Eating out in Wudaokou

To put it simply….you never have to worry about food in China. OK,
you may not exactly want to have Chinese food everyday, and miss food
from home…you don't even have to worry about that – there are so
many foreigners in Wudaokou that there are lots of different
restaurants from different countries – most notably, Korean, but
there are also Pizza, Italian restaurants, Japanese food, an American
restaurant, Hot pot, etc, etc

Here are some of my favourites in Wudaokou

Pyro Pizza – in a basement of a building just opposite the railway
line next to 7eleven. Really nice pizza, thin crust, plus a great
dessert – if you do order the freshly baked chocolate cookie with ice
cream, make sure you tell the waiters to bring it out last, otherwise,
you'll be having your dessert before your pizza. Their Caesar salad
is also very nice.

Hotpot – sorry, as with a lot of Chinese and Korean restaurants, I
don't really know the name! Anyway, it's on the second floor on top
of Pyro Pizza and 7eleven. Each person cook their own "meal" in
your own hotpot. The nicest sauce is the sesame sauce. Very yummy, and
price reasonable.

Tafi Italian Restaurant – on the same block as the big Lotus
supermarket (but on the other side of the block from the entrance to
the Lotus Centre. Very nice pasta and ice cream!! I think on the
weekends they have a lunch buffet – don't remember the price now,
but it was good value.

Korean BBQ – my favourite place is on the road just on the BLCU side
of the railway line, several shops just past the Xijiao Binguan
(Hotel)'s entrance. Also, if you keep walking right to the end of the
road, and cross the main street, (may be 20mins?) there is a complex
of several Korean restaurants – there is also a really nice BBQ place
there! There is also a nice Korean restaurant in the Xijiao Binguan.

Japanese –Issin Restaurant, just opposite the railway lines on the
Wudaokou side, in an alley not too far from Tous Les Jours. There is
also a Japanese Restaurant in BLCU, but Issin is a lot better (and a
bit more expensive!), but still, due to the quality, Issin is still
good value for money.

Bakery /Cakes – I like Tous Les Jours (opp Wudaokou station) and
Paris Baguette (in the Hualian / U-centre). Paris Baguette also has
nice Japanese style cheesecake. Yum!!

Dumplings – If you walk down the West gate and cross the road into
the other university, walk a few minutes, there is a popular
restaurant that sells local food, plus very cheap and nice dumplings
（饺子）. The restaurant itself isn't very flashy, and not so
"clean" looking, but the food is good and is usually full of people.

"Beijing Pancake" – well, that's what I called it. It makes a
nice night time snack – street vendors can be found just outside the
BLCU South gate at night – only 2 RMB! You can also get them outside
Chaoshifa Supermarket and in the Hualian Supermarket.

Thai – there is a Thai restaurant just before Wudaokou station on the
BLCU side. The curries there are pretty good, and I heard that the Tom
Yum soup is quite good, although I haven't tried it. There is a
selection of Thai & Chinese food. The best Thai restaurant, though, is
in Chaoyang, called "非常泰" – "Very Thai" – fantastic
food, but also not cheap!

Grandma's Kitchen – in the Hualian / U-centre. This seems to be a
popular place for burgers, pizzas, and nice salads etc. A couple of
friends of mine are addicted to their milkshake, which is very thick,
a bit like melted ice cream. A little pricey though, but the food is
good.

A nice snack that I really like are these little fishes that you can
get from a stall just opposite the Lotus supermarket cash registers. I
think it's about 6 RMB for a bag of may be 12. They're sort of like
little fish waffles with creamy centres. Really yummy when they are
hot! I prefer these to the famed chocolate fishes that you can get
outside the Wudaokou Station at night.

What's your favourite restaurant in Wudaokou?

I miss Korean food!

It's probably a bit of a strange statement, after having lived in BLCU for 5 months or so...but it's true. There are so many Koreans in Wudaokou that even the Korean classmates think it's like living in Korea, so then, there are also lots of nice Korean food there. Makes a nice change from all the Chinese food! 

mmmmm.....Korean BBQ, Bibimbab, Teokbuki, Kimchi.....

If you want to find a good place, just ask your Korean classmates. 

Last days

Ok, it's been a while, but my last days before the course finished in
early July had been frantic. Preparing for the Yunnan trip, catching
up with friends before leaving, and…packing. It's never easy to pack,
especially having to decide what things to take and what to throw
away (or give away). I hate throwing things away!

The official last day of the course was the farewell dinner, held at
Fengwei Canting, one of the restaurants in BLCU. It was such a hot
day, and it was extremely hot in the restaurant!!! …but the food was
good. : )

The rest of the night was left for packing, and last minute catch-ups.
A couple of classmates and I were to leave for Kunming early the next
morning. One friend was so cute, she didn't have anything to give me
as a farewell present, so she decided to give me a banana and a bottle
of water – she thought since I will be leaving early in the morning,
and I was busy all day, I probably didn't have anything prepared …she
was right!

Again, I have made so many wonderful friends this time, a lot of them
Koreans, so I think I have become an honorary Hanguoren (Korean)! I
particularly felt Korean during the trip to Yunnan with the two Korean
classmates. Every time someone asked us where we came from, it got too
tiring to explain, so, Hanguoren I am!

