Eric's Beijing Diary

The fangdong (landlady) took us to a Manchu restaurant last night for New Year's Eve. Most people go to their home towns during Spring Festival, so it was just the landlady and her son and myself, another couple and their son, and the lady who lives a few doors down from me with her little boy. One exotic dish after another. Oh, man! Those Qing Dynasty emperors lived good! Deer tail sausage, giant honey shrimp, ox elbow, some delicious pork dish that I don't know the name of, and lots of other stuff. Fragrant Hills would be the place for a restaurant like this. Fragrant Hills was a key resort for the Manchu emperors.

Almost 900 RMB. That is astronomical by Chinese standards, but I think it would probably be a bargain in the US for a meal of this quality. Really delicious food.

The little boy is about three years old. I asked him if he could speak English. "Ni hui shuo yingwen ma?"

He looked at me. "Apple!"

I said, "Hey, that's pretty good!. "Pinguo."

He said, "Jiushi (Exactly)."

We walked back to our village, and I decided to take a little nap to get ready for the evening. Along about 15 minutes to 12, World War III got started, although there had been skirmishes all evening leading up to it. Last year I was in Hong Kong for New Year's Eve, and the place was dead. Not China. This place goes crazy on New Year's Eve.