From bizarre to beautiful, Beijing cooks up a storm

Most of the patrons there were Korean or Chinese students daring each other to eat the unusual offerings. Because these are rare in typical Chinese cuisine, both Chinese and non-Chinese balked at the offerings.

jzgong has contributed a photo to this story.

It's wonderful, though I don't recommend eating here. Two blocks of skewered delicacies --from the pictured scorpions and silk worms through song birds to star fish-- all ready for the hot fat. Unfortunately the oil smells more than a bit off and tends to make everything taste similar. My son lived and worked in Beijing for years, and once, fueled by Chinese white wine, he dined on this street. That said, the whole family was there for 10 days and we had really fine meals everywhere we went, from the tourist shopping areas to neighborhood restaurants. If you have the chance, experiment. I think you'll be really happy with the experience.

eyes of the world has contributed a photo to this story.

I thought I'd offer you links to two other shots from the same series that I think might illustrate even better some of the unusual offerings you can find in Beijing:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeritchie2/1205195185/in/set-72157601596346252/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeritchie2/1205181151/in/set-72157601596346252/

Thanks and regards,

Joe Ritchie
Tallahassee, FL (temporarily in Hong Kong)

joeritchie2 has contributed a photo to this story.

I visited the night market in Beijing shortly before heading off to cruise the Yangtze River. At the time, I was a vegetarian and couldn't decide whether scorpions and silk worms constituted meat, or not. In the event, it gave me a get out anyway.

After everything had been skewered and cooked, it looked reasonably palatable. But seeing this chef open a large drum beneath the table and scoop out a fresh handful of live worms and assorted creepy-crawlies for the next skewer was a bit too much of a culture shock for my 'sensitive' Western palate!

Snapjacs has contributed a photo to this story.

This photo was taken in the market off Wangfuling Dajie.

skinnylaveal has contributed a photo to this story.

Food vendor at Beijing's famous Night Market. Very colorful place with people selling ready-to-eat foods of all kinds...including some things you don't see in most Western countries. These include scorpions, large insects, and snakes. The vendors seem accustomed to people taking photos of them so most don't mind.
=Ed K

edklinenberg@sbcglobal.net has contributed a photo to this story.

Unfortunately, we cannot remember the name of this elegant restaurant (if we ever knew it, or could pronounce it). The service was first class, with more than enough food for everyone. The cuisine was very much the same to be found in most Chinese restaurants in the United States. Evidentally, our hosts selected dishes familiar to the American palate (for which most of our tourmates were grateful).

photos by two has contributed a photo to this story.

Bizarre delicacies abound at the Wangfujing shopping area! If you're in the area and fancy something really different, a quick jaunt to this exciting street will be worth your while.

ecreyes has contributed a photo to this story.

My husband and I love street food, but found some of the choices on Wangujuing street a little over the top for us and just took photos instead. The starfish and sea horses seemed like a lot of work and crunching for very little return in meat. We decided to go mostly vegetarian during our three months of travel in China, with the exception being dumplings/jiaozi.

We spent about a month in Beijing visiting a friend and we were really amazed by the variety and quality of western restaurants there - from Spanish Tapas to Belgian steaks to an Australian cafe.

Of course, the most fun eating experiences were in hole-in-the-wall places where no one spoke English and there was no menu. That's when we would point to "We are vegetarians" in the dictionary and see what would come out. It was almost always a surprise and something good. Mystery vegetables are less scary than mystery meat in my book.

Audrey

www.uncorneredmarket.com

During this photoshot an american guy told to the seller "I give you 20 US$ if you eat scorpions!". Naturally the seller didn't done it.

decadavide has contributed a photo to this story.

At the more than 150 year old Beijing Roast Duck Restaurant.

bhatto has contributed a photo to this story.

Wandering down to the markets and thought I would try some unusual food...I did not eat what is shown here, but I did brave some starfish. Salty and different, but it was part of the adventure.

Natalie Wozniak has contributed a photo to this story.

I took this photograph at the wonderful Beijing Wangfujing Night Market. The picture shows deep fried scorpion. The market vendor who owned this stall offered any Western visitor a free deep fried scorpion if they ate it. Not many took the guy up on his offer. The market is best visited at night when it really comes alive.

peterm7 has contributed a photo to this story.

I found this fast food last year in Beijing. All animals where still alive. I did not try this kind of food.

nixenkai has contributed a photo to this story.

The Wangfujing food market is never boring.

Aung has contributed a photo to this story.

Insect Snacks: scorpions and crickets...

kwangsin has contributed a photo to this story.