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David Kao
Shanghai - Olympics 2008
Beijing
will host the 2008 Olympics and I am really interested to see how they
are going to handle the traffic, people etc.
The city is definitely bigger than I remembered it! it took me a while
to find my bearings and recognize the direction I was going. I am not
doing any tours this time because I have done all of them when I used to
visit Beijing for business. So, I am turning my focus on the hotels and
restaurants to find the right mix for our trip next year.
 For nostalgic reasons, I went to check out the old grand dame of hotels,
the Beijing Hotel. It was 'the' hotel in town when China first opened
her doors to the rest of the world in the late 1970s. It has three
different hotels now and I visited the Raffles Beijing Hotel. The rooms
are magnificent with high ceilings and the right mix of oriental charm
and all the latest electronic gadgets......plasma TVs everywhere! And
the location is 'peerless'! right across the street from TianAnMen
Square, Forbidden City are reachable by walking! I will definitely try
to work out a good rate for us!
'Jaan' is the signature French restaurant in the hotel and I have to say
that it is also one of the more beautiful restaurants that I have ever
been. My friend knows the French Chef and he came out showing
us...white truffles! of course, we let him prepared an appetizer with a
small prawn tempura and another plate of angel hair pasta! wonderful!
Plus, lobster stuffed Calamari, Foie Gras, Sea Bass, Veal
Tenderloin...enough already! They even have one of my favorite...Cloudy
Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand! They also have the perfect private
table for us at one corner of the restaurant!
Noodles,
Pasta! I don't really care who actually invented it! How about a noodle
bar? all of them being hand made and cooked right in front of you. Of
course, these are Chinese noodles....rabbit's ear, spinach noodle (one
long noodle in one bowl!), knife shaved noodle, sccissor cut noodles,
with more than ten different sauces to go with them. Not the most fancy
place on earth, but the ambiance with the noodle cooking skills being
displayed in front of you more than make up for it!
 'Made in China', inside the Grand Hyatt Hotel is a very interesting
place. Beijing Duck is being roasted in an oven right in front of you
and another not so famous dish...Beggar's Chicken is also one of the
favorites available. Selection from all over China are available here
with innovative plating and sensible portions. I will even suggest we
try the fiery fire-water that is better known as Mau-Tai!
I will end with TianDi. An exquisite restaurant right next to the
Forbidden City. If we are lucky enough to have the top floor private
dining room, we will be able to sneak a peak into the ancient palace
grounds. Decoration is neo-traditional Chinese with a touch of European
charm and the food is again served in 'sensible' portions with a wide
selection of regional dishes. If the weather is not too warm yet, we can
try their Hot-Pot with fresh seafood and organic lamb/beef from the
northern part of the country.
I
also met the Food and Beverage Director of one of the top hotels in
town. I will try to see if we can arrange a visit to their kitchen,
which I think should be very interesting to most of us who like to mess
around in our own kitchen at home!
'Bird's Nest', most of you know this as one of the most delicate dish in
Chinese Cuisine! In this case, I am referring to the 2008 Olympic
Stadium being built right now. I saw it a few months ago on Discovery
Channel and this time I got to see it up close and personal. Honestly, I
don't know if I like it but it will certainly draw a lot of comments as
we get closer to the Olympics.
June 2007 is the time I plan to offer a trip to Hong Kong, Shanghai and
Beijing. To do the trip justice, I think we will need about 14 days in
total. My advise is to make the trip in 2007 and not to wait for 2008
because you don't want to deal with the high prices, traffic, mess of
people etc etc.
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