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Guzhen pig trotters is a signature dish at Middle 8th. (Photo: Global Times) |
BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- "It's really strange: It was cloudy, smoky and hot inside but outside, it was very cold. It was such a beautiful memory, I don't think I could ever forget it." These were general manager Daniel Aylmer's first impressions of Chinese dining: a hotpot restaurant in Nanjing.
Having been in China 10 years, Aylmer says he feels like he's half-Chinese - the good half, of course (if there's another half, it is that of a typical English gentleman). At the very least, he consumes more Chinese than western food and he's currently interested in Yunnan cuisine, spending a lot of his time at the Middle 8th restaurant in Sanlitun, famous for its mushroom dishes, which he praises for its creativity but deplores for its disastrous location, tra. c-wise.
But for newcomers, he recommends starting with southern cuisine, and the food of Guangdong. "Cantonese food is always a safe choice for foreigners, as most Chinese restaurants abroad are actually Cantonese." He loves the concept of dim sum, which is easy to eat but not easy to prepare. "You've got to know how to keep up the rhythm [of cooking and serving] otherwise, they end up either over-steamed or undercooked."
Aylmer fi nds Chinese table manners a constant source of interest. "Chinese [table manners] are fascinating. It's like ballet. Who sits where, what to order, who pays, who gives the fi rst toast, and how drunk you should be," he observed. "For foreigners, it's such beautiful thing to watch."
But when it comes to new openings, he counsels one thing: "Patience." People with high expectations tend to rush to the hot new joints and often end up disappointed, he says; Aylmer prefers to wait awhile to allow a new place to fi nd its groove and establish itself, a piece of advice we'd heartily endorse in Beijing's fi ckle food world.
Aylmer's qualifi cations as a food lover are apparent on sight. "This costs me a lot of money," he laughed, proudly patting his belly. For a man who eats out three or four times a week, though, he's not in bad shape. To stay balanced, Alymer runs, and he even plans to participate in the Beijing Marathon in October.
"After that," he says, "you'll be amazed how much I can eat."
(Source: Global Times)
