Search
Adventures of Life in Beijing

Pick up Sticks

January 10, 2021Beijing, China, Daily life, Food, Skewers, Street food

Who Says You’re too Old to Play with Your food?

From meaty, cumin-scented lamb skewers to sweet, candied hawthorns, Beijing is filled with food on a stick. These fork-free dishes are perfect for strolling, sharing, dipping or indulging. If you’ve ever cooked over a campfire or savored a popsicle, then you remember that hand-held food is fun for all ages.

Local Flavors

Head to Qianmen or Nanluoguxiang to start, and grab some lamb skewers, “whirlwind” potatoes, squid or sausages on a stick.

 

Cumin-rubbed lamb skewers are a must try.

 

Called “whirlwind” or “cyclone” potatoes, think of them like fresh potato chips on a stick, seasoned with salt and pepper.

 

Choose your squid and have it cooked to order.

 

For the truly adventurous, there are scorpions, silkworm larvae and tarantulas, perhaps best left for capturing with your camera and not your taste buds.

 

They’re mostly a gimmick, but you’ll find scorpions and tarantulas too. See the starfish in the back?

 

For an experience that’s a little more off the beaten path, head to Xinmin market (subway stop Guloudajie) and spend the morning exploring the produce, spices and wet market. When hunger strikes, look for the ma la tang stand selling a variety of skewers including mushroom bundles, quail eggs, meatballs, broccoli, lettuce, noodles and much more. Don’t worry – there’s no menu to decipher; just point to a skewer that looks good and give it a try. For just a few kuai a skewer, it’s a fun, affordable outing.

 

Tofu, potatoes and broccoli are my favorites. Choose “spicy” or ”non-spicy.”


Travel the Globe

Don’t limit yourself to Chinese food. Beijing has a whole world of flavors just waiting for you to try. Grab a map and start checking off your destinations. At Athena Greek restaurant the Chicken Souvlaki comes on a suspended skewer.

Nearby Alameen offers a platter of mixed Lebanese kebabs, and a taste of Turkey is just a hop, skip and a jump away at Turkish Feast.

Branch out from curries at your favorite Indian restaurant with a skewer of cheese-like paneer or head to NomNom in Haidian District for Indonesian mutton or beef Satay with a side of Sambal Kecap, sweet soy sauce mixed with chilies and shallots. And of course, don’t forget to stop in Thailand for some peanut-y Chicken Satay.

If you’d rather take cooking into your own hands, Café Zarah offers Cheese Fondue every evening after 6pm. Each bowl of melted cheese-y goodness comes with crunchy cubes of bread, vegetables, cornichons and a bowl of pineapple.

 

A cozy evening at Cafe Zarah.

 

Cheese fondue.


Sweet Endings

Winter is the season for tanghulu, those shiny, sugary fruit sticks decorating the city like ornaments.

Round red hawthorns are the most popular, but you’ll also find grapes, kiwi slices and Chinese yams. There are even some Santa-themed ones with marshmallows and strawberries.

 

Freshly dipped in molten sugar water gives fruit a crackly, sweet finish.

 

Santa-themed fruit skewers.

Keep an eye out for purple sticky rice dipped in sugar or waffles on a stick that spell “I Love Beijing” in Chinese characters.

 

Warm glutinous rice dipped in sugar makes a filling snack.

 

Waffles on a stick make it easy to snack and stroll.

 

Find your zodiac sign fashioned in sugar candy or grab a stick full of sweet-and-sour shan zha (dried Hawthorn).

 

Floral scented gui hua cake drizzled with syrup beckons with its golden yellow hue, derived from Osmanthus flowers.

 

 

For a more interactive experience, head to Qianmen Kitchen restaurant  to make some S’mores. Roast American marshmallows over your own charcoal brazier, add some Lindt Chocolate and sandwich it all between Biscoff cookies and digestive biscuits.

 

Lastly, don’t rule out ice cream just because it’s winter. Beautiful rose-shaped ice cream and vibrant fruity popsicles (at Nanluoguxiang) will make you forget how cold it is outside, even if just for a moment.

