Off to Xinjiang I go in about 10 mins? (at least to the airport)....
Will update once I get back on 10/7! :)

Snail Mail + Reiteration of Contact Info

I should have posted my address a long time ago, but it took me and my aptmates at least a few days to make sure that the our English translation matched up with the Chinese translation. All you have to do is copy and paste this sucker on your letter/package...and voila! I will receive your mail in no time (maybe in two weeks? not really sure...depends on the type of shipping). I figure this is also a good time to post this mailing label, since uh... somebody's bday *cough*(10/28) is coming up. :) If you write to me, I promise that I will write back!

Email me if you want the mailing labels on word document. And yes , I do realize that there are red squiggly lines underneath certain characters/words...should have "corrected" them in word document before i converted the label to jpg format.

Additional contact info:

HC's China Cell #: (86) 1352-145-2231

HC's China Apt #: (86) 010-6446-2696

("86" is country code... "010" is the area code for beijing). You can use skype or skype out to talk to me. It is extremely cheap for long distance. :D

*If you guys ever come visit Beijing, you will receive the warmest welcome from me and my aptmates!

roomies --> april gu, hayes wong, and me!

(courtesy from hayes' blog :)

Best Eats Part II...

Here are some other pictures of good eats that made me a happy camper:

Best Dumplings in Town
....in my opinion so far that is. this dumpling place is suggested by my real estate agent interestingly enough and seemed to be pretty popular with the locals. the top part that looks like a web is actually fried dough (?) that connects all the dumplings together. other two dishes: stir-fry broccoli and garlic, and sweet, sugary, and sticky di gua (potato). absolutely delicious -- i wouldn't mind going back there again.

Szechuan flavor in the house
Szechuan food is pretty popular in Beijing for some reason. My dad's friend took Hayes and I to this restaurant near his house. Excellent food and service -- the food is very well prepared and delicate. The food isn't too spicy (which is what we requested) and I simply loved the spicy eggplant/green bean/etc. dish! Other dishes include fried spring rolls with taro inside, small fried white sesame rolls with red bean inside, saucy ribs, celery dish, and this tofu texture, egg/lobster flavor dish? I don't remember the specifics since I wolfed down the entire thing too fast. just kidding.

Red Bean/Coconut dessert
what can i say...this bite-size dessert has a very light, gelatin texture to it... you can taste the coconut milk on the outside, and the red bean paste in the middle. not a super-sweet dessert (which is a plus) but definitely will give you your sugar fix.

that's it for now... hope you guys enjoyed the pics! :)

Best Eats In Beijing So Far...

As you all may or may not know, nothing makes me happier than going to a good restaurant to eat delicious food. It doesn't matter whether it is a famous swanky restaurant or hole-in-the-wall type of restaurant, as long as there's good food, I'm there. Hence for an aspiring food critic (side job) like me, Beijing is the perfect place to be -- there's just so many different types of cuisines to choose from. Best of all? The food is cheap! Here are some examples of food that went straight to my tummy:

*This was the flat hot pot dinner that I mentioned in my 3rd entry. It includes chunks of fish, shrimp, chinese vegetables, water chestnuts, flat slices of bread, etc., and brown sauce. I.E. the dinner that never ends since you can continually put ingredients in the pot....


*While this bowl of noodles looks like the average dish that you can get in any Korean restaurant, I have to say that this is the Best Korean Cold Noodles In Town hands down!

*Of course, Beijing (Peking) is not Beijing without Peking Duck! This is my favorite Peking Duck place so far. It's located around Sanlitun inside this hotel. What's so great about this duck is that the duck skin is perfectly crisp and the fat is evenly spread out... the skin literally melts in your mouth. One interesting way of eating the duck skin is by dipping it in sugar (the rocky type). Compared to the Peking ducks that you would eat in the U.S., the duck meat here is much more delicate and evenly sliced. In addition to the usual Peking duck wrap, we had broth with the duck bones, and other vegetable/soup side dishes ... very delish~

Same restaurant: fried noodles casing with diced duck meat, peppers, peanuts, tomatoes, etc. in it. You eat the inside mixture with lettuce leaves. yum!

There's more pics of other interesting dishes I've eaten so far, but I can't put them all on one post for some reason. It will be on the next one. Don't worry -- I obviously ate these delectable foods in smaller portions and on different days. I also have pepto chewables with me at all times just in case I get a bad case of the runs. And yes, these are only some of the many dishes i've eaten so far. Shouldn't this be enough incentive to come visit me? :)

my favorite all time pic...

perhaps one of mao's descendants? i sort of see the resemblance :P

more pics to come from the past couple of weeks... stay tuned!

The day has come...

after tumultuous weeks of apt hunting, i finally signed the contract for a new apt today!!! it's a wonderful 3 bedroom furnished apt, with two bathrooms, a huge living room and kitchen...about $275 U.S. dollars per mo./per person (before pro-rating). the metro is literally right next to the apt and the gym is right across our building. granted the commute time for me will be a bit long (45 min train commute... no transfers... 10 min walk to campus), it's still not too bad... about the same as the commute in nyc. i'm thinking about getting a bike or scooter to ride to/around campus though heehee. :P my aptmate, hayes, and i have already begun our ikea shopping extravaganza so hopefully this apt will start to feel more like home by next week. my other aptmate, april, is also coming in a couple of days ...... soon there's going to be a party at our place! :D

ok this computer i'm using (not mines) is heavily virus/spyware ridden so must keep this short. next post? a list of destinations i will hit up in this coming year... i'm thinking either inner/outer mongolia, southern yunnan or tibet for the Oct 1st national holiday (which is about a week).

which place do you guys think i should go?