2 Sure Signs of Spring

Crocuses blooming in the yard...

and breaking out the grill to smoke some pork shoulder.

Chilean Sea Bass - A Valentine's Treat

Due to the big snowstorm we were expecting, Hollis and I decided to stay home for V-Day this year. I decided to prepare something special for dinner, and make it an extraordinary evening nonetheless. Here was the menu I came up with:

Gruyere & Australian Jack Cheese Fondue - Baguette

Salad of Mesculin Greens - Toasted Goat Cheese Round - Dried Cranberries - Red Wine Vinaigrette

Pan Roasted Chilean Sea Bass - Bacon Powder - Meyer Lemon Beurre Blanc - Sweet Potato Puree - Parmesan Crisps

Domori Dark Chocolate - Beppe Marino Piemonte Brachetto "Bramusa"

I have to be straight with you - I have a thing for sea bass (don't be a hater, I buy MSC certified). I didn't know this until recently, "Chilean Sea Bass" is a marketing friendly name for what is really the Patagonian Toothfish. Somehow that just doesn't roll off the tongue, does it? Call it whatever you want - this fish is dang tasty. Here's the technique for the main dish, which I would highly recommend if you do sea creatures. Feel free to substitute a different fish if you like - salmon or halibut would work particularly well. But sea bass rocks.


Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass
Serves 2


2 6oz fillets Chilean Sea Bass
1 pc bacon, cooked crispy and pulverized
Sea salt

For the Beurre Blanc:
1 small shallot, finely diced
3 T dry Vermouth
2 T white wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon
1/2 c butter

For the Sweet Potato Puree:
1 decent size sweet potato
Cinnamon, a few shakes
Nutmeg, fresh grated
1 T Brown sugar
Butter
Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana cheese

Brush fish with a little olive oil, season with salt, and sear in a hot nonstick pan. Flip over when a nice golden crust has formed (about 4-5 minutes). Continue cooking for another 5-6 minutes or so. Fish should be just barely cooked through the center (medium). Place fish on a generous reservoir of beurre blanc and sprinkle with bacon dust.

For the Beurre Blanc: Simmer shallots, vinegar, vermouth, and lemon juice over medium heat until the liquid is reduced almost to nothing. Remove pan from heat and add butter in small increments to the pan while whisking continuously, until all is added. Mixture should thicken slightly as butter is added. Make sure each addition of butter is completely incorporated before adding more.

For Sweet Potato Puree: Roast sweet potato at 400 degrees for about an hour - or do what I do and microwave it for 6 minutes. Scoop out insides and mash. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and butter and stir vigorously.

For Parmesan Crisps: Pile 1 T sized mounds of grated parm every 6" on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in 400 degree oven until cheese melts and starts to bubble, about 3 minutes. Take care not to burn the cheese - this tastes really bad.

Viva Las Vegas

I landed in Vegas full of optimism and curiosity. Since passing through the airport doesn't count, this was really my first time in Sin City. I had certain expectations for LV, no doubt at least partly fueled by CSI and the Sports Guy. A friend once told me that going to Vegas is like going, well, anywhere in the world. You want to go to New York? Go to Vegas. Paris? Go to Vegas. Venice? Yup, Vegas. And to some degree this is true. But much like Space Mountain isn't really a mountain, all of these places are less than the real deal. With all the themed hotels and over-the-top design, it felt like a really big Disney, except with gambling and strippers.

The MGM Grand - a huge, sprawling mammoth of a megaplex.

Inside the Venitian - simply spectacular.

The infamous Bellagio - truly luxurious.

Caeser's Palace - fit for a King.

New York, New York - complete with skyline facade and fake Lady Liberty.

Paris, Las Vegas, of course. Ooh la la... Sacre bleu!

My trip was arranged at the last minute, so I ended up staying at the Luxor, which was decidedly not luxe. In fact, the lack of "luxness" was so stunning that "Suxor" would be a more appropriate name. It may have been nice when it was first built, but it doesn't look like it has been updated in a very long time. Because of it's pyramid shape, all the windows are on walls that are slanted inwards. Also, regular elevators just don't cut it. Each corner of the building has an "inclinator" that travels diagonally up the side of the pyramid (at 39 degrees, in case you care). This sounds kind of cool, but the novelty wears out pretty quickly - like after the first ride. All of the hotels on the strip have some sort of show that they run every night. The Luxor chose Carrot Top. Apparently this was on purpose.

Built like an ancient pyramid...

... with an interior that's also stuck in prehistoric times.

Of course there are themed hotels, shows, and casinos, but what really gets me excited about Las Vegas are the restaurants. Well known chefs from all over the country have established outposts of their famed establishments there, supplanting the old school cadre of $7.99 dinner buffets. Chefs like Nobu Matsuhisa, Thomas Keller, Bobby Flay, Joel Robuchon and countless others... there's some serious food in play here. It is with this in mind that I found myself at a place called Battista's Hole in the Wall. Zagat calls this place "an old Vegas Italian landmark," and that's about the best thing I can say about it. Honestly, I don't even know how to describe this depth of the badness to you. It was really that bad. I would rather eat at Olive Garden, no contest.

I wish I was joking.

In fact, if it wasn't for a cabbie who I convinced to wait in the parking lot while I picked up a snack from west coast sensation In and Out Burger earlier, I would have suffered through an utterly bankrupt culinary day. This was not what I had in mind for my visit to the Nevada desert. I made up my mind right then to do whatever was necessary to make certain that the next evening would not let me down.

