Beijing 2024 - Dinner at GuiJie(北京簋街) and Supper

 

After finishing all the touristy stuff, it was time for dinner! Or lunch. We lost track. We always have snacks on us so we just munch along the way until we can finally get to the place for proper food. On this day, the place I wanted to go to was GuiJie. It was walking distance, so we made our way there. Funny thing, I initially thought GuiJie means Ghost Street, as in Hungry Ghost since it was a food street. Now translating it, I realised I was soooooo wrong! Hahahaha. 

The whole area, from YongLe Temple to Confucius Temple to GuiJie was just a blend of old and new. The streets were all pretty modern but still held the old grey stone path looked. Yet the deco and cafes around gave a very trendy and modern vibe to the place. Street art was found here that somehow wasn't too loud. They kinda blend into the surrounding.

While walking up and down the road, we finally settled for this restaurant about. It was pretty empty as it was closed to 3pm or 4pm. Not exactly meal time. But I think we saw the price range was ok for us, so we went in. 

Saw some cool bottle hanging at the bar area. Love the cheongsam bottle so much. 

Here is what we ordered: BBQ chived, eggplant, some beef slice for the husband, and mala fish fillet. Initially the lady boss asked if I wanted mala fish, but I sadly told her that my husband can't eat spicy food so I can't order one whole fish for myself. She kindly suggested to make a smaller portion for me. I was so happy that I said yes. Best decision ever! Best mala fish I've ever tasted in my life! My husband can't really eat it, so the whole plate was just for me! 

Look at that beautiful shinny mala dish! Love of my life!

Actually all the food we ordered on the first round tasted excellent. We were so satisfied that my husband decided to order their signature dish, clayfish. So the above was a whole pot of clayfish. He ate the whole thing since I'm not much a fan of crabs or clayfish.

Here is the damage. I think it's around 60sgd? Of which half of it was for the clayfish. My mala fish cost only 12sgd and was sooooo worth it. I would happily eat this again! Excellent food at excellent price.

The problem with eating in Beijing I found, was after coming back home, whenever I have any craving for China food, nothing seems to be able to hit the spot any more. Food at home just tasted off. Not spice enough. Not salty enough. The flavour is just not intense enough! That made me kinda sad. As this post is being published, I should be half way through my trip to Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou. I hope I get to experience excellent food there too. 

Happy with the day's exploration, we went back to our hotel, but not without some snacks. I got some cool yogurt for supper, and a Beijing yogurt too cause those little bottle kinda grows on you!