I've not had pickled loach (what is that?) and only sheep's brains, but the rest are pretty tasty if done well. And have eaten most outside of China -- so not a uniquely chinese thing imo. Most regional cuisines around the world used the whole animal, but in the latter half of twentieth century, westerners turned their nose up at 'awful offal'.

tb

Don't forget fish lips.

Susie, traffic is light at that time of morning. From the Cap Ren, it should only take about 35-40 minutes max to get to T3. For a 7:30 domestic flight, I'd be comfortable getting in the taxi at 5:45. Make sure something will be waiting for you at that time, you don't want to have to take your chances on the street.

Don't recall ordering sheep's brain in China.

But Beijing does have good sheep hot pot. Good enough
to franchise "Little Sheep" outside of China.


Pickled Loach:
http://www.yunnantour.net/yunnan-tou...%20Wenshan.jpg

Not particularly appetizing, but better than live loach for hot pot,
where the thing is moving around on the plate before you cook it.

All in all, the list is very good ....and palatable to a westerner.

Apparently if you have more you are super Krypto?

When I suggested Chinese food I was thinking dumplings, duck.......

Got to have duck in Beijing, its a tradition. Might as well try a wide variety as its difficult to find in US, unless you go to an area with a large Chinese population, still not as good as in China.

Seems you need to also update the community-buzz BJ do... per todays talk mail from FT.... BJ location, & time still are fluid.

As others have mentioned, Sunday the 9th is a work day, so BJ traffic will be nasty, nasty, as not an off day for the car restrictions...

Not only Showgirls...fun for all!

Oktoberfest Beijing 2010

Well, I posted to the community buzz thread yesterday. If there's more to the puzzle than that, please advise.

Alright, I'm back, nursing a !@#$% head-cold, but have come up with the following, which I need quick feedback on so I can make reservations if necessary:

Date: Sunday October 9 with backup on Monday October 10. Due to the holiday, the scrambled workweek begins on Saturday the 8th, therefore traffic-wise the 9th is not going to really be any better than the 10th. Weather is going to be equally good on both days: early evening should be in the 60's, light breeze, no rain. A venue where we can be outside would be top-notch. Please let me know if the 9th is OK.

Time: Drinks (soft for the non-drinkers) 6 pm. Dinner 7:30 pm.

Suggestions: (Here's where I need a show of hands, keeping in mind we�ve got people coming from/heading back to Haidian and Shuangjing.)

Option 1�transportation nexus Line 10 Tuanjiehu station: Drinks at Enoterra Wine Bar, rooftop terrace at Nali Patio near Sanlitun Village, Dinner at either Duck de Chine or Dadong Roast Duck. Enoterra's rooftop terrace is very pleasant and dinner would be additional dishes along with the duck. Western alternative for dinner: Rumi Persian Grill (lots of kebabs, hummus, falafels, etc.) also lots of other options at Sanlitun Village to choose from.

Option 2�transportation nexus Line 10 Liangmaqiao station: Drinks at Paulaner Brauhaus outdoor patio/tent. Chinese Dinner at either Fei Tang Yu Xiang (Sichuan) or Xiang Man Lou (duck, homestyle). Western Alternative: Paulaner for German. I am not optimistic that the atmosphere at the Brauhaus Oktoberfest will be conducive to great conversation. And German for dinner has few proponents.

Option 3�traditional Beijing in Houhai/Drum Tower area: Drinks and dinner at rooftop terrace of Le Little Saigon (Vietnamese/French). Or Nuage (also Vietnamese). Other Chinese options around including outdoor options. This can be accessed by public transport plus a walk, or by taxi.

It would be great to find a dinner location that everybody could agree on, realizing that Beijing residents are probably sick of Chinese including duck. The drinks place is less of an issue since there are always non-alcoholic options for those that don�t imbibe. While Option 3 is slightly more work to get to (except for those who want to schedule sightseeing in that hutong area then just trot over for dinner), it�s got more atmosphere than the commercial areas around options 1 and 2. Visitors need not worry, I�m available to meet and shepherd/direct cab on either Sunday or Monday, and will give everyone my phone by PM.