Fresh, tasty, and cheap - you can never go wrong with that combo.

Fortuately, the next day found my situation greatly improved. I had it in mind to head to Thomas Keller's bistro Bouchon for lunch, but when we arrived, we were told that they were only open for lunch on the weekends - so much for trusting the guide books. We ended up at Delmonico Steakhouse, a branch of the New Orleans institution now owned and operated by Emeril Lagasse. The menu centers around USDA Prime aged steaks, prepared in classic steakhouse style, yet subtly infused with Cajun flavorings. A thick NY strip steak with a side of asparagus was prepared beautifully and really hit the spot. Despite my impression that Emeril's entertaining skills far outweigh his chef skills, this place was pretty good.

It's impossible to be in Vegas and not come face to face with gambling. All of the elaborate hotels serve as ornate monuments to the house advantage, so don't fool yourself. I have never really been interested in gambling - not that it's necessarily evil (which it can be at times), but I can just think of a lot of places vastly more worthy of my donations. Sitting in one of the casinos that night however, it occurred to me some of these games were very entertaining. Yes, entertainment! By playing (and, losing your money, let's assume), you could look at it as simply purchasing entertainment - much like going to the movies, or paying for parking when you go downtown for dinner. Plus, in most casinos, as long as you are playing, "refreshments" are on the house. Now that's a deal and a half. There was a 25 cent roulette table, so I decided to get $5 in chips and see what happened. I figured that 5 bucks was worth about an hour of fun.

After 10 minutes, I had doubled my money. Instinctively, I knew that I should take it and run, but I was having a good time and wanted the fun to last a little longer. So I stayed in. 15 minutes later, I was down to my last dollar. We were getting ready to leave anyways, so I put it on black (1:1 payout). And won. With 2 bucks now, I bet put one on black and another on the first column (2:1 payout). I hit both - back up to $5. Before you know it, I have $16 in chips and I decide to cash out, up $11. My first thought was that I was done - I wanted to go home and be able to say that I won some loot in Vegas. The second thought I had was that if I had put in $50 instead of $5, then...

Okay... This is where things can get dangerous. Is losing $5 a big deal? Well, not really. How about losing $50? $100? Yeah, that would hurt. I guess I have a little more understanding now about how people can get sucked in and lose big bucks. The rush of winning is addictive, and the panic of losing can drive you to make stupid decisions. I think I'll stick to the 25 cent table for the forseeable future.

Since I had had a late lunch and wasn't too hungry, I decided to go for a light dinner. In light of my winnings, I felt like celebrating with the high rollers, so I headed over to Nobu for some sushi. While I was waiting for a seat at the sushi bar, I went to the Men's room to relieve myself. At the urinal next to me, I recognized a familiar face. 'Duuuuum da da dum, da dum, da dum - U can't touch this - Break it down!'

As I spun around to wash my hands, I locked eyes with MC Hammer. Just about that time, the annoying towel dude that they have in fancy bathrooms yells out "Yo Hammer!" Gone were the baggy pants in favor of a sharp pinstripe suit. I was surprised at how stocky and built he was. I seem to have this image in my memory of a much skinnier guy. As thrilled as I was to come face to face with a childhood idol, at this particular moment, I was just glad that he was distracting the towel guy so I didn't have to tip him. I hate that. After the fact, I wondered if this encounter really happened, of if it had just been my imagination. But sure enough, MC Hammer's blog entry for Jan 08 shows that he was, in fact, in Vegas. Good times.

Finally, I made it to the sushi bar, where I met Shin Kondo, a proper sushi chef. I watched him with admiration, artfully moving his hands as he produced piece after piece of perfect nigiri sushi. Once you've been exposed to great sushi, the low tier chaff becomes wildly unsatisfying - even inedible. There was no need to worry this night. I was in the hands of a master.

A beautiful work of art - Tuna maki along the top. Nigiri sushi clockwise from top left: maguro (tuna), tai (red snapper), sake (salmon), shad, ikura (salmon roe), ebi (prawn), raw scallop, hamachi (yellowtail).

Watch the art of Nigiri Sushi preparation, performed by Nobu Las Vegas chef Shin Kondo.

See the quick snap and pop of the fingers as the tasty nuggets are formed.

In the end, I think I got a pretty good glimpse of Vegas, and as I was leaving, I couldn't help but feel a little 'dirty' just from being there. Everything is taken to the extreme. The lights, the glitz, the celebs, the mad cash flying all about, the ubiquitous presence of racy advertisements... Yup, Las Vegas delivered spot on my expectations. The thing is, I can't say that I feel all that good about it. In a way, I am disappointed that the rumors are true. I'm sad for the people who use the city's vices to self-medicate, or to try and fill a void in their souls. I guess the 'Sin City' monniker is fitting after all.

Oxygen for sale - for when you just can't make it through that all night gambling/drinking binge.

Chapel of love? Just like in the movies.

Catching Up

Chalk it up to the madness of the holidays, having a small child, some last minute travel plans, and most recently, a bout with a nasty cold, or what have you... I have been decidedly negligent in my blog owning responsibilities over the past month. So here are a few tidbits to make you say something like, "Oh, I guess he is still writing after all. Thanks for throwing me a bone."

First of all, a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you! With the holiday week off, I had the chance to cook up some tasty bites. I'll put up the technique for one of my favorites, red wine braised shortribs, sometime soon.