My B8 Class

Some of the 同学 and 王老师 from B8 class

Does time fly? It's been nearly five months since I've been back to
BLCU. The final exams are coming up in a couple of weeks….and I've
just realised I haven't written about my class yet in this blog.

So, I am in B8 class (regular 20hr/week) this semester. The class is
basically composed of mainly Koreans (possibly 13-14), two Japanese,
two Kazakhstanis and …I. So, it has been very interesting. I have
even thought of learning Korean, but didn't get around to it! The
positive thing is that I have to speak Chinese 99% of the time. I was
a bit concerned previously about the size of the class, but as the
semester progresses, so did the number of students who turned up to
class. Today we only had six! Don't take that as a norm though,
because I think other classes have better attendance, I would say
depending on the motivation of the students, or may be we are all
really tired by this time (either from studying, or partying!).

I find the teaching style a bit different from my last intensive
course, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed all my classes, even the
listening class was interesting.

The zonghe (comprehension class) took up most of the time (12 hours/
week). This time we had a young male teacher. The class turned out to
be a lot of fun and we often chat to and joke with the teacher both
during the class and during the break. I think this really helped to
improve our oral Chinese.

For the oral class (4 hours per week), we have an older teacher. She
is so lovely! We all love her! The only thing about the kouyu class is
that there is so much grammar in each lesson I hardly can remember it
all. Ok, I need to go back and revise.

For Listening (4 hours per week), we have a young female teacher. I
find her really good. She has a way of explaining new words and
grammar in a way that the meaning can be understood easily.

So, it's been interesting, very different from my A7 Intensive class
last year, where we only had 12 students (from 7 different countries)
in the class, and most were really studious, turning up to class
everyday. May be the difference is that if people sign up for the
intensive course, they are probably more studious to start off with.

China Sichuan Earthquake – A moving story

"Dear baby, if you live, please know that I love you."

A woman was found amongst the ruins of a building in a strange
position. She was on her hands and knees. When the rescuers found her
and took her out of the rubbles, she was already dead. Underneath her
was a baby, possibly only a few months old. The baby was sleeping.
Next to the baby the rescuers found a mobile phone with the message
the woman wrote for her baby, "Dear baby, if you live, please know
that I love you."

中国加油！China's Sichuan Earthquake

By now everyone would have heard about the earthquake six days ago in Sichuan province, China. Over the last few days, students in BLCU have been setting up booths around the campus collecting money. There was a fund raising event today outside of Dorm 17. Students representing various countries were giving speeches offering condolences from various countries and urging China to fight on － 加油！

The restaurant downstairs was also very kind in offering free lunches to those who donate money to the earthquake victims.

Although the earthquake is obviously devastating with so many lives lost and so many people affected, I think it also has brought the best out of the Chinese people. The Chinese Government was so quick to act this time. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was there within hours of the earthquake, and Chinese President Hu Jintao has been there for a few days. For me, really moving to see the images of Chinese leaders, soldiers and ordinary people helping in the rescue and relief effort.

Politics aside, it's also wonderful to see so many countries offering aid to China. For me, of particular note were Taiwan and North Korea. I saw an interview of a Taiwan seismologist on CCTV9 and she said that people in Taiwan are really feeling for the Chinese people. Whatever happens in the world of politics, Taiwanese are also Chinese, she said. I hope that the relations between China and Taiwan will continue to improve. It also caught my attention that France was also very quick in offering aid. I do also hope that this would help to thaw the relations between France and China after the Tibet issue! 

The Conference Centre and Building 17

The following is a YouTube video from Raymond comparing Conference Centre and Dorm 17

This is probably long overdue, seeing that I have received so many
questions about it. Therefore, I've compiled this little list.
Hopefully it's useful. If you have stayed here or have something to
add, please feel free to do so in the comment section.

Link to Conference Centre.

• Single rooms only (yes, you get your own bathroom)
  
• Rooms are small but quite comfortable and clean
  
• In the typical room, there is a bed, desk, TV, Fridge, wardrobe, kettle, phone
• Internet connection – yes! (NB. Not wireless, but there is a café on 
  
• the second floor that provides wireless internet connection)
  
• Laundry on the 4th and 6th floor. (Washing machine and dryer)
  
• Food preparation room on the 7th floor (two heating plates provided, no microwave)
• Rooms are cleaned daily (ie bathroom cleaned, rubbish removed); Vacuumed once a week and sheets changed once a week.
• The fuwuyans (the housekeeping ladies), at least mine are, are very nice.
• CC has a Chinese Restaurant, Korean/Japanese Restaurant, Café, little shop selling snacks and various supplies, and a hairdresser. The restaurants are very handy on a rainy or cold day especially if you don't want to go out.
• Can book a room about a month in advance before you come.
  
• Not a lot of storage space.
  

Comparing to Building 17 – Just from what I've seen.

• Building 17 – rooms are a lot bigger. Single/twin rooms available.
• Kitchen (and I think Laundry) on every floor. Kitchen has cooking plates and microwaves.
• Apparently the walls might be a bit thinner there.
  
• Beds not so comfortable.
  
• A lot of storage space, plus desk lamps and bookshelves.
  
• Building 17 is a little further away – might take 10-15minutes to get to classroom.

Of course, there are other places/dorms as well, but since I'm not so
familiar with them, I won't write anything about it here.