exhibition hall.. now kita dua beranak baru nak mandi.. then go upstairs for brekkie.. semua sendiri buat tu sebab he make sure kita kat club floor.. tak yah nak turun bawah cari makan.. always ade something to munch kat club lounge "wink"

Rima said...

cicayanki
ty ty.. she is and the way she talks.. adehhh tak leh angs.. semalam kita gi dinner.. yg tak renti cakap dia lah with my hb's supplier hahha penat they all nak layan dia

Yes yes.. just email me when u need it yah.. if i am in town n not full.. insyallah i will bake it for u.. tks!

Rima said...

cahaya indah
yes .. bila kat negeri orang haru kita explore walaupun tempat nye punya lah ramai orang.. sampai nak tolak trolley punya lah susah but kan lucky my hb is around to push sonia or else i wont be able to take all those pics..

Rima said...

Babe
lol why do u think i pakai kan sonia itew jacket hahha.. takut basah kang! hehe

yes i like it too.. the one and only gambar yg dia keep still and tak tutup muku or buat memek muka dia huhu

Rima said...

Brenda
ty dear.. i am everywhere i go.. be it in china.. be it in sg.. be it in malaysia and even in europe especially in italy.. hv to be extra careful

Rima said...

Sue
tell me abt it! its ok lah.. as long as the weather is sejuk.. ramai but airy n chilly so berable lahhh hehe

Edi said...

that bug kebab.. ewwwwww!!!! BIG TIME!

enjoy yr travels. sonia tu of coz la center of attraction, si comel tu! hehe

Ummi said...

Waaaaa..on holidays lagik...10 days in Beijing...fuuuhh..rindu la akak kat your baking Rima oooiii...Satu lgk..jangan makan yg pelik2 eh, itu scorpions nnt blk rumah jadi mem yg garang pulak...hehee...adei tgk candied fruits n jagung bakor tu wat terliur jek...Ha, jalan2 ke depan, jgn x igt jalan patah balik ke hotel dah la yea Rima...hehe. Ole-ole jgn pernah miss taaauuu!! hehhehe

Ayu said...

Assalam Rima,
wooww..already in Beijing ya..
enjoy your holidays there & have fun ambik gambar k..u think if i go beijing boleh tak dengan kuat pedas i ni..agak2 boleh masuk tak makanan kat sana?..pergi hongkong aje makan rasa tak kenyang gitu sebab macam susah gitu jumpa cili..hehe

 Nasha said...

Rima,
Night food market tu ada yang halal, cari yang ada tulisan jawi. Beware masa beli barang kalau kat street market, duit palsu banyak babe! I tak berapa ingat kat mana rasanya forbidden city, toilet dia open. Ada longkang and mirror saja, so just pick ur right spot, make sure bawak umbrella otherwise the person on the other side boleh google what you're doing hehehe..yikes..

Rima said...

Hi Edi.. saya Rima heheh
Ewww of cos! hehe

Rima said...

KUmmi
jadi garang tak per.. jgn jadi wild sudah kahkahkah

Ye ler.. 10 days.. but dah masuk 3rd day pun.. cepat masa berlalu bila tengah berehat :o(

Rima said...

Salam Ayu
If kat negeri orang ni ku terpaksa lah ngidam byk benda tu sebab i much prefer tinggal kat apartment.. boleh masak selagi selagan.. kat sini tak habis habis makan salad, pasta m sushi.. all non spicy.. kat halal place tu ku makan noodle soup.. tak kick cos tak de sambal kicap :o(

I always feel hungry bila on hols.. especially gi tempat sejuk.. lapau memanjang!

Rima said...

Nasha
yikes! harus lah ku gi toilet sebelum sampai kat forbidden city tu..

bila kat sini .. mata ku tak habis habis cari tulisan jawi hehhe..

an said...

Salam Rima,

Hope you'll enjoy your stay in Beijing. Bug satay tu agaknya sedap kot sebab tu panjang 'q'. Tak terasa nak try ke? hehe

Love your pics! So, I'll miss your food photos for next 10 days :))

Aini, PG

Mama said...

addeh...dah tak ingat lahh... Loy Sui ...pe bende lah...lebih kurang jer...hey!! Mama nak launch my blog..he he he..tapi tak lah sehebat kak rima... ;) nothing actually.. just a drop of few photos n hearty feelins word...i mentioned ur name tau...haaaaaaaaa...cari lah..hihihihi my blog is http://mamamunny.blogspot.com/ .... tadaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh............ ckit ckit jer...i feel a bit excited to have my own blog.... i want u to sign in first....wokkkey!!! bye bye bye... mmmmmmmuuhhhhhaaaaazzzzzzzzhhhhhh..