Our humble holiday light display.

During the week between Christmas and New Years, my car sat idle in my driveway during which time a mouse decided to make a nest in my glove compartment. Simply shocking.

Last week, I was in Las Vegas for a couple of days. While it was not a pleasure trip, I managed to have some fun in my off time. What happens in Vegas... deserves it's own post. Stay tuned.

It's winter in these parts again, so you know what that means - there's meat hanging in my basement. I'm starting off with some simple cured sausages (they've been up 11 days now). It's a start, but I've got more plans for that cool, dry basement this winter.


01/06 - Freshly hung.


01/13 - After one week of drying.


Up until the past couple of days, when the cold finally rolled in for the season, my broccoli plants were still producing.

That's it for now. Keep your eye on this space for more coming soon.

Porcini - The King of Fungus

The other day I was out food shopping, when I spotted a rare item not usually found adorning grocery store shelves. I had seen the dried variety before (and cooked with them several times), but this was my first face to face encounter with fresh Porcini mushrooms. If you know me at all, then you know that this meant a challenge - one that I would have to accept.

Porcini go by many other names, but the latin name Boletus Edulis tells the story (Boletus means superior mushroom). These fungi are highly regarded in many parts of the world, most notably in Italy.

I sifted through the bin and grabbed a couple of decent looking specimens. Some looked like they were a bit past their prime, but most would be just fine if used right away. I wasn't about to let my produce-pickiness get in the way of taking some of these babies home.

Ladies and gents - the king has entered the building.


A cross-section of this one reveales that familiar porcini shape.

I prefer to take a simple approach when deciding how to prepare an ingredient like this. Really this is key when it comes to cooking - when you have a great ingredient, let it be the star of the dish. I really wanted to taste the Porcini - not overpower it with other strong flavors. I decided to keep it pretty simple, sauteeing the porcini in olive oil, adding some pasta, and topping it off with a little Parmigiano Reggiano. Simple, but perfect. I wrote up the technique for you to try at the bottom of the post.

Having used dried porcini on a number of occasions, I was really curious how the fresh ones would compare. I didn't have to wait long to find out - when the mushrooms first hit the hot oil, this incredible aroma was released. It was not the familiar earthy smell of the dried porcini, but something much more delicate and intriguing.

Oh yeah - sizzle for me baby! Hit me with that aroma!

The mushrooms were absorbing the oil and turning a nice golden color. When the pasta was ready, I tossed in the sautee and some Parmigiano. Time to taste.

Flavor wise, the fresh porcini had the same general taste as the dried ones. However, I think the earthiness tends to be a little more concentrated in dried form - I prefered the mellowness of the fresh variety. Also, the texture of the fresh was softer and meatier - also a plus. But the biggest difference I noticed was in the aroma. Each forkfull that ascended to my face brought this permeating wave of olfactory sensation, reminding me of the captivating scent of the mushroom's cousin - truffles. This aspect alone makes fresh porcini the hands down winners.

As I mentioned already, finding these in your local market may be tough. But if you dig mushrooms, searching these out is well worth the effort.


Pasta with Porcini and Parmigiano

For each person: 1/4 lb spaghettini 1/4 lb fresh porcini mushrooms, sliced thinly 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped olive oil Parmigiano Reggiano cheese salt

Generously salt pasta water and bring to a boil. Heat about 1/4c of olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the porcini and give them a quick toss in the pan. At this time, also add the pasta to the boiling water. The pasta should take about 7-8 minutes - remember, pasta never waits for it's toppings!

Give the mushrooms a toss every couple of minutes. They should start to become slightly golden. For the last minute of the sautee, add the garlic.

When the pasta is done (al dente), drain and add to the mushroom pan. Toss to coat pasta in the oil, adding more if necessary. Grate plenty of Parmigiano on top and server right away.

Notes: You can use dried porcini if fresh aren't available. Simply reconstitute them with some hot water and let them steep for 10 minutes or so. Then use them like the fresh ones.

This works well with other mushrooms too. I would stay away from the common white button mushrooms for this dish though - the mushroominess (nice word, huh?) is just a little too strong for my taste here.

I think tagliatelle or pappardelle would have been better choices for the pasta, but I didn't have any in the house. Oh well.

Pizza and Sake? A Review of Hong Kong's Aqua Tokyo / Roma

On the surface, Japan and Italy do not seem to share much in common when it comes to culinary tradition. But think about this:

1. Japan and Italy both have people
2. Both countries look long and skinny on a map
3. Both countries have capitals that start with either the letter 'T' or 'R'

Two sides of the same coin. Birds of a feather. Kissing cousins.

Thus, it was only a matter of time until some master of the obvious created a restaurant featuring both of these sister cuisines. That someone is the Aqua restaurant group of Hong Kong.

Located on the 29th floor of the One Peking building in Kowloon, Aqua Tokyo/Roma/Spirit has an enviable location offering perhaps the city's best nighttime skyline view. But don't spend so much time looking out that you miss the beauty of the swanky modern interior.

The menu is organized into two halves - The Italian side on the left (read in the typical Western fashion, front to back) and the Japanese on the right (read Japanese style - back to front). As I began to drool over the sushi section, I read that Aqua flies in fish daily from Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market, so I was expecting good things.