I will need to make a reservation so there�s no wait for at table and in case duck is the consensus choice, have to order the duck(s) when making the reservation.

Go ahead and reply straight on this thread.

Oct. 9 is good for us, Susie and Bob.

My first choice is option 1 with Chinese food/duck for dinner.

My second choice is option 3 with assistance on transportation. I'll need subway instructions.

Whichever option is chosen I will need to know how early to leave the Cap Ren Hotel to set off to find either of these 2 places.

Welcome back to BJ !. there has been abet of inflation here this summer...

I prefer line 10 options 1 or 2...

- OR; here is an idea, Duck in Haidian near the Tsinghua east gate at Quan ju De. ( Its about 1km west of the east gate near the old google building)
Quan ju de has the 'certified' duck...

- Then you could take a taxi with susie on the 4th ring road , & do a taxi drive by of the Birdsnest & Water Cube either before or after the dinner.

I'm going to veto the Haidian idea for selfish reasons--if today is any indication, I'm likely not going to be feeling well enough to travel over there, and I'm not a QuanJuDe fan at all. So let's confirm:

Sunday October 9. Line 10 Option 1, start 6 pm with drinks at Enoterra, Nali Patio rooftop. For duck dinner option, I'm leaning towards Dadong over Duck de Chine as it will be a little cheaper and I grump at DDC's automatic 10% service charge. But it is a slightly longer walk from drinks to Dadong than to DDC.

I want to present some additional non-duck and non-Chinese options in the general vicinity. Let me canvas a few places--partly to jog my memory and partly to see if they are still there. In Beijing, anything could have disappeared in my 4 months' absence. I'll be back on this thread in a few hours with additional possibilities.

trueblu, if you are reading, please check in. I know you said you had a Sunday meeting. Will you be able to join us for at least part of the time?

I've not been super active posting in the China forum but would love to join. Line 10 options are both fine for me. I'm good with duck for dinner - not been here long enough to be sick of it yet

Sunday and Monday both work - just gotta be sure I get myself out of the office on time!

Sunday the 9th.
Transport: Line 10 subway, Tuanjiehu Station, Exit A northwest. By taxi, just tell them Sanlitun Jiuba Jie.

Meet at Enoterra at 6 pm or as soon as you can make it. Enoterra is on the fourth floor of Nali Patio on Sanlitun, immediately north of Sanlitun Village. It is a low-rise white stucco-looking building. The arcade to the Patio faces Sanlitun street, and is just next to the Creperie on the corner. Walk down to the end of the arcade, turn right and take the elevator to fourth floor. Exit elevator and turn left, then another 90 degrees hard left around the balcony past Agua Restaurant until you see the Enoterra sign with arrow pointing to a hall and stairs up. They are utilitarian and you'll think you're heading for the service galley, but head up the stairs and you will be on a rather nice roof terrace. I'll figure out a way to identify our party as the FlyerTalkers. Bring a light jacket in case there is a small breeze--weather is expected to be good and fairly warm.

We'll go ahead and do duck dinner + additional dishes. Family style. I'll make a final decision shortly on Dadong vs Duck de Chine, and get a reservation for Sunday at 7:30 pm. Since you need to tell them how many ducks to prepare, I'll also order probably 2 whole ducks for our party, which as of now consists of seven:
--Jiejie
--susiesan + husband
--Jiatong + S.O.
--trueblu (probably solo)
--fimo

Anybody else who's around Beijing and interested, shout out and we'll add you to the party. If you cannot make it to Enoterra at 6 pm sharp, please show up when you can, or just come for dinner. Enoterra has 2-for-1 happy hour from 4-8 pm. I will likely be there early. We will need to leave about 7:10 to get to dinner on time via walking, but we'll have some quality conversation time in a nice setting. Everybody already on the list already has my mobile number via PM. The Beijing residents I'll assume already know pretty much where they are going. I'll make sure our Beijing visitors have clear instructions on how to find us. Stay tuned...

Anybody still in a party mood after duck dinner concludes about 9:00-ish can consider heading to Oktoberfest tent 2 stops up the subway at Paulaner Brauhaus. I think the tent and the entertainment goes on until 11 pm.