Tag Archives: Beijing

Speaking Spandarish, Tiananmen Tour, Mock Meat & Lunch Lotto

Subject:   Jamaican in China—Speaking Spandarish, Tiananmen Tour, Mock Meat and Lunch Lotto

From:      walt@jamaicaninchina.com
Date: Sept 3, 2010 3:00:55 PM GMT+10:00

So, I met Cong through the Couchsurfing.org website before I left Saipan. She graciously offered to take me around to a few places in Beijing once I got there. We agreed to meet on Thursday (Day 4). Interestingly, as I had learned through her couchsurfing profile, she speaks Spanish (quite well), and so do I, thank you very much.

As we conversed, any word Cong didn’t immediately recall in English, she said in Spanish so I could understand.

(FYI: Maybe I should write the lived-but-never-chronicled Jamaican in Washington Heights saga and tell you about dating my college girlfriend who was a half-Chinese, half-Dominican Latina. Washington Heights is a neighborhood in upper Manhattan, New York, where the culture of the Dominican Republic reigns supreme!)

So, this English/Spanish/Mandarin speaking Jamaican boy in China, is hanging out with a Mandarin-English-Spanish speaking Chinese girl from Beijing, and our conversation is an interesting mix of Spanish, Mandarin and English…um, let’s see…Ok, give me a minute…Spanglarin!? Spandarish!?? Yeah, that’s it! Speaking Spandarish!

We went to the Apple store and used Baidu.com (the Chinese “Google”) via the free wi-fi access to plan our day.

At the Apple store in Beijing getting directions

Then we headed on the metro to Tiananmen Square. According to Cong, for most Chinese, it’s just a place to come and take pictures and where an annual festivity is held. For most westerners, the name conjures images of tanks and student protests.

Tiananmen Square

“Can we take a photo with you, please?” (Y’know, I’m going to start charging you girls money soon)

Jamaican on the Streets of Tiananmen

On the way to the restaurant (my third time this week), we stopped at a juice bar where I introduced her to wheat grass. She was adventurous, tried a bit, and liked it! That’s amazing! Personally, I hate the stuff! I just drink it for the chlorophyll and health benefits!

She noted that seeing me enter the store, grab a blade of grass from a tray and eat it, was just about the most shocking thing she’d seen in a while. It was like seeing someone stoop down on the sidewalk, and start grazing on a lawn!

Say “cheese!” oops, that’s dairy….um, say “soy protein!”

So, check this out. A little-known secret of restaurant dining in Beijing is what I’m going to call “Pay List Lotto!”  (If I recall correctly, the mandarin phrase for check translates literally as “pay list.”)  According to Cong, you can request a special feature on your check for the meal that has a scratch-off lottery option. Most times, you just reveal a “thank you!” but she once won money!

The restaurants won’t automatically offer the ticket since they’re charged some sort of tax when they do. Even if you’re hip to the game and request it, some restaurants may weasel their  way out of giving it to you claiming to be out of the tickets. But now you know!

Ahem, It goes without saying, of course, that one of the most important phrases I am determined to learn is how to ask for that darn ticket!

Did we win?!

Beijing Metro

And, thanks to Cong, in a just a few hours, I’m already starting to recognize and understand Chinese characters!

All in all, a great day! Thanks, Cong! There had been tentative plans to attend the Couchsurfing Foodie Night later that evening, but I was in a stay home mood by day’s end!

~~~~~~~~~^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New life to live, new things to learn

green grass to drink, and even money to earn!

~~~~~~~~~^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Life as we know it

Subject: SPECIAL Jamaican in China!–Life as we know it (a missive fi di massive)

From: walt@jamaicaninchina.com

Date: September 1, 2010 12:36:34 PM GMT+10:00

Dear friends,

I will make this brief.

This is a special email. It is being sent out of sequence to a select group of people to share with you what just happened on my second day in China (even though you haven’t received the first day’s chronicle yet), because the significance of what I’m about to share with you defies adequate description in words, and can not be overstated.

Life on the planet as we know it, has been irrevocably altered.

And, in the familiar Yin/Yang “good news-bad news”  construct:

First, the GOOD news:

Today, I found a VP2 style restaurant in Beijing!

