Skip to main content

Bizaare Street Food in China: Ish Eats Beijing

Ok, so is it true that they eat anything in China?
On a recent trip, my travel buddies and I came across some fairly nasty things. After years of enjoying street food in Taiwan, we decided to check out if they have similar stuff in Beijing. The night market (Shi Lin) we go to in Taiwan has an entire food section which we crash before heading out to look for bargain shopping deals. In Beijing however, we stumbled upon this night market dedicated entirely to food.

According to my friend Lyndall, the place is called Wang Fu Jing. 🙂 But I don’t think you can get there by saying that to the taxi driver. We needed someone to write it down in Chinese characters haha.

The market started out normal enough with a row of stalls selling candied fruits which were so perfect they looked like plastic. They were nice and fresh when we tried them though!

Further along it started getting a bit strange. But for a Filipino, seafood on sticks is no biggie:

A few more stalls later, we finally started seeing stuff that could be called exotic. There were all sorts of offal (internal organs) on sticks! You can find liver, hearts and intestines along with some odd-looking caterpillar-like shrimp. For the faint of heart, there were also sticks of harmless chicken wings:

And now the real fun begins! Sticks of fat juicy worms or larvae of some kind! Please don’t ask me which kind. I didn’t bother to ask. :p

Here’s a close-up 🙂 I’m sure Bear Grylls or Timon and Pumbaa will just be giddy with excitement!

So, I know I said there were sticks of seafood, but I wasn’t too pleased to see seahorses on sticks. More because I was sad for them and not because they were gross:

Finally, we came across huge bamboo steamers filled with our favorite street-fare! xiao long bao!!!!! 🙂 These were the most normal-looking items in the entire market so we were grateful to have something to settle our somersaulting stomachs.

After feasting on those, we saw some cute smooth crabs. We didn’t try these since we didn’t want to eat crabs on the street (plus I’m allergic…excuses, I know) but they looked really interesting!

Then, we came across mini siopaos that were filled with all kinds of stuffing from chives, to pork to chicken and some mysterious stuff we can’t figure out. In China, it could be anything :p

Then, of course, a trip to a Chinese food market would not be complete without the customary bugs on sticks 🙂

Well, crickets were fine (no we didn’t try them) but SCORPIONS???

And these look suspiciously like giant roaches :/

They also had all sorts of unfamiliar other creatures and variations of otherwise familiar food but were slightly different from what we’re used to. Check out these neat looking striped octopus tentacles:

I never imagined that starfish could be eaten. I don’t suppose they taste like chicken.

Lastly, the uni (sea urchin) looked nice and fresh. This was at least familiar. 🙂 Brings me back to Boracay where we asked some boatmen to fetch some uni from the sea and crack them open right in our boat 🙂

After an evening walking around here and trying out all sorts of stuff (not really trying much to be honest), I think I’m ready to go back to my good old isaw and fishballs. The market looks nice and was surprisingly clean. I say surprising because this place is really posh. No sticky floors and odd smells. There were rubbish bins every couple of stalls and not a single fly could be spotted! I guess everything is worth at least one try. Ok, except maybe the scorpions and the roaches. Happy eating!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Myeongdong Street Food Review: (Video) Seoul, South Korea

Fishcake Myeongdong is one of the most popular tourist districts in the center of Seoul, Korea. Located just on the foot of Mount Namsan and the famous N Seoul Tower, you can’t miss this area if you’re on a tour of the city. One of the big reasons for a visit? Lots of great shopping opportunities and a bustling street food market! In the video below, my friends and I try to sample as much of the food as we can. We  give you honest reviews of each item so that you’ll know what you can’t miss and what you can skip when you visit Myeongdong Street Food Market. Off the top of my head, I highly recommend: 1. Egg Bread (gyeran-ppang/gyeran-bbang). This is sweet and savory at  the same time. Think of it as a your morning pancake and eggs all in one. I even make it with bacon at home. Korean Egg Bread (Gyeran-ppang/bbang) 2. Steak: I can’t be sure if this is the highly regarded Korean beef (Hanwoo) or not. However, I can guarantee that the beef they sell on the street here is much better than

NANYANG Philippines Serves Singapore's Finest Delights

Late lunch at Nanyang Philippines (Glorietta) I was pleasantly surprised to find out that NANYANG is a homegrown brand especially after sampling some of their menu items. The restaurant chain offers the classic Singaporean "kopi tiam" or coffee shop experience which has become popular not just for SG locals but also for those visiting the vibrant city-state.  Singapore is one of the favorite destinations for Filipino travellers, making their food culture something that is familiar to many of us. NANYANG aims to satisfy one's cravings with a nostalgic trip back to those memorable days in Singapore. For those who have never been, the restaurant introduces authentic flavors that transport the diner more than a thousand miles away without having to bust out a passport.  Traditional Kaya Toast Set Meal (Php168) We could not visit NANYANG without having one of their traditional Nonya Kaya Toast set meals. It comes with a toast filled with butter and Kaya spread, two soft boiled

An Unforgettable Oktoberfest Celebration at BROTZEIT Philippines

Brotzeit Philippines has brought back the highly-anticipated Oktoberfest party all the way from Germany! From September 1 to November 10, 2024, all Brotzeit branches will be hosting Oktoberfest celebrations.  My friends and I enjoying the Oktoberfest party! My friends and I enjoying the Oktoberfest party! Earlier this month, my foodie friends and I attended one of the special "Party Days to Remember" at Brotzeit Shangri-La @ The Fort, BGC. During our visit, The Anton Showband was around to entertain us with their lively and engaging performances. The band came all the way from Germany specifically for Brotzeit's signature party days which were held at Brotzeit BGC on Sept. 27 and 29, and Brotzeit Alabang on Sept. 28.  Wearing my traditional Dirndl and posing with The Anton Showband We could not help but to sing and dance as the band played traditional Bavarian music during the event. They got us to our feet and there were no strangers in the room as everyone interacted wi