Sweat and Sichuan "Sauces"

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Geo: 39.9075, 116.397

A lie in! In an air-conditioned room..... what a blissful morning! The day began with a trip to a coffee house around the corner where we chose to eat brunch. 3 delicious rice, steamed pork buns (mmmmm), filled rice noodles and lotus leaves filled with sticky rice was the order - being in China, of course we expected it to be fresh and delicious. Imagine our surprise when the proprietor of the cafe opened the freezer and we heard the ping of the microwave! However, it was edible fuel for the day to come.

We then took a short walk to the Forbidden City. One of the major pluses of our hotel is its proximity to this tourist attraction, large enough in places for one of its squares to hold 10 000 people at any one time. The Forbidden City was the home of 24 Ming and Qing emperors, their families, and their huge numbers of eunuchs and servants for 600 years built in 1406. Ordinary people were not allowed inside its gates—which is why it was called the Forbidden City. Entering the city during the Ming and Qing dynasties would have cost you your head - however, now all is takes is 600 yuan (around 12 pounds) and a pair of sharp elbows. The Chinese (like many other Asian nationalities) do not like to queue. Well, when in Rome as the saying goes....

The audio guide took us around the vast expanse of the city, still filled with architectural treasures depicting the lives of the emperors and their entourages that resided there. We learned of advertisements placed by the emperor for girls from age 14 - 16 who would be brought to audition for a role as one of the emperor's concubines. Later these women could go on to have huge influence within the city if they performed well and were chosen as an Empress. The sights were as impressive as the historical settings. Huge marble pathways reserved solely for the emperors to walk on crisscrossed the city; entire buildings were dedicated to feasting or marital/concubine duties, gargantuan bronze and gold plated (although that was stolen in the early 20th century by the British, the audio guide tells me) jars were filled with water as the city's defence against fire and massive stone carvings had been crafted from entire blocks of stone brought in from other provinces. The Chinese ingenuity never ceases to amaze and I was impressed to hear of their planning the stone's epic journey to the city, digging a series of wells 500m apart from each other and sprinkling the road with water in the winter to create a sheet of ice, making it easier for the stone to slide across the ground. Very smart!

However, the highlight of the Forbidden City was (once again) culinary. Stacey and I opted for a peach ice-lolly to cool us down. It was cool, juicy and refreshing. Ben chose (accidentally by all accounts) a mung bean flavoured ice lolly. It was neither juicy or refreshing. In fact, it tasted of earth. And that is being kind. It really was foul. Although the Forbidden City was impressive in both its scale and design, after two or three hours, we really were dynastied out and decided to head back to the haven of the hotel for a cold shower and a cool been in the air-con. Bliss.

That evening, we headed out on the tube (of which we were becoming the masters) to Ghost Street. Ghost Street is a must-go foodie destination in Beijing, the streets lines with packed restaurants on either side, their neon signs flashing to entice visitors in to sample the delights inside. One bar had what appeared to be a game of grocery bingo - people sat outside on plastic chairs, waiting for their number to be called. What happened next, I have no idea. The distractions outside were too great. Every table had a bowl of sunflower seeds, around which sat a group of people. The noise outside sounded just like an aviary full of cockatoos as they cracked and shelled and munched their way through the bowl of seeds, discarding the husks on the floor until it resembled an aviary too!

We wandered further down the street until we found the perfect blend of local diners, English translated menu and appetising culinary prospects. Some aspects of the menu were as delightful as the previous day's including the intriguing, "Beef in soup with bacteria." Needless to say, we passed on the added bacteria, choosing instead Sichuan pork, egg fried rice, Dan Dan noodles (a sichuan dish I read about in a birthday-present travel book, thank you Mercedes and Tom) and Sichuan-style chicken with chillies. For those who don't know, Sichuan is a province in South-West China - the gate-way to Tibet and the largest area of China we would have passed through on our original tour. It's also where the pandas live and is famous for its spicy peppercorns (world-class and very valuable) and its use of chillies in recipes. Sichuan food is renowned throughout China as the spiciest of any regional cuisine. However, since we all love spicy food, we decided to brave it.

The Dan Dan noodles were delicious: thin egg noodles with meat and vegetables and a spicy tomatoey sauce. Egg fried rice needs no introduction and the Sichuan pork was soft, tender and flavoursome with just the right amount of heat. Then came the chicken... Now, the picture of the Sichuan chicken looked like it might be packed with chillies, but we convinced ourselves that we could just eat more of the chicken and less of the chillies. However, on its arrival to the table, it was ALL chillies and Sichuan peppercorns. Not only this, but the chicken itself was very dry and as such we couldn't just eat the chicken. Dipping it in the Dan Dan noodle sauce did enhance its tenderness but not its flavour and our attempts at eating the chillies with the chicken ended in tears and red faces all round - the food was so hot that just one piece of chilli totally blew your head off! The tingling sensation left by the combination of chilli and pepper was similar to tiny jellyfish stings repeatedly brushing against your mouth.

We paid for our meal, hit the subway and headed for home with bottles of water to douse our flaming tongues and lips. An early start beckoned for the main event in our three days in Beijing.... The Great Wall of China.

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