i am illustrated

Note: This post is image heavy. :)

JD, Qiaokeli and I went for a weekend getaway in Huairou (怀柔). We've been there once before on our own. JD thought it would be a nice place for his team from work to unwind and have a little fun together. So on Saturday morning, we (10 in total) drove 1.5 hours out of the city to Huairou Qu. Huairou is a popular getaway destination for locals. Its clear skies and fresh mountain air is just the treat everyone needs from Beijing's polluted city center.

We arrived in time for lunch. The above pic shows lunch from Qiaokeli's point of view. ;) Here you can have a rustic northern Chinese home style meal that's no fuss and extremely satisfying. Portions are huge, ingredients are freshly picked (or slaughtered) from nearby farms and prices are incredibly low. Our meals for 10 people came up to about RMB450 (approx. RM230).

The specialty in Huairou is trout. It is served grilled, steamed or sashimi style. We ordered grilled rainbow trout and golden trout sashimi. Yes, Qiaokeli did have some trout as well. I told JD not to have too much sashimi (actually, I told him not to touch the stuff). I'm nervous about freshwater fish sashimi, but every table at the restaurant ordered trout sashimi!

Each tourist establishment in Huairou has its own trout pond and you can fish for your own dinner if you like. I'm not so sure how clean these ponds are kept, so if you do come here, I'd recommend ordering cooked trout. Unless you'd like to take a gamble, JD says its delicious.

After lunch, we went hiking. But no one in the group knew exactly what this place was actually. No one knew we were in for some hiking in the mountains.

There were some nice scenic spots during the hike. I enjoyed myself and wished we had more time for the full trail. No leeches! I wish hiking in Malaysia could be as leech free as this. But it was getting dark and cold and some began complaining about being tired, so we raced through it.

I woke up early the next day for a little exploring on my own with Qiaokeli. The above photo shows the view from our hillside chalet. It is too small to see in the photograph, but lining the hill tops across from the chalet are remnants of The Greatwall.

The kitchen hands at our inn stocking up on fresh produce for the day. Oh, another thing in Huairou I'm told is a must have are their organic eggs.

Lot's of bugs and creepy crawlies here. JD is not too excited about that. I'm fine with them, as long as they're not leeches.

What a brightly coloured caterpillar! It looks poisonous. Being the city person that I am, I initially thought it was a broken piece from a child's toy when I saw it on the ground. Seesh, I should get out more.

Finally, JD got up and came down to join Qiaokeli and I. One thing about traveling in a large group, you have to wait for everybody else to get ready and going.

While waiting, we found out that Qiaokeli likes sitting on the swing.

Just 2 minutes and she's out like a light.

We just love her so much. ^_^

Yay! Everyone's here. Time for some breakfast - man tou, cornmeal porridge, salted duck eggs, fried tofu, fried eggs and tea. I've never had cornmeal porridge before. I like it. You can add sugar or honey to the porridge but I like salty things, so I had salted eggs with mine. JD and guys had beers with their breakfast... only in China.

And then it was time for lunch. Well, we played a little cards after breakfast, had more beers, and then decided we were hungry again. After lunch, we packed up and began our drive back to the city.

Great weather this weekend! After days of smog, clear blue skies are certainly a welcomed sight. It's bright, sunny, and the breeze feels cool on my skin. Are the hottest days of summer finally drawing to a close? I hope so.

JD had cravings for an authentic Malaysian breakfast and I had a hangover from last night (just two drinks). Even the thought of making half-boiled eggs felt like a challenge. Since it is such a nice day, we decided to go out.

I jumped online (okay, I guess I wasn't that hungover, just lazy) and searched for places where we could go for 'Malaysian' fair in Beijing. I found The Bak Kut Teh Specialist which is within walking distance from our apartment.


Being sort of vegetarian, I've never really had bak kut teh. I've tried the broth and the vegetarian versions, but never acquired the taste for it. I suppose I don't know what I'm missing. So, according to JD, the bak kut teh here isn't quite like home, but it is tasty. He thought it was strange that they served the extra ingredients, like mushrooms, lettuce, and tofu on the side, not in the stew. But that's okay, saved me the time of having to pick them out. ^_^ They also served a dip of thick soy sauce with minced garlic and chillies which I'm told is a must for bak kut teh. JD looked like he thoroughly enjoyed it, so I'm glad.

Good thing we arrived early because by noon, the place was hopping! I was surprised to see so many locals as Malaysian food isn't really a favourite in these parts. I bet if someone brought a franchise from Klang to Beijing, it would be a success. The Chinese love their pork, y'know.

The Bak Kut Teh Specialist (美味肉骨茶)
Fulicheng, Xingguang Dadao Shang Shop No. 7-6,
CBD/Guomao
富力城星光大道商7-6号店铺
Tel: 134-0114-7715

Have I said this before? That I'm not a very good blogger? Well, I can blog when I want to (e.g k-popped.com), but just not about myself. So I'll post some pics. :)


I like squishing Qiaokeli's face. The Pug breed probably evolved those wrinkles from generations of Pug owners squishing their faces like so.


This is Tuo Tuo, the new dog in the neighbourhood. I think he's a teacup Pomeranian, or maybe a cross of two teacup breeds. He is very tiny and likes to hump Qiaokeli's leg. I suppose he doesn't intend to hump her leg, he's just so little that he can't reach.

GOSH. It feels good to blog again! I'd like to thank the gee... I mean... computer whizzes who program loopholes for us sorry netizens who find themselves tangled in useless firewalls set up by those who think they know but know not! HAH!

Now that I'm free... I don't know what to do first...

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I didn't know Hong Kong actor, Sam Lee, is also a DJ! These Hong Kong stars, they do everything!

Two Saturdays ago JD went to Vic's, a club by GongTi, to have a farewell shindig for a client. He asked me to tag along because Sam Lee would be spinning that night. I don't really follow the Hong Kong entertainment scene like JD does. What I know, I hear from him, and as I've seen some of Sam Lee's films before, of course I'd like to see a star up close!

I was really exhausted, having went climbing that morning, so I didn't make much effort to push through the fans to get a proper pic of Sam. This shot was all I got.