I started out with a nod to my Italian heritage with a buffalo mozzarella pizza with fresh cherry tomatoes and arugula. This pizza was more Italian rather than American in design. The crust was perfectly thin and crispy, and the three topping elements were perfectly balanced, with the arugula adding a nice peppery kick to play against the mild, creamy cheese. I thought that this pizza would be perfect paired with a light, crisp Junmai Daiginjo sake, so I ordered a bottle. Premium sakes like this one should always be served cold, but you already knew that. It was a surprisingly excellent way to start the meal.

Now that's a good looking pizza.

Next up was the Aqua Tokyo sushi platter - the restaurant's signature offering of nigiri sushi. As a contemporary twist, Aqua seared some of toppings and toasted some of the riceballs to accentuate certain flavors in the ingredients. Some pieces were also topped with iteresting items such as caviar or avocado. Standout favorites were the uni with toasted rice ball and the seared Japanese beef. All in all, I found each piece a well thought out and tasty combination of flavors.

A feast for the eyes as well. Starting from the left we have crab with caviar, uni (sea urchin), grilled eel, hamachi, salmon, tuna with avocado, and Japanese beef. In the center is a grilled prawn maki roll.

After the sushi, we were presented with salt grilled hamachi (yellowtail) collar. This is an item that wouldn't seem strange perhaps anywhere in the world except, of course, the good old USA. Don't be afraid, people! The meat around the collar bone was extremely delicate and flavorful, and the salt and soy based dipping sauce were the perfect accoutrements to bring out the richness of the fish.

This outstanding fish just melted in my mouth.

After this, a plate of king prawn tempura seemed a little pedestrian, but was nevertheless well executed and tasty. On the side was a dark green seasoning powder that was somewhat salty (konbu, maybe?) which was an interesting touch.

Beautifully crisp and not very oily - the mark of a good tempura.

Finally, I couldn't pass up a Yuzu sorbet, served iside a frozen, hollowed out Yuzu fruit skin. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit that can best be described as a mixture of lemon and lime, but a little more pungent. The sorbet was a nice way to finish up the meal.

Fresh yuzu is almost impossible to find in the States.

With a full belly, I left the restaurant as a very happy customer, hoping I would have a chance to return and sample more of the vast offering of menu items. Suddenly, the duo of Japanese and Italian didn't seem so strange.

In all seriousness, there are many things about these two cuisines that really are similar - chief among them is the dedication to using the absolute freshest ingredients possible and preparing them in such a way as to show off their natural flavors. Of course, each culture has applied it's own unique traditions to this principle, yielding wildly different results. But maybe... Just maybe they are not so different after all.

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Was this writeup helpful to you? Want to share your Aqua experience? Please leave a comment below.

A Most Unusual Birthday

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that I seem to only have time to blog when I'm overseas?

Yeah.... That's what I thought. Given that, I'll give you one guess where my physical body currently lies.

Monday, November 13th, the anniversery of my entrance into the world, lasted a mere 17 and a half hours for me. You ask how that is possible? The answer is simple. At approximately 7:30pm EST, 39,000 feet above the North Pole, I crossed the international dateline, thereby skipping ahead into the future to November 14th. And who says time travel doesn't exist?

One of my favorite in-flight pastimes is to watch the map channel, where you can be endlessly entertained by watching the plane glide, one pixel at a time, onward towards your destination. All relevant flight stats (speed, altitude, distance, etc.) are, of course, displayed for your viewing pleasure. One of my least favorite in-flight pastimes is heading to the bathroom in my socks and having to maneuver around the puddles of urine left by unscrupulous co-passengers (What's so funny... everyone in Business takes their shoes off during the flight, okay?).

On this particular day, we were taking the polar route. As we neared the North Pole, some funny things started to happen to our plane on the tiny screen. As I watched the plane jerk about on it's axis, I couldn't help but think that I was glad that the on screen choreography did not match the actual flight experience.

Watch magnetic declination at work.

So it was that I was able to witness the approximate precise moment when my birthday ended. 4 and a half hours, sheared away in one brief moment. And thanks to this commemorative photo I snapped, you can follow along with me and share in my pain.

Watch this... Watch this here... Ready... Here it is... And... Bam! Boo yeah! That's what I'm talking about!

By the way, I should take this opportunity to welcome my Chinese friends to the 21st century. The ban on Wikipedia and my very own blog (okay, other blogs too) has been lifted and can now be viewed in the Middle Kingdom. Welcome to the planet.

Naked Nite @ TND

"No Way! It's not me, it's the food!"
- Jamie Oliver

Thursday Night Dinner (TND) has become an institution at the home of my good friends here in central MA. Each Thursday, they host family, friends, and neighbors at their home for a great meal and fun evening. A throwback from simpler times, TND gives us all the chance to get together, talk, laugh, and catch up on the week's happenings. With somewhere around 20 regulars and another 20 or so who stop by once in a while, it is always a full house - literally.

Recently, I teamed up with fellow TND regular Emilie to host what I called 'Naked Nite'. Okay, okay, get your mind out of the gutter! This was not a clothing optional evening. No birthday suits or skinny dipping. Only two visible cheeks allowed per person (above the waist, please). No, this was a celebration of self labeled "Naked Chef" Jamie Oliver's simple and delicious food. I know what some of you food snobs out there are thinking, but listen - Jamie's food is both easy to make and tastes fantastic. It is exactly the kind of food I enjoy making, and we all enjoy eating.

