56 Proof

After my rendezvous with pandas, I headed to Wide Alley Narrow Alley (寬窄巷子), a cool hang out spot in Chengdu to grab some munchies. Here is the spread, all for ten bucks! And we even got some Red Star brand baijiu called ErWoutou...it was 56 proof... I suddenly felt very confident about food safety in China, no germ will escape ErWouTou.

Our bored waitress... never took her eyes off her cell, not even when I was trying to pay her, oh well.

There was a concert with a Taiwanese boy band near the hotel that night... here are the fan girls gathering in front of the stadium.

I wanna be ... a panda!

What is this fuzzy, cuddly, black and white fur ball thingie hiding behind the leaves?

It's a baby panda!

Man, so jealous, they are so happy.  The Chengdu Panda Base is like a panda paradise, free food, free lodging, and people going ooh and ahhh... They even have their own Panda-razzis!

Aww, heart melts.

Eh, what are you doing here? Poor red pandas, completely overshadowed by their black and white cousins.

Japanese tourists alert! Japanese tourist alert! They have followed me from Paris, to Taipei, to Seoul and now to the land of the pandas :)

Say cheese!

Jetlag

Just rolled my tush out of bed at 2pm and proud of it :-P

Peking Duck

Pre-duck drink at the Park Hyatt... This is considered a clear day in Beijing.

Chef at Work...

The spread...

Reflection. See Walmart?

I am still alive!

...in Beijing though temporarily blocked by the Great Chinese Firewall. Mucho thanks to TH for allowing me to use his secret portal to upload these pics from The Apothecary, a really good bar in Sanlitun.

Quiet Please!

Don't bother me. Can't you see I am having my beauty sleep. Arrgh, people are sooo annoying!!! Hmph!

photo courtesy of mmc.

Silkie Chicken

Don't be scared :-) I am not cooking a monster, though it sure looks scary. It's the wuji or Silkie Chicken. They are kind of distinct in that they have silkie white feathers but black skin. In China, they are also associated with medicinal properties, especially for feminine ailments. Oh, the red berries are goji berries... they give the soup a slightly bitter sweetness.