Dear Marian

Thank you for watching out for entries in my blog, and reminding me to post more since you noticed the dry spell. The dry spell is due to my unreliable VPN, and that it's winter in Beijing so I stayed in with friends and experimented with recipes. Great times, but yeah, I shouldn't lose track of this weekly task so I still share an important piece of me with you ;)

I have to do a bit of my non-food related achievement for 2012 Q1 (and it's still winter in Beijing, so here's to 100 different versions of soup), then I'll revamp this blog with better entries, whacky guest posts from friends all over the world, and a bi-weekly food trip vlog.

I still remember the entry that you inspired me to write. Thank you for being a positive influence in my life =)

Haidilaohuoguo 海底捞火锅 (Hotpot)

My mom included me in one of her business meetings in Beijing, where we tried out a famous hotpot restaurant called 海底捞火锅．Hot pot is regular fair, it's great like many hot pot places, but what sets this restaurant apart is its excellent service.

While waiting, kids can play board games and puzzles in the kids corner just right beside the entrance.

Cava Coffee

During the torrential storms of early August, something burned behind my usual hang-out, Bridge Cafe, which bonked down its internet cable for a while, so I had to look for another place where I can set up shop. My new friend Chavez invited me to join him in Cava Cafe, and I've been hanging out there ever since (except on times when I crave for Bridge's french toast).

Aside from their wide selection of Western food (Bridge pizzas are still better), Cava Coffee has an array of cocktails that I enjoy on some afternoons while drowning in Chinese characters and translations.

What I had on my first day in: Cosmopolitan 四海一家  for RMB 30

Experiment with beautiful beans

I made it to the rice section of the grocery story and did not realize how much variety of rice there was! I only knew of black, brown, white and jasmine (different variations of white), but when I looked closely at their rice selections, I saw yellow rice, cous cous, off white rice, and THIS.

Rice and random beans combo: how can I not resist so much color?

Lindemand Blueberry: new favorite beer!

I'm not a beer drinker at all. I'm probably the female reincarnation of Samson (only I'm not physically strong, although I also have long black hair). The only time I relented to drinking beer was during a trip with my high school friends to Bangkok, where all 25 boys and girls drank ourselves silly with Tiger Beer every night. 

A visit to Nearby The Tree with my friends Jill and Bianca introduced me cherry flavored beer by Lindemand for RMB 45. I was surprised to see BHG Lifestyle market for RMB 20+. 

I got all the flavors available: cherry, mint and raspberry. I like raspberry best.