 

Comments (10,856):

  1. PaulaKasnitz

    January 10, 2021 at 3:51 pm

    I don’t know what makes me want to visit more, the words or the photos.
    Keep the adventure going.

  2. Claire

    January 10, 2021 at 4:03 pm

    Wonderful!

  3. Patti Aspinwall

    January 10, 2021 at 5:25 pm

    Thank you, Kirsten.
    Reminds me of the two glorious days you entertained us before Covid-19.
    Stay safe dear friends

  5. נערות ליווי

    March 17, 2022 at 5:31 am

    This is the right website for anyone who wants to understand this topic. You understand so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really would want toÖHaHa). You certainly put a brand new spin on a subject that has been discussed for many years. Wonderful stuff, just wonderful! This is the right website for anyone who wants to understand this topic. You understand so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really would want toÖHaHa). You certainly put a brand new spin on a subject that has been discussed for many years. Wonderful stuff, just wonderful! נערות ליווי בחולון

  10. israelxclub.co.il

    April 6, 2022 at 8:19 am

    Im excited to discover this web site. I need to to thank you for ones time for this wonderful read!! I definitely savored every bit of it and I have you bookmarked to look at new information in your web site.

  17. Register here and get a bonus

    April 12, 2022 at 12:56 am

    Use artificial intelligence to cut turnaround time, extend your budget, and create more high-quality content that Google and readers will love. How It Works? WordAi is extremely fast and intuitive. Just enter your content, click rewrite, and in a matter of seconds, WordAi will rewrite an entire piece of content for you. WordAi comes up with different ways to express the same ideas by rewriting every sentence from scratch. This not only removes duplicate content, it also makes the rewritten content read completely naturally. Scale Your Business Make your entire content production process 10x more efficient. Use AI to create more high-quality, unique content that impresses clients and engages readers, all without having to put in more hours Register here and get a bonus.

  18. נערות ליווי בחיפה

    April 12, 2022 at 9:51 am

    I was pretty pleased to discover this great site. I need to to thank you for your time for this particularly fantastic read!! I definitely appreciated every part of it and I have you book marked to see new stuff on your blog

  22. נערות ליווי

    April 15, 2022 at 3:37 am

    I was extremely pleased to discover this page. I want to to thank you for ones time due to this wonderful read!! I definitely appreciated every part of it and I have you bookmarked to look at new information on your web site.

  143. takipci al

    June 16, 2022 at 1:32 am

    Wonderful article! We are linking to this great article on our site.
    Keep up the good writing.

  144. takipçi satın al

    June 16, 2022 at 2:03 am

    I’m not positive where you’re getting your information,
    however good topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more.
    Thank you for fantastic info I used to be looking for
    this information for my mission.

  146. BOLU ELEKTRONİK SİGARA

    June 16, 2022 at 7:29 am

    Appreciating the time and effort you put into your
    blog and in depth information you provide. It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the
    same old rehashed material. Great read! I’ve saved your site and I’m including your
    RSS feeds to my Google account.

  147. elektronik sigara al orjinal

    June 16, 2022 at 3:17 pm

    Hi Dear, are you genuinely visiting this website regularly, if
    so after that you will definitely take fastidious know-how.

  150. One hit wonder likit

    June 20, 2022 at 8:43 pm

    My programmer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from
    PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs.

    But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on numerous websites for about a year and
    am concerned about switching to another platform. I have heard great things about blogengine.net.
    Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts into
    it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!

  157. Sivas elektronik sigara

    June 24, 2022 at 11:28 am

    My brother recommended I may like this blog. He used to be entirely right.
    This post actually made my day. You can not believe just how a lot time
    I had spent for this info! Thanks!

  158. Elektronik Sigara

    June 24, 2022 at 3:20 pm

    Whats up are using WordPress for your blog platform?
    I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my
    own. Do you need any coding expertise to make your own blog?
    Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  160. http://hc.com.tr/hc-leke-kremi

    June 25, 2022 at 6:21 pm

    Hi there, I found your website by means of Google while
    searching for a similar subject, your site got here up, it appears to be like great.

