This is the first dinner out in the Hutong of Beijing. We shared dinner with Peter's PhD students, notice the lazy-susan to share the delights.
Sweet potato covered in a something like toffee, you dip it in the cold water next to it to cool it off.
A fish soup. The chef brought the fish to us alive before dinner so we could approve the size and the fish. Then they cooked it in oil and you 'fish' it out in your bowl to eat.
Green beans with garlic and ma - a spice that makes your tongue numb.
This lunch portion was $1.50
This is zucchini, chicken, and "tree ear" - a really appetizing name for fungus. It tastes good, like a mushroom. This lunch was also $1.50 or 10 Yuan.
My first meal in China! Fried egg plant with garlic and ma and mushrooms and bok choy, and chicken and peanuts.
The Peking Duck specialty is comprised of the cooked duck on a plate, some slivered cucumbers and onions, a rice “tortilla” and some plum sauce. The trick is to create your own Peking Duck “roll-up” with just using your chop sticks. The first part is the most difficult because you usually need a helper to hold down the other rice tortillas while you unstick yours. Then you dip the duck in the sauce, add the cucumbers and onions and roll it up and bring it to your mouth with only the chop sticks. It was yummy, but not as flavorful as some of the other dishes we had.
The object wrapped in a banana leaf is a glutinous rice cake for the Dragon Boat Festival that was celebrated that day.
Other Food we had in Beijing included…. 
