Before I left the hotel for my first day out in Beijing, I had a banana from the fruit bowl that had greeted me in my room when I arrived the night before. On the frozen tundra that was Tiananmen Square, I was dying for something hot. Surprisingly, there were no food vendors on the square. So I did without. In the Forbidden City, I got what turned out to be a very popular treat at Beijing attractions–a (bunless) hot dog on a stick. It was a little funny to see the locals chowing down on these. Later in the afternoon, I went to a Chinese fast food restaurant and happily got an order of “Golden Nuggets”. I’m certainly not going to go to McDonald’s in China. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to enjoy some nuggets! I washed them down with a Mirinda. I looked this up to find that it’s an orange soda originally from Spain but now produced by Pepsi.
China 2015 Food Diary, Day 5
While strolling along the Bund in the morning, I saw a store with a Magnum sign across the front. Like I was going to pass that by. So as on Day 4 I had a breakfast appetizer of French fries, on Day 5 I had a breakfast appetizer of an ice cream bar. Not just any ice cream bar, of course. A Magnum. All they had were ones with nuts, but I didn’t even care. I was getting my Magnum bar. (If you didn’t already know that I go mad for Magnum bars, now you do.)
Later in the morning, I did have something a little more breakfast appropriate. I went to a coffee shop called Costa Coffee. I had seen a lot of them around town. I found out later it’s the Starbucks of Britain. I figured they were probably a large international (non-Chinese) chain, but I bent my rules a little by going in. Really, I wanted to use their WiFi. I got a blueberry muffin and a Victoria plum lemonade. A drink flavored with a fruit named after Queen Victoria. Yes, it was British alright.
China 2015 Food Diary, Day 4
I love the smell of French fries in the morning! I came by a French fry stand in People’s Park in central Shanghai on the morning of Day 4. I figured, it wouldn’t be open if French fries weren’t meant to be eaten in the morning. I decided to forgo any of the sauces that were available as condiments. I usually just salt my fries. And anyway, condiments such as French Pork meat Floss Flavor, Passion Chocolate Sauce, or Signs Cheese (whatever that is) just weren’t doing it for me. I tried to get a picture of the woman at the counter, but she was as bashful as she was friendly. I stopped by a juice stand and got a passion pop–a juice concoction made with passion fruit, pineapple, lime, banana. Refreshing!
China 2015 Food Diary, Day 3
Back again at Shanghai’s high-speed train station in the morning, I wanted to get something other than another croissant like I had there on Day 2. I found something labeled “Picnic Ham and Cheese” at a bakery. A ham & cheese sandwich is about as Chinese as a croissant. But it’s something I wouldn’t normally get, so I went with it. By the second bite, I knew something wasn’t right. It was slathered with mayonnaise. I don’t do mayonnaise. So I had to toss that.
China 2015 Food Diary, Day 2
At Shanghai’s high-speed train station in the morning, I had the obligatory first croissant of the trip. (Plain, not the standard chocolate.) But it’s not because I was dying for a croissant. It was basically the only thing I could order. All of the major train stations I went to had food concessions on the upper floor. There were many fast-food type options. But I didn’t see any English anywhere. I went to a bakery, and the croissant was the only thing that I could be sure I knew what it was. So, I had the first croissant of the trip.
