Fine Dining

Many foreign travelers to China make the mistake of skipping Hebei Province in favor of the more glamorous Beijing and Shanghai.  This is a mistake.  Hebei, and Baoding in particular, is one of China's hidden gems.  It is home to stunning natural scenery, top-notch international cuisine, and authentic Chinese cultural experiences.  It would be a mistake not to consider visiting Baoding on your next trip to China.  This post is the first in a three part series about Baoding's charms.  I'll focus on food and restaurants today, and in the future I'll introduce you to the other wonderful things that Baoding has to offer.  There are many many wonderful restaurants in Baoding, but I'll just list my top eight favorites here.

8. Dumpling place.  This hole-in-the-wall dumpling restaurant is great for a quick lunch.  The dumplings are simple and delicious and cheap.  For 8-20 kuai you get a plate of 25 dumplings.  The owner and staff are friendly and spent several minutes comparing my friends to various movie stars.  The owner also gave my friend a free haircut right there in the restaurant, that you can read about here  If this restaurant has a name, I don't know it.  It's down an alley near Hebei University Old campus. 

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7. Jin Jiaozi.  Jin Jiaozi, or Golden Dumplings, is home to a wide variety of dumplings, including my personal favorite tomato and egg.  The picture menu includes many other typical northern Chinese dishes, but the dumplings are the real star here.  It's located on the eastern side of Military Square.

6. Polaris Garden.  Despite the fact that I saw a rat running along the ceiling last time I went to Polaris Garden, it still makes my top 8 list.  The owner of this cafe is friendly and speaks perfect English. The food is a good approximation of real Western food, and cheaper than Pizza Hut or similar options.  Foreigners often get a discount, especially if they go here often.  The pizza and coffee are good, but the atmosphere is the real draw.  It's located on Heng Xing North St, near a bus stop for 17 and 37. 

5. Muslim Noodle Restaurant.  Across from the dumpling place I mentioned earlier, this restaurant serves freshly made Muslim noodles with various toppings.  I usually order off the large picture menu on the wall. They make the noodles fresh all day long. 

4. Tree Corner House.

For the best pizza in Baoding (and in my personal opinion, all of China), go to Tree Corner House.  The owner used to be the cook at Polaris, but now he's opened his own restaurant.  He's passionate about pizza and other western food.  The pizza here approximates what you might find at home in the US.  For now, the menu is only in Chinese, but the owner speaks some English and will help you order if you ask.  You can get here by bus 22, 33, 305 or 306, it's on Hengxiang St, between Wusi St and Dongfeng St, and it's easy to spot. 

3. QLH.  This is a cafe, not a restaurant.  They serve coffee and ice cream.  There are two branches in town, one near the Agricultural University, the other off of Military Square.  Both are gathering places for expats and Chinese students practicing English.  The coffee and ice cream is very cheap and solidly mediocre, but the atmosphere is great and the internet is free and fast.  It's a great place to spend an afternoon and to meet people.

2. The Korean Restaurant. As with many restaurants on this list, our favorite Korean restaurant is very cheap.  I actually never had Korean food before I came to China, and I've never been to Korea, so I can't say for sure how authentic it is,  but a friend of mine lived in Korea last summer, and she loves this restaurant.  It's just down the street from Tree Corner House, and it has a compact but delicious picture menu.

1. The Old Cook.  I won't lie to you, this restaurant tops the list for sentimental reasons.  It has been home base for generations of Hebei University teachers, which is how I found out about it.  It is the basis for my taste in Chinese food, and while there are probably better versions of Gong Bao Ji Ding, Wan Cai and Tu Dou Pian, I always compare them to the Old Cook.  Much like I will always prefer my mother's cooking to any imitators, The Old Cook will always be my standard for Chinese food.  There is an extensive picture menu.  The Old Cook is on WuSi Lu, across from Globe Square.  Buses 17 and 22 stop here.

This Week

Here's some things that happened to me this week:

I was asked to perform "My Heart Will Go On" with 10 of my students in front of the whole school at the Children's Day assembly in a few weeks. 

My friend Ada returned from her honeymoon to Hainan.  A few weeks ago when I asked her about her wedding, she said she was calm about the wedding itself, but excited for her life after it, which I think is the best possible way to feel about marriage and I'm really happy for her.

I'm teaching my students about the planets and space.  I asked my fifth graders what their favorite planet was, and one girl told me that Earth was her favorite because it has food.  She also told me she didn't want to go to the moon because it has no food.

I finished reading Red Sorghum, a book by the Chinese Nobel Prize winning author Mo Yan.  It was incredible and beautiful and taught me a lot about Chinese history but also reminded me how little I know about Chinese history even after living here for so long.

On Monday I went to the post office to send a graduation gift to some of my favorite Carls.  I love going to the post office, because the lady who works there is so friendly.  The first time I went there in October, it was obvious that she had never met a foreigner before, and I think she probably had never sent mail internationally.  Also, there was a very very big language barrier at that time, so all I could really do was repeat "meiguo" (America) over and over while pointing at a pile of postcards.  Now, she's used to me and it seems like she's happy to see me, which is all I can really ask for.

For some reason our school installed security cameras all over campus, including three in the first grade hallway and one in the hallway where my apartment is.  It's vaguely unsettling.

Sports Day!

It's already summer here in Baoding.  Spring was here and gone while the Midwest was still blanketed with snow and ice.  My school celebrated the warm sunny weather by having a sports day last Monday.  Classes were canceled and the whole school participated in games and races all morning long before going home for the May Day holiday.
The festivities opened with a ceremony to rival the Olympic Opening Ceremony.  Each class marched in together with a unique banner and chant.  My American co-worker and I were informed on the spot that we had to score the classes in six different categories as they walked in.  By now we're not even surprised anymore when we get last minute news like this, so we followed our friend and co-teacher Miss Bi up to the head table, where she attempted to translate the score cards.
The students all took this very seriously.  I waved and smiled to a few of my students, but only the 1st graders smiled back.  The older students kept their concentration and ignored me.