CS said...

Rima
I suppose your hubby is at ease haggling prices in Mandarin ..
.
.
Psst..I remember reading that he speaks 5 languages (me Magnum PI pencen, remember?)

Belly Good Cooking said...

Gosh, super crowded!! And the star fish can be eaten???
* fainting *

Rima said...

Aini
hehe tak hingin! yikes!

awww i will be back soon.. diam tak diam dah masuk hari yg ker 4.. eekk 4 hari belum makan nasi.. if tak kurus pun tak tahu nak cakap aper hahaha

Rima said...

congrats mama.. i will visit u soon yah.. kadang tu this server wont allow me to certain blogger lahh.. dah kita bayar to get this server! grr

Rima said...

CS
u are so right! good memory ey.. dia kalau cakap bahasa mandarin macam orang china mari.. not yet tawar menawar cos belum jalan ker market.. this weekend baru lah dia boleh start activity tawar menawar dia ahaks

Rima said...

BCG
yep can be eaten.. "fainting" hhehe

Anonymous said...

Hi Kak Rima, I've been your silent readern enjoyed your blog very much.Yet knowing that u are in China, I cant help not commenting on your blog hehe... Ahhh, I should have known your coming to Beijing earlier, so I could order your macarons (coz I stay in Beijing as well). I'm craving for your macarons for quite sometimes. hehehe...=) Nice pics n sharing kak Rima,Sonia looks adorable as always...=) Btw, there are some historic Catholic Cathedral in Beijing, all of them use direction for their local name,such as 北堂 at 西什库,西堂at 西直门内大街,东堂,南堂at 宣武门.
FYI, if you want to open FB in Beijing, u can use these proxy software: Hotspot Shield or Freegate, both work well.
Enjoy your stays in Beijing... Btw, When are you leaving?

Regards,
Rika

Rima said...

Hi Rika!
woahhhh tak sangka i hv reader fm beijng.. harus pakai sesuatu then baru boleh go to fb and blogger and you tube and and and hehe.. i am using something tu sebab boleh go to fb and also can update my blog yg belum terupdate for a couple of days hahaha

Friday onwards baru will take more pics cos right now i hv been going to the same place every day ahaks

Lahhh tak per.. siapa tahu i get to come here again? hehe.. i tasted the macs kat the club lounge and it was super duper hard!!! hahah.. macam makan biskut keras hehehe

Flying back to singapore on monday..

Anonymous said...

hehehe.... yup,I'm studying here. It's just a coincidence lha, ur blog has a lot of indonesian and western recipes that mostly never failed me...=) I have tried some of them (untuk mengobati homesick) hehehe...=)
Yup, delish macs is hard to find here, even local people mostly never heard its name. Ok, have fun in Beijing Kak, if u need some help/ information about Beijing pls feel free to email me. I'd do my best to help.. ^^ have a Blessed day

Regards,
Rika

Anonymous said...

hehehe.... yup,I'm studying here. It's just a coincidence lha, ur blog has a lot of indonesian and western recipes that mostly never failed me...=) I have tried some of them (untuk mengobati homesick) hehehe...=)
Yup, delish macs is hard to find here, even local people mostly never heard its name. Ok, have fun in Beijing Kak, if u need some help/ information about Beijing pls feel free to email me. I'd do my best to help.. ^^ have a Blessed day

Regards,
Rika

Kongkang Malaya said...

Kak Rima,
Wahhh.. cancelled Barca and off to Beijing you went, eh? Hehe!

Love how you capture those moments into photos. Me likey!

And what's up with the man posing for your camera, eh? Hehe!

You guys have fun! (off to read more Beijing stories :) )

About Me

My photo
Hi.. I am a SAHM to 2 kiddoes..19yr old boy n 2 year old girl.. met my Austrian hubby here in Singapore and hv been living here all my life... my love for baking started when i was 6mths preggie to my daughter, Sonia... my addiction to baking has not stop eversince.. I hope to learn as much as i can abt baking and decorating and then share it with u along the way..