    I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
    Hi there, simply was alert to your blog through Google, and located that it’s really
    informative. I’m going to watch out for brussels. I will be
    grateful in case you continue this in future. Lots of folks will probably be
    benefited from your writing. Cheers!

  161. Pingback
    psy ()

  168. takipçi al

    June 29, 2022 at 4:36 pm

    Excellent goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff
    previous to and you’re just too magnificent. I really like what you’ve acquired here,
    certainly like what you’re saying and the way in which you say it.
    You make it entertaining and you still take care of
    to keep it smart. I can’t wait to read much more from you.
    This is really a tremendous website.

  170. instagram takipci satin al ucuza

    June 29, 2022 at 5:04 pm

    Usually I do not learn article on blogs, but I would like to say that this write-up very pressured
    me to try and do it! Your writing style has been surprised me.

    Thank you, very great article.

  172. instagram takipçi satın al

    June 29, 2022 at 5:12 pm

    Very quickly this web site will be famous among all blogging
    visitors, due to it’s fastidious articles

  173. instagram izlenme satın al

    June 29, 2022 at 7:26 pm

    Hi there! Someone in my Myspace group shared this
    website with us so I came to take a look. I’m definitely
    enjoying the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to
    my followers! Superb blog and outstanding design and style.

  174. takipçi satın al

    June 29, 2022 at 9:34 pm

    This is the right webpage for anyone who hopes to understand this topic.
    You know so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really would want to…HaHa).
    You certainly put a new spin on a subject that has been discussed
    for a long time. Excellent stuff, just excellent!

  190. Doğum sigortası

    July 5, 2022 at 2:15 pm

    Ahaa, its nice dialogue concerning this article
    at this place at this weblog, I have read all that, so now me also commenting here.

  201. zoritoler imol

    July 8, 2022 at 7:47 pm

    Hey there, You have done an excellent job. I’ll certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I am confident they’ll be benefited from this website.

  206. 397

    July 11, 2022 at 6:16 am

    397

  214. Pingback
    web ()

  233. Bilgisayar

    July 21, 2022 at 5:08 pm

    Everything is very open with a clear explanation of
    the challenges. It was definitely informative. Your website is useful.

    Many thanks for sharing!

  234. Spor durağı

    July 21, 2022 at 5:43 pm

    I’d like to find out more? I’d love to find out more details.

  274. MichaelVoige

    July 29, 2022 at 12:32 am

    alphabay darkweb link alphabay onion [url=https://alphabaydarknet.link/ ]alphabay darkweb [/url]

  287. RichardDen

    July 29, 2022 at 12:51 am

    darknet markets best dark web poison [url=https://alphabayurl.link/ ]current darknet markets [/url]

  330. RichardDen

    July 29, 2022 at 3:30 am

    darknet market lists drugs dark web [url=https://alphabayurl.link/ ]best dark web marketplaces 2022 [/url]

  334. Roberthob

    July 29, 2022 at 3:40 am

    alphabay market link alphabay market [url=https://alphabaydrugs.com/ ]alphabay darknet [/url]

  338. Hectorcreld

    July 29, 2022 at 3:47 am

    darknet market links 2022 deep cp links [url=https://alphabayurl.shop/ ]dark web markets [/url]

  350. JackieOrgat

    July 29, 2022 at 5:09 am

    darknet drugs germany darknet guide [url=https://alphabayonion.net/ ]berlin telegram group drugs [/url]

  355. Edgarstinc

    July 29, 2022 at 5:25 am

    alphabay darknet link alphabay onion [url=https://alphabaydarkweb.net/ ]alphabay darkweb [/url]

  418. Hectorcreld

    July 29, 2022 at 9:15 am

    urls for darknet markets dark web store [url=https://alphabayurl.shop/ ]most reliable darknet markets [/url]

