Eric's Beijing Diary

Had dinner with Abdullah tonight. I made a very basic mistake last week. Had a dinner party with my Business Communications class, of which Abdullah was a member. I knew Abdullah was a Muslim, and I knew, of course, that Muslims don't eat pork, but I had assumed that he could just have mutton or something. What I didn't know, is that Muslims only eat at certain restaurants. So Abdullah came to the party, but explained to me that he could not eat anything. I told him that I wanted to meet him later for dinner. This evening, we went to a small Muslim restaurant right outside the West Gate. I had been there before, but that was with Chinese students who were accustomed to Chinese food. Abdullah ordered what is called, literally, "Big Bowl of Chicken." If you are ever in Beijing, I recommend it. Piping hot, spicy and tasty, with an incredible variety of vegetables in a chicken stir fry. Good stuff.