The 'Naked' monniker comes from the idea that Jamie's food is simple. The techniques he uses are 'stripped down' from the complicated restaurant methods so that anyone can make this food at home. The recipes are reduced to the 'bare essentials.'

I had the opportunity of meeting Jamie a few years ago while he was passing through Coral Gables on a book signing tour. But before the signing, there was a live cooking demo. In the bookstore courtyard, a couple hundred chairs were set in front of a touring cooking stage. Jamie came out, and wasted no time getting started. He mentioned that he was often asked if he cooks in the nude at home. He answered, in his typical Brit accent, "I don't reccomend that you actually cook naked. Aside from the whole hygene thing, you might burn yourself!" Yikes! I'll keep that in mind. **Fighting the urge to make the obvious inappropriate 'sausage' joke here**

Nice to meet you Jamie. Thanks for keeping your kit on.

Jamie's live performance was every bit as entertaining as I expected it to be. For his lamb curry dish, he put his cooking method to music, even stopping one point to play the drums while the tantalizing scent of sauteeing lamb and curry spice wafted through the courtyard. He prepared a dish with couscous and grilled veggies, his "Easiest, Sexiest Salad Ever" (a fantastic combo of fresh figs, mozzarella, and prosciutto - still one of my all time favorites), and finished up with a simple dish of cut pineapple with bashed up mint and sugar tossed on top. Not bad for a free show!

I left that night with some new ideas to try out, and a free box of couscous - which I still have to this day. Good thing pasta doesn't spoil.

So with this inspiration in mind, we sifted through his various books and websites, and chose the evening's menu:

World's Best Baked Onions
Summer Chickpea Salad
Baked Carrots with Cumin, Thyme, Butter and Chardonnay
Risotto with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto
Fantastic Roasted Chicken
Pukka Pineapple with Bashed-up Mint Sugar
Orange and Polenta Biscuits

With about 25 guests expected, we had a lot of cooking to do. Taking various ideas I had seen Jamie use, I prepared the chicken with chopped rosemary and strips of bacon draped over the top. The cavity was stuffed with lemon halves and some fresh herbs. The key to a perfect roasted chicken is simple - give it time. At 400F, expect a 4lb chicken to take at least an hour and 20 minutes. Let that outer skin get golden brown and crispy before you take that bird out, or else you'll be sorry. It would be like grabbing your clothes out of the dryer while they're still wet. Sure, you can wear them but...

Not quite there yet. Don't touch that chicken!

Getting naked in the kitchen... sort of.

While the chiken was cooking, I started to work on the risotto while Emilie made the onions. The combo of roasted onion with bacon, rosemary, and Parmigiano Reggiano totally earns the "World's Best" title. Some of the other dishes we made ahead of time, and others still were brought by gracious volunteers. This worked out pretty well, as we were easily able to pull together the entire dinner in about an hour and a half.

That is some 'pukka' poultry

Carrots, onions, and risotto

This chickpea salad is simply brilliant

Pineapple and polenta biscuits - just lovely

Dinner was served, and our labor of love was soon devoured. I think everyone really enjoyed the meal, which, let's face it, is the entire point. So, cheers Jamie, and thanks for the inspiration! I'm pretty sure there's a Naked Nite II in my future sometime soon.

Day 15: The Forbidden City - Forbidden No More

At long last, I had reached my final day in China (for this time, anyways). My flight was scheduled to leave from Beijing Capital International Airport at 4:30 in the afternoon, so I still had over half a day to spend sightseeing before I had to go. When it comes to Beijing, two major historical attractions come to mind - the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Having conquered the Great Wall, there was one obvious choice for this day.

The Forbidden City, or Imperial Palace ('Gu Gong' for all of you wannabe Mandarin scholars), was the residence of China's emperors from 1420 until the fall of the dynasty system in the early 1900's. Located in the direct center of old Beijing, many emperors did not leave these grounds at all throughout their entire lives. Like everything else in Beijing, it's big - really big. Check out this satellite photo. For reference, you can see Tiananmen Square (remember, 82 football fields big) in the lower half of the picture.

I arrived at the Meridian Gate (that would be the pay entrance) at about 9:30, which gave me about 3 hours to see what I could before I had to get going. I bought my entrance ticket, picked up an audio guide, and headed inside. The map they handed me with my ticket was all in Chinese, except for the title "Imperial Palace Museum Guide Map" at the top. That's helpful. Fortunately, the audio guide comes with one in English, even if many of the buildings weren't labeled. Each area of interest was marked with an LED light on the map. The audio guide was activated by proximity, so as I approached an area, the audio started. After I had visited a place, the light went out, leaving only the places I had not yet been to still illuminated. Technology is great.

The architecture of the Palace is simply stunning. There are hundreds of ancient wooden structures, all topped with intricately tiled golden rooftops. Staircases are ornately carved out of enormous slabs of marble. Bronze dragons glid the doors and walls throughout the palace grounds. The corners of each building are marked with a series of little beasts parading behind the emperor. The more beasties, the more prominent the building. With 11 such creatures, the most important of the buildings is the Hall of Supreme Harmony. This is where the emperor's throne is located, and where he would typically host important visitors and conduct matters of state.

