Google China

By now, everybody should have heard the news about Google China.  When I first heard about it, all I could say was "Wow." While I find Google's move admirable, the sad thing is, I don't think the majority of the local Chinese will care (if they even know about this).  It's a shame because this is yet another example of unfair playing fields for foreign companies in China.

Anyway, some photos outside the Google office in Beijing.

http://cnreviews.com/business/companies/google-china-photos_20100113.html

Itchy Feet

It's time to collect miles again! :)

The next couple of months will be very busy times for me.  I'm leaving for San Francisco in two weeks for work (and I get to visit Chrissy!), then heading down to Saigon for CNY, then off to Maui for a wedding!

Seriously, I can't complain about life.  Hehe.

Really psyched about Saigon.  I don't have much time to go into detail right now, but I spent all morning daydreaming about it!  I'll be going there alone...and I can't wait.  This will be my personal journey - one that I owe to myself and one that I feel is essential before I feel complete.

Anyway, more to come later! For now, it's time for la weekend.

Mama Chong Joins the Blogging World

HAHA, yup, that's what the title says. . My mom has joined the blogosphere!!!!

and who's that hot lady in the ginormous picture when you load up the blog? Yup, that's my hot mom.


http://pegcho.blogspot.com/

Rida's Toffee Craze

When I went home last month, I had a bite of toffee that my friend's sister made.  She went through a toffee craze, and after hearing stories about her distributing ziploc bags of it to multiple people, I had to see what the buzz was all about.  After coming back to the Jing and deciding I was going to cook more this year (oh yeah, I guess this adds one more New Year's resolution), I pinged Rida for the recipe.  I tried making it this afternoon, and here's the result.

Rida's Saltine Toffee

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 sleeve saltines

1 bag semisweet chocolate

1 bag sliced and toasted almonds (or you can toast them yourself)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F (200 C).  Line saltines on cookie sheet.  I put them on parchment paper to make it easier to clean up.

Combine butter and brown sugar.  Melt and combine over med to med-high heat.  When mixture starts boiling, let it boil for 3 minutes.  Do not stir.  Mixture will foam and at the end may smell a little burnt.  Pour mixture over saltines, bake for 7-10 minutes (until mixture bubbles).  Take out, wait a min, sprinkle on chocolate chips, wait 3 min, spread with spatula, top with nuts, let sit for 2 hours at room temp.  Then put in fridge for an hour to firm and break into pieces. 

If the mixture is burnt, the toffee will taste burnt.  If it is not cooked long enough, it will be grainy and chewy.  Good luck! 

...and the final product...

Toffee!

Beijing Foodie Tour: Haiwanju Lao Beijing Zhajiang Mian

This morning Mike and I braved the bitter sub-zero temperature for our usual foodie tour!  We met up with our friends Wen-szu and Karen and headed eastwards to Haiwanju Lao Beijing Zhajiang Mian on Song Yuli Road (btwn the 3rd and 4th rings). Chi Chi recommended this place a couple of weeks ago, and said I would love the noodles.  For those of you who haven't tried zhajiang mian, it's a northern Chinese noodle dish topped with a mixture of ground pork stir-fried with a salty fermented soybean paste, otherwise known as Zhajiang or 炸酱.  Those of us who grew up eating the mian identiy it as comfort food.  Wikipedia calls it the Chinese spaghetti bolognese.  There's a Korean version too, and some say it's better than the Chinese one, but it's been awhile since I've had Korean zhajiang mian, so I can't vouch for it.

Karen and Wen-Szu smiling before digging in!

It took us awhile to find the restaurant, and we were shivering from the cold weather, but when we stepped in, we were greeted by a short man who excitedly announced our presence.  He basically stood by the entrance and shouted a couple of incomprehensible phrases whenever people walked through the door.  It was a little annoying because he was screaming every 2 minutes or so off the top of this lungs.  Nevertheless, we felt like we were in lao Beijing and getting the authentic experience as we sat side-by-side with the locals on wooden benches, ready to slurp on the infamous noodles. 

Cold but ready to eat!

We started off with a fried scallion pancake dipped in soy sauce and vinegar.  Next we had stir-fried napa cabbage cooked with Sichuan bell peppers and a vinegar-like type of sauce.  Wen-szu also ordered spare ribs, a vermicelli dish and a tomato egg drop soup.  All of the dishes were tasty, and we quickly munched away before the star of the show arrived.

Finally, the waiter brought over the zhajiang mian...ready to drool?

Here's the bowl of noodles (before we mixed the sauce in) with fresh soybeans, cucumber slices and pickled radishes

Noodles with the sauce mixed in.  Haha, this picture doesn't do the noodles much justice (looks a little nasty), but I swear, it's delicious!

The best part of the meal, as always, was the bill.  Lunch for the four of us came out to 131 RMB.  How much did we each pay in USD? $4.82.  Yup! That's why we love the foodie tour!  :)

You know you're back in China when...

...your cab driver grabs an ear picker (while driving), picks his ear, then uses it to scratch his head a few times before rolling down the window and hocking a loogie.

I quickly pulled out a mask (yes, fobby, but essential) and covered my face, trying not to breathe in any of the particles, and trying really hard not to barf.

But hey, look on the bright side.  As WS said, "At least he didn't pick his nose."  True - then I would've witnessed the full package.

Gross gross gross...

I'm back in China!!

2010 Resolutions

I came home to a very snowy Beijing!  The city was covered with white powder when I woke up this morning, and it's been snowing non-stop all day!

Having a big snowstorm in the Jing has its perks - the city is quieter, and without 17 million people roaming the streets, it actually feels really nice and peaceful here for the first time.  Not looking forward to the commute to work tomorrow, but I'm not going to worry about that now.

Poor ayi shoveling the snow in the courtyard of my apartment building

Anyway, since I'm snowed in with not a lot to do (another perk :) ), I'm going to write down some of my New Year's resolutions.  I like to kick-off ever year with a list of to-dos to keep myself focused on things I want to do or achieve.

1. Get really fit and stronger! - I'd like to run at least 2 marathons this year.  The 2010 North Face Challenge is coming up in April which means I can start training now :).  And with Hawaii on the horizon (might go there during the first week of March), this gives me the perfect excuse to work out intensely to jump start bikini season!
   
2. Study Chinese...harder... - seriously, speaking like Yoda is starting to get embarrassing.  Told my Chinese teacher I want to study and take the HSK next year
   
3. Be a better friend and person to my family - you can read my last post to get the background on this
4. Be more spiritual - Read more about Buddhism and practice yoga (at least 1x a week).  This is something I always wanted to do, but never had the time
5. Eat healthier foods - more veggies & fruit, drink more water...healthier foods so I can achieve goal #1

Places I want to visit in 2010

• Vietnam
• Australia
• Yunnan & Tiger Leaping Gorge in China
• Dubai/Abu Dhabi?

That's about it for now.  I'm sure I'll add more tasks and places to the list, but why overwhelm myself?  Anyway, to reach goal #1, I also want to sleep more.  Sooo....good night!