Mike's Chomping Cheesy Chinese Chow Challenge #3 - Baozi

Despite being immensely busy with the end of academic year looming, I have gallantly continued on my adventure to add cheese to Chinese food. I shall not leave any snack “un-fromaged” until I have found the perfectly delicious combination. 

Following the successful yet rancid research into the unification of stinky tofu and blue cheese, I decided to try a slightly less nauseating experiment. 

Baozi (包子) are steamed bread-like buns which can have a variety of fillings. My personal favourite filling has to be pork. What is not to like about a bready, porky, cheap snack. But what harm could come from adding cheese into this equation? 

I carefully escorted my newly purchased baozi back to the safety of my apartment and cautiously placed it on a plate. Then I realised I had almost committed a rookie mistake and still needed to remove the nappy-like paper from the bottom of the bun. 

I didn’t just want a cheese-coated baozi, so I decided to get all up in that baozi and cut it in half, allowing me to stuff some grated cheese inside.

After much deliberation, I came to the conclusion: the perfect ratio of meat to cheddar is achieved by taking half of the baozi and filling it until it is completely crammed with a cheesy-pork mixture. 

Had I transformed this fluffy baozi into a cloud-like burger? A baoger perhaps? 

I had no doubt that the cheese would taste great with the pork filling – after all, I was playing it safe after my previous stinky experiment. However, I hadn't prepared myself for how delicious it really was!

This will not be the last time I grate some cheese into my baozi...

Tháng trước tôi đã ăn bánh bao nhân thịt và phô mát bào. Nó rất đậm đà!

The Summer Palace

Last weekend I finally visited The Summer Palace (颐和园) for the first time. I can’t believe I lived in Beijing for almost three years before visiting one of the main attractions in the city. In my defense, Beijing is huge and it’s quite far away from where I live.

But enough of my excuses, last weekend I had arranged to meet up with some friends from the UK, Andrew and Fran, who were touring Asia. They were stopping for a few days in Beijing and asked if I would like to meet them at The Summer Palace.

It had been seven years since I had last seen them, so I was very excited to see them and finally see The Summer Palace in all its glory.

It was a beautiful, clear and sunny day. After the initial issues of meeting up with people in such a big park, (coupled with my terrible bearings and sense of direction) I found them waiting for me near the north gate.

Many parts of the park were crowded but incredibly beautiful and the spectacular views almost made me forget that I was still in the same city.

After walking around the park for a while, we sat down by the lake and reminisced about the past while catching up on the main events of the previous seven years.

Andrew and Fran told me that they had eaten some suspicious snacks and mystery meat while visiting some night markets, so I decided to take them both for a couple of drinks and the chance to taste some delicious authentic Chinese food.

It was a lovely weekend catching up with two friends and I feel a sense of achievement that I can finally add The Summer Palace to the list of places I have been to in Beijing. I hope it's not another seven years before I see Andrew and Fran again.

Tuần trước, tôi đã đi Di Hòa Viên, một công viên rất đẹp. Ở đó tôi đã gặp vài người bạn cũ. Sau đó, tôi đã dẫn bạn cũ tôi đến nhà hàng Trung Quốc. Tôi yêu thích từng giây phút của một ngày tuyệt vời!

Mike's Chomping Cheesy Chinese Chow Challenge #2 - Stinky Tofu

Spurred on by the success of my previous cheesy endeavour, I decided to take the Cheesy Chinese Chow Challenge to a new level. 

First of all, let me set the scene: If you walk around the streets of Beijing, it is highly likely that at some point you will encounter a smell that is displeasing to the nose. The unfriendly, uninviting and unenticing odour could stem from a smorgasbord of sources, but one strong contender for the overpowering smell may well be the unforgettable fragrance of stinky tofu. 

Stinky tofu (臭豆腐) is given its name for a good reason. The smell of the fermented tofu can be considered unappealing to many people. I have eaten it on a couple of occasions and the taste is far better than the smell suggests. It could almost be likened to the oxymoron of a terribly delicious smelly cheese. 

This idea got me thinking. Why just add cheddar to this smelly snack? Why have a stink when you can have a stench? I knew what had to be done. I bravely took the stinky tofu back to my apartment and carefully added slices of smelly blue cheese to the bowl. This experiment was not for the faint-hearted…or anyone with a sense of smell. 

As the cheese began to melt in the stinky tofu soup, the pong was almost unbearably overwhelming. My nose did not appreciate the situation I had created. I gingerly took a bite of tofu and a sip of the broth. To my astonishment, I had struck malodorous gold. It may have had a putrid aroma, but the taste was peculiarly palatable.

It has certainly given me food for thought. I will continue on my quest to add cheese to Chinese street food and snacks. Although perhaps next time, in order to give my poor nose some respite, I will try something with a slightly less offensive reek.

Gần đây, tôi đã ăn đậu phụ thối và pho mát xanh. Hôi quá...nhưng ngon =))