Beyond the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the Gate of Heavenly Purity. This is the entrance to the inner court, where the emperor and his family lived. I explored around the various halls and palaces for quite some time. Many of the hallways were narrow, sometimes leading to another palace or courtyard. Sometimes there was only one way in our out of these places. It was easy to get lost. Many of the smaller, side buildings contained exhibits of various historical artifacts or cultural exhibits.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony

The Emperor's throne, inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony

The little roof beasties

Somewhere in the courtyard outside some important Hall

Behind the inner court was an elaborate garden. One area had a rock garden with many ornately formed rocks. To the north end of the garden was a large rock with a pavillion perched on top. This was the highest point in the compound. Frequently, the emperors and their wives would climb up to the top and look out over Beijing.

In advance of the 2008 olympics coming Beijing, the city is in the midst a massive facelift. Many of the structures inside the Forbidden City are part of this enormous restoration project. While some buildings sported a bright, fresh coat of paint, others were faded and cracked, with peeling paint and rotted wood to reveal the true age and character of this place. In all honesty, I preferred the old to the new. It just gave me more a sense of the history that these walls have witnessed.

One of the many garden pavillions

Evidence of the true age of the City

I spent three hours there, and only managed to hit the highlights. It would be easy to spend an entire day there if you wanted to be thorough. But I had a date with an airplane that I was intent on keeping, so I caught the subway back to the hotel to pack and check out.

I was running low on time, so I decided to abandon the bus-to-airport plan and take a taxi. I asked the concierge how much this would cost and was told 120-150RMB. I only had 120 left, so I asked her to ask the taxi driver if this would be enough. After a brief exchange, she told me that it was no problem - this driver would take me. She also explained that there was a 10RMB road toll near the airport that would be included in the price. I got in the taxi and we took off.

Feeling a little uneasy, I decided to tell the cab driver how much I had just to make sure it would be okay - in Mandarin, of course (no he didn't speak English!).

"I only have 120RMB. Is that enough?"

"It's enough."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Wahd ajfkda sjkdh jdhg jatkah sjfhkj fjkaslfkds fjka;f asja waur iwon dkgas ajk fhasfjslgai ghajkdskjfl......."

Uh oh...

"Sorry, my Mandarin is not very good. I didn't understand."

3 more rounds of this and the driver was finally resigned to the fact that I did not, in fact, really speak Mandarin. We hit the toll booth and he motioned for me to give him money. I handed him 10RMB and soon we reached the airport. Out of curiosity, I had been monitoring the fare meter to see how much the tally would reach on the trip. As we pulled up to the sidewaly at the airport, the meter stopped on 114RMB. I got out and handed the driver the last 110RMB that I had, certain that we had established the limits of my funding capability. He looked at me funny and waved his hands saying (in Mandarin) "4 Renminbi! I need 4 more Renminbi!"

I said, "I don't have any more! No more!" We both kept saying the same thing back and forth to each other until the driver just waved me off and just drove away. I shook my head, thinking that I couldn't have been clearer about my cash situation. I should mention that 4RMB is about 50 cents.

With no money for food, I was thrilled to be a business class passenger with access to the lounge and it's free food and drink ameneties. As I sat and filled my belly, I reflected on my time in the capital city. Beijing was big. And old. And full of tourist traps and people trying to make a quick buck off of the "rich American traveller." Lots of culture, in some ways tied to propaganda of the past, and in some, marching towards modernization. All in all, it's been great to have had a front row seat to the rebirth of a nation.

It had been an exciting adventure with plenty of memorable moments. I was glad I had come, but was somewhat "gladder" that I was heading home. I used the wireless internet in the lounge to post a brief trip update, with the idea that I would play catch up once I had arrived home. A month and a half later, here is the final post of this trip. Sorry it took so long, but I hope that the stories made you feel like you were there, so that, in some vicarious way, you could take part in my experiences. I don't mind traveling alone, but the one thing I do miss is having someone to share the moment with me. So in that sense, thanks for reading along with me.

I will be home in the States until November, but rest assured I have a lot to write about here until my next China excursion. I also have tons more photos from this last trip, so I might put together another photo gallery at some point. And of course, I'll have another installment of language humor. Until next time...

Day 14: The Great Wall

"If you haven't been to the Great Wall, you are not a real man."
- Mao Zedong


7:20am – The tour bus rumbled through the streets of Beijing. Despite being full to capacity with 40 passengers, there was a strange quietness in the cabin. I double checked my supplies for the day – 2 bottles of water, 2 Pocari Sweats, a package of dried mango, some spicy dried beef, and a sleeve of Ritz crackers.

At a total length of about 5000km, the Great Wall of China stretches the equivalent length of Boston to San Francisco. From Beijing, there are several places where you can go to see it. The easiest, closest, and most popular place is the Badaling section of the wall, but this was not where I was heading.

The Great Wall was built over a long period of time, with the oldest sections being over 500 years old. As you may imagine, maintaining a structure of such magnitude is somewhat problematic. As a result, about 85% of the wall is currently in poor condition. For this reason, the Badaling section of the wall was restored about 50 years ago by the Chinese government – reconstructed to resemble its past glory so visitors could marvel at its splendor. Thousands of people come to visit this section of the wall every day. They feast on Chinese delicacies like… McDonalds? KFC? They go… shopping at the mall? Wait a minute… This wasn’t what I had in mind - I was hoping for something more… Old. Authentic. Raw. I wanted to see the real wall.