For those of you who knew me in New York, you’ll recall the Chinese vegetarian restaurant, Vegetarian Paradise 3 (VP3), in New York’s Chinatown, which closed after Sept 11, and whose remaining sister location, VP2, is now thriving on West 4th Street in The Village close to New York University.

If so, you know what that restaurant represents to my life and gastric happiness, so you can already appreciate the earth-shattering, life-altering significance of what I’ve just shared with you.

The name of this restaurant is Tianchu Miaoxiang Vegetarian Restaurant (Chinese name: 天厨妙香素食(朝外店); found it on happycow.net). Out of courtesy to those who aren’t familiar, I won’t get into too much detail, but for those who know, it’s VP2 and then some! They’ve got a menu of about 20 pages, with all the mock meat, seaweed and veggie dishes we know and love, plus more stuff that exists here “at the source!”

menu

Sample of a page of the menu

The manager, Christina–as the only one on staff who speaks English–catered to me, explaining dishes, and making suggestions. (I think I’m in love.)

christine

Me and Christina

And finally, at the end of a sumptuous meal, which cost only 114RMB or about 16US, she refused to accept a tip–explaining Chinese culture and restaurant policy to me in the process. (A restaurant that won’t accept tips! Can life get any better than this?? Tell everyone you know: Heaven’s got a sign at the gate: “Cheapskates Welcome!“)

This in a city where everywhere I go, I’m besieged by friendly Chinese ladies who stare, smile, offer their numbers, and are making life quite pleasant. So, in any event, that’s the good news.

BAD news:

Now, the bad news.

um…today, I found a VP2 style restaurant in Beijing, China.

This means–my dear, sweet, close friends and family–you who’ve made my life special for all these years, and who mean the world to me–this means, you will likely never, ever, ever see me again.

Buh-bye.

whooooosh!

flap, flap, flap, flap, flap….

[the sound of a curtain fluttering in the breeze….]

Day 1. I think I’m going to like it here

Subject: Jamaican in China!–Day 1. I think I’m going to like it here

From: walt@jamaicaninchina.com

Date: September 1, 2010 1:29:00 PM GMT+10:00

on the flight from saipan
On the five-hour flight to China–the last charter flight leaving Saipan direct to Beijing

The minute I step of the plane, I get besieged by people who want to take their photo with me.

on the tarmac
Finally got some time to take a photo by myself

We hop on a bus to the terminal,

At the baggage-claim, I meet a mom and son who were returning from Saipan and exchange contact information. My first contacts in Beijing. I need a cell phone.

At the information counter, Jyang helps me contact the Embassy, we exchange email addresses, and she agrees to show me around Beijing once I get settled. Hmmm…I need a cell phone.

With the name of my destination written in Mandarin characters, I head down to street level, where I take a taxi to meet Les. I won’t show you the photo of the shiesty taxi driver who tried to charge me $70 US dollars for what should have been a $6US ride from the airport to the US Embassy where Les works.

Beijing buggy!

While on our way to get me a cell phone, we spot a young lady who happened to be walking with a pair of golf clubs, which gave Les an opportunity to strike up a conversation. Turns out–now get this–she’s Jamaican! Her name is Anna, and she says there’s about a 20-person community of Jamaicans here! I give her my email and she promises to connect and introduce me to the “massive!” (Jamaican slang for “a crowd of people!” I need a cell phone.

anna
Anna, one of the few other Jamaicans in Beijing!  Big up!
Les
Les bargains for a good deal for my new cell!

Ok. I got a cell phone.

So, now I’m set…I’ve already met a few contacts with whom I’ll need to share the new number for the Jamaican in China!

Yes, I think I’m going to like it here!

Les shows me around a bit more, then goes back to work, and I roam about town for a bit buying fruit and window shopping.

Last time I was in China, I had a few ok, but bland meals (prepared by chefs who I restricted to certain ingredients) and lived on cashews and raisins when I didn’t have a Chinese-speaking guide to instruct the chefs.  Similarly, when I want to Manila, I subsisted on lara bars and fruit for two weeks. (I didn’t find the vegetarian restaurant until the night before I left)

Tomorrow’s adventure: Finding a true vegan-friendly restaurant in Beijing!