  428. Roberthob

    July 29, 2022 at 10:06 am

    alphabay darkweb link alphabay link [url=https://alphabaydrugs.com/ ]alphabay darkweb [/url]

  429. MichaelVoige

    July 29, 2022 at 10:08 am

    alphabay market url alphabay link [url=https://alphabaydarknet.link/ ]alphabay darkweb link [/url]

  453. RichardDen

    July 29, 2022 at 11:25 am

    dark markets liechtenstein hidden marketplace [url=https://alphabayurl.link/ ]best darknet market reddit 2022 [/url]

  455. Edgarstinc

    July 29, 2022 at 11:43 am

    alphabay darkweb link alphabay onion [url=https://alphabaydarkweb.net/ ]alphabay market link [/url]

  471. Michaelwraro

    July 29, 2022 at 12:36 pm

    alphabay darknet link alphabay market [url=https://alphabaydarkweb.com/ ]alphabay market link [/url]

  495. RichardDen

    July 29, 2022 at 2:09 pm

    darknet market google cypher url [url=https://alphabayurl.link/ ]buying drugs off darknet [/url]

  510. SteveMep

    July 29, 2022 at 3:05 pm

    alphabay darkweb alphabay link [url=https://alphabaydarknet.net/ ]alphabay onion [/url]

  539. Edgarstinc

    July 29, 2022 at 4:55 pm

    alphabay market link alphabay link [url=https://alphabaydarkweb.net/ ]alphabay darknet [/url]

  556. SteveMep

    July 29, 2022 at 5:42 pm

    alphabay market url alphabay onion [url=https://alphabaydarknet.net/ ]alphabay darknet [/url]

  563. Roberthob

    July 29, 2022 at 6:18 pm

    alphabay market url alphabay market [url=https://alphabaydrugs.com/ ]alphabay onion [/url]

  607. Roberthob

    July 29, 2022 at 8:59 pm

    alphabay darkweb url alphabay market [url=https://alphabaydrugs.com/ ]alphabay market [/url]

  642. Roberthob

    July 29, 2022 at 11:39 pm

    alphabay darknet url alphabay market [url=https://alphabaydrugs.com/ ]alphabay darknet [/url]

  660. BrandenJuich

    July 30, 2022 at 12:56 am

    alphabay darknet link alphabay link [url=https://alphabaydarknet.shop/ ]alphabay darkweb url [/url]

  671. SteveMep

    July 30, 2022 at 1:35 am

    alphabay darkweb link alphabay darknet [url=https://alphabaydarknet.net/ ]alphabay darknet url [/url]

  678. Roberthob

    July 30, 2022 at 2:27 am

    alphabay market link alphabay market [url=https://alphabaydrugs.com/ ]alphabay onion [/url]

  680. JackieOrgat

    July 30, 2022 at 2:39 am

    darkweb sites reddit dark markets uk [url=https://alphabayonion.net/ ]darknet market wikia [/url]

  693. RichardDen

    July 30, 2022 at 3:24 am

    australian dark web markets link de hiden wiki [url=https://alphabayurl.link/ ]what bitcoins are accepted by darknet markets [/url]

  718. Roberthob

    July 30, 2022 at 5:20 am

    alphabay darknet link alphabay market [url=https://alphabaydrugs.com/ ]alphabay darknet url [/url]

  732. RichardDen

    July 30, 2022 at 6:13 am

    darknet markets list 2022 deep web trading [url=https://alphabayurl.link/ ]dark markets slovenia [/url]

  770. BrandenJuich

    July 30, 2022 at 9:03 am

    alphabay darknet link alphabay link [url=https://alphabaydarknet.shop/ ]alphabay darknet url [/url]

  791. SteveMep

    July 30, 2022 at 10:04 am

    alphabay darknet url alphabay market [url=https://alphabaydarknet.net/ ]alphabay darkweb [/url]

  802. Vaporesso elektronik sigara

    July 30, 2022 at 3:19 pm

    If you would like to take a great deal from this
    post then you have to apply such techniques to your won weblog.