So I started to research my options. Many people described hiking along the wall as a way to get away from the masses of tourists and see some incredible sections of the unrestored wall. The Simatai section was often cited as having the most spectacular terrain and scenery. Nearby was the Jinshanling section, which appeared to be an “unspoiled” stretch of the wall with few tourists. I found a couple of outfits online that combined both areas into one outing, and seemed reputable and affordable. China Adventure advertised 3 options for a one-day Great Wall hike:

1. Super Hiker – Get dropped off at the Jinshanling section and hike 10km to the Simatai section. Then, climb another 5km to the top of Simatai.
2. Regular Hiker – Same as #1, but skip straight to the parking lot at the end instead of scaling the Simatai portion.
3. Leisure Hiker – Skip straight to the Simatai section only, no hiking.

Map of Great Wall areas near Beijing, courtesy of China Adventure

I was a little worried about the Super Hiker option. I am not a Super Hiker. But, this was my only trip to the wall, so I wanted to make the most of it. No one had forced me to decide yet, so as we were driving the 130km from Beijing to the wall, I was weighing my options. Even with no hiking, you would still get to see the real wall and spectacular scenery. The weather was cloudy and spitty, not the best for beautiful mountain vistas, but it would do. After 3 hours in a bumpy bus with 40 strangers, we had arrived at Simatai. The guide stood up and barked out in broken English something like “Anyone for no hiking get off now!” This was the moment of decision. I looked around to see what everyone else was going to do. I noticed a couple of guys maybe a little younger and a little skinnier than me jump up and say, “No hiking! That’s what I’m about!” They quickly ran out of the bus. This did not help my confidence. But everyone else stayed put - even the old lady. I was sure I could outwalk her. Before I could make up my mind, the bus drove away. Decision made, for better or worse. At this point, I tentatively titled this post “Rue the Day.” Mentally, I shifted gears and began to psych myself up for the hike.

We arrived at the Jinshanling section and got out of the bus. Since I was alone, I surveyed the crowd for some people who might be good to buddy up with (read: no triathletes or grandmas). The bus was going to be waiting for us at the Simatai section in about 4 hours and I didn’t want to lose my group and get left behind. Most of the people who came this day were couples, but there were a few loners like myself. As we hit the trail up the mountain to the wall, everyone kind of took off at their own pace. I just went with the flow, trying to make sure I stayed somewhere in the middle of the pack, remembering the faces of the other group members. My legs were already burning as we made the steep climb up the mountain to the wall. I kept thinking I was going to regret staying on that bus.

And then, all of a sudden, there it was. A few more steps, and I was standing on the Great Wall. I looked out and saw this continuous stretch of brick and stone, strung across the peaks and valleys of the mountains, snaking like the mythical dragon into the clouds. It was quite a sight.

Awesome view of the Great Wall.

Viva Pocari!

Like every other giddy tourist there, I began snapping photos at a dizzying pace. In every direction around me were bare mountains showing little evidence of human development. The thick clouds hung like a mist, giving an air of mystery and intrigue to the landscape. Buoyed by the spectacular view, I was reenergized and started walking.

Soon, the entrance disappeared behind me and the condition of the wall began to worsen somewhat (it seemed obvious that the entrance area must be fairly well maintained). The top surface of the wall was uneven with bricks broken and missing here and there. Wild vegetation was growing from the cracks between the bricks. The wall itself was not very wide – maybe about 10-15 feet at most, just enough for two people to walk comfortably side by side.

At first, the stretch of wall was fairly flat, sometimes slightly uphill, sometimes slightly downhill. However, as the nature of mountains tends to be, I soon came upon a steep climb. At this point, the wall became like a giant set of stairs. Navigating them was particularly tough because the steps were all different sizes. Some of the bricks were loose and unstable. And the steps were steep – some up to a 70 degree slope, making it tough to make it up without using your hands to steady yourself (more like climbing a ladder than stairs). At some points, the wall was in such poor condition that there were no sidewalls at all. I couldn’t help but think that there is no way they would allow access to a place like this in the States. Too many lawyers.

Watchtowers were located at regular intervals along the wall. Each one served as a marker of progress and offered a place to rest for a moment before continuing on. Up the stairs… Down the stairs… Up the stairs… Down the stairs…

A typical stretch of steps along the wall.

Some of the guard towers have been reduced to rubble.

There were lots of steep areas like this one.

After a couple of hours, I crossed into the Simatai section of the wall. It had begun to rain lightly, which was kind of refreshing given how hot I had been the day before. I was a little hungry so I stopped in a guard tower and pulled out my dried mango. I opened the package and grabbed a tantalizing piece of yellow… wait, brown mango flesh??? What was this garbage? I tasted it… Crap. It’s that nasty, sour, salted stuff. At least I have this jerkey… Hmmm, the dried pork(?) was hard and chewey with little redeeming flavor. Guess that’s what I get for not being able to read Chinese characters. Fortunately, anything tastes okay washed down with a little Pocari Sweat.

A while later, I reached a narrow footbridge suspended over a river. Walking across it was a little spooky – it was a small suspension bridge anchored to the sides of the mountains on either of the river. The floorboards were small wooden planks, and the bridge swayed back and forth with each step. On the other side of the bridge, was the path to the parking lot – I had made it! Of course, this brought on another decision – head to the bus, or continue to the top of Simatai.

The summit was shrouded in clouds, which meant that even if I was able to reach the top, I wouldn’t be able to see much. By now, the rain was steady and I was pretty wet. I still had an hour until the bus left, but my legs were not happy. Ahead of me was the longest, steepest stretch of steps that I had come across on the hike. These steps were serious. These steps were pain. Nevertheless, I had come this far, so I decided to give it a try

The impressive Simatai section of the Great Wall.

