Lingbo Li
Photo of the Day: Beijing Roast Duck at Quan Ju De
BEIJING – You bite into the skin of this baby. The universe around you dims; the re nao din of the restaurant fades; there is only this gorgeous, golden piece in your mouth that seems solid until your teeth sink in. It melts. It slides, as sensual and full-bodied as a glass of wine; you gasp.
“This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” you hear yourself saying.
The Blue October Pizza at Zing! Pizza
I love a well-made pizza pie as much as anybody else, but I often seek out pies that stretch the definition of pizza (see: my entry on Veggie Planet). If I’m going to go the traditional pizza route, I place huge stock in the crust, which should never be soggy from the sauce nor be overpowered by the cheese, and should have the right amount of crunch (especially thin crust) or a touch of buttery flakiness (Oggi’s).
I serendipitously wandered into Zing! by accident one warm spring evening. I’d decided to trek up to Porter Square, saw the sign, and ordered up a slice of their Blue October which is very similar in basic ingredients to Veggie Planet’s Brunch for Henry pizza. Since one of the pizzas was on the smaller side, the super sweet employee threw in another slice for free – so I ate essentially half a pizza for only a few bucks.
Then I doused some leftover in a shower of red chili flakes, just because I love things that bite me back.
How was it? Really, truly delicious. The butternut squash “sauce” isn’t overpowering at all, and pins down the swirling loops of caramelized onion, mozz, spinach, and bleu cheese with subtly sweet, silky undertone. The thin crust (a nice crunch, of course) nicely showcases the toppings, which have that fortunate quality of surprising you with something a little different in each bite – so good its transcendent of whatever you think of its toppings independently.
If only you were a little closer to Harvard Square.
Find it!
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Zing! Pizza
1925 Mass Ave
617 497 4300
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I <3 Crayfish Pizza
Found in Chengdu. All their restored cultural streets (where you can shop in trendy boutiques and dine in French restos) have a requisite Starbucks.
There is a cafe in Tianzifang on trendy Taikang Lu in Shanghai which is populated not by white Macbook-wielding, double espresso-drinking, tight pants-wearing loathsome hipsters, but by yeah, a lot of stuffed animals. That’s my friend Danielle embracing a popular cartoon lamb.
Here’s a prime example of “glocalization,” as we anthropologists like to say. Crayfish pizza, anyone? (Crayfish is a popular local dish which I wrote about for GoodEater.org.) Papa Johns knows that mere pepporoni is not enough to move Shanghainese through the door.
I paid 10 yuan (about 1.50USD) for this laminated photo in a tourist site in Chengdu. The girl who took it was curt and rude, declaring only the most bored and hateful-sounding of “SMILE!”s as she took a singular photo in front of several backdrops. So this was the only decent one, and I ended up giving it to my mom since she loves traditional Chinese dress. Me, I could definitely live without it. The necklines are way too high – qipaos a prime example.
Weird Eats: Bull penis and live scorpions. Also, Starbucks coffee.
My sojourn to Beijing was marked mostly by my daily (nay, twice daily) visits to the altar of that is holy in the Middle Kingdom: Starbucks, charmingly translated/transliterated as “星巴克” (xing ba ke). There, I soothed my cultureshock embattled soul with endless tall iced coffees; occasionally, I’d spring for a muffin or biscotti, which tasted excruciatingly American. It was like imbibing a potent concoction of NASCAR, Elvis, Old Glory, and apple pie.
When I wasn’t ensconced in Starbucks, I’d be wandering the streets, trying to find a nice, small eat. As I made my way down Beijing’s Wangfujin shopping street, I found their “xiao chi jie,” or snack street.
I knew they sold weird crap on sticks, but I had no idea that the scorpions on those skewers are actually alive. Best of all, the sellers would occasionally give the counter a slap, just so the little critters would wriggle their sad, doomed little legs. Can’t you hear their anguished cries? Neither can I.
Just to prove they’re alive, I uploaded a video.
I actually didn’t eat this, since I got a case of sticker shock. 20 kuai! For a kebab!! Of scorpions!!!
But I did what comes next: bull penis on a stick. I’ve totally emasculated that poor animal, brains, balls, and all.
Mmm. Uhhh. This is unpleasant. My male friend also gave it a try.
What does it taste like? Not very good. But it also wasn’t prepared very well – it had gotten very gummy and had an unpleasantly gluey texture. The texture varied from the shaft, which was wider and had a harder, almost cartilage-like core, to the tip, which was just gooey nothing.
I don’t think i want to repeat the experience anytime soon, but maybe I can blame it on poor preparation.
To cap it off, here are some photos from the Forbidden City, predictably overrun by tourists, including this overzealous Chinese woman covered by not only a parasol, but also a towel and sunglasses (not pictured).
Look how intense that is!!!
Lana Lingbo Li
I'm a world traveler / enthusiastic eater who's now blogging and producing videos over at HelloLana.com. Visit me there!
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