Slowly and deliberately, I trekked up the stairs. My legs burned with each and every step. I could only go a short while before having to stop and catch my breath. I hit the first guard tower, which was pretty high up. Just past the tower was a short stretch of stairs that leveled out on a ridge for a bit before shooting straight up to the top. I checked the time – 40 minutes till bus departure. Even if I were to make it to the top, I would still have to turn around and come back. I just didn’t have the time. I headed up to at least hit the ridge so I could see the view before I headed back down. There I stood, at the edge of the clouds, watching the wall dance across the mountains, disappearing in the mist. Standing there alone in the pouring rain, I raised my hands to the heavens and let the wind and rain kiss my face. What an experience.

The steep climb to the first Simatai guard tower.

The view from the highest point I hit. I had hiked across all of the wall visible in this photo. Hope the wind doesn't blow my camera over the side!

I climbed back down the stairs carefully – the rocky steps were steep and very slippery. On the way to the parking lot, I stopped at a small souvenir shop and picked up a cheesy “I climbed the Great Wall” T-shirt for $2. What a deal. The thunderstorm continued, but at this point, I was already completely soaked through, so it didn’t really matter. I found the bus, climbed on, and collapsed in my seat. I was so glad to be still. I had survived the day, and was anxious to get back to the hotel and crash. In 3 short hours, I would be there.

Well, almost.

The first sign of trouble was when we pulled out of the parking lot of Simatai and traffic on this small two lane road was at a dead stop. We waited about 10 minutes without moving when the driver decided to make a U-turn. With a tour bus. Did I say it was a two lane road? After another 10 minutes (spent coercing the cars behind us to move, and then executing the turn), we headed back towards the parking lot. This time we went out the back way. I had no idea if it would actually be faster or not, but since we were moving, it at least felt like progress. About 15 minutes later there was a very loud bang on the back right side of the bus, followed by a mass turning of heads and furrowing of brows. The driver pulled over to inspect the damage. “Flat tire,” he said as if it were no problem at all (I should point out that this bus had the dual tire configuration, so there was still one good tire left on that side). He climbed back in the driver’s seat and continued down the road. A couple of minutes later, we began to hear a thump-thump-thump-thump sound coming from said tire. It seemed to be increasing in frequency and loudness as the speed of the bus increased. We had no choice at this point, the tire would have to be fixed.

The problem was that we were in an area of small villages with modest brick houses, where corn fields, bicycles, and dirt paths were more common than more modern things, like for example, auto parts. We pulled over on the side of the road near this small building that had handwritten signs posted on the outside.

Apparently this sign says something like, "Tire Repair." I'm not making this stuff up.

The driver got out and put a piece of wood behind the rear wheel. He then backed the bus up onto the wood, suspending the bad tire in the air. At this point, the bus emptied as all of us passengers had to get out and take a look at the damage. The driver went to talk with one of the villagers, who then went into one of the small buildings and extended a compressed air hose out to the bus. Then, he connected a massive air-driven torque driver to unscrew the bolts from the wheel. What do you know, I guess they do have auto shops out there! As the mechanic worked to remove the wheel, shutters clicked and flash bulbs strobed as all of us curious passengers supervised the proceedings. Everyone got quite a chuckle out of the situation. Fortunately, the bus was equipped with a spare tire and within 15 short minutes, we were ready to roll again. I got back on the bus and realized that it was warm, humid, and stunk like a locker room. Only 3 more hours.

The busted tire and the "jack"

A village boy plays outside.

There was an interesting mix of people in the group. It seemed that of all the people there, I was the short timer – “You’ve only been in China for two weeks?” Well ‘scuse me people. I also was one of the precious few who were staying in an actual hotel. There were scores of crunchy earth, hostel-going euro types. I only ran into one or two other Americans. There were Aussies, Germans, Danish, Norwegians, Brits, Italians, Canadians and Belgians to name a few. Everyone was extremely friendly. On the wall, I had met a German software manager who was in his 9th month of a 2 year assignment living in Beijing and a Canadian couple living in Beijing teaching English. On the bus, I sat next to a Norwegian seismologist who had just spent two weeks in Tibet and was one of the very first to travel on the new high altitude train to Lahsa. There was a Belgian girl who had traveled from Europe via the Trans Siberian Railroad. There was a foreign-born Chinese girl who had made the long trip to Asia to learn about her heritage. A British woman had brought her 7 year old son who kept asking “Are we almost done?” And there was a young Belgian couple who had spent a month in China traveling around the country, planning each day only as it arrived. All of these people I spent some time with as I made my way along the wall and on the bus.

Eventually, I arrived at the drop-off for the subway station. I said goodbye to my new friends and hopped off the bus. I’m sure the other train passengers weren’t happy to have a wet stinky tourist on board with them, but I was thrilled to be heading “home.” It was after 10pm by the time I reached the hotel. I was dead tired, soaking wet, and in desparate need of a foot transplant. As I opened my backpack and started unpacking my stuff, I realized that everything inside was soaked through. I lost some postcards, a nice Beijing guide book, and had a scare with my passport. Oh well, nothing I could do about that stuff now. I got cleaned up and changed and hit the pillow hard. Needless to say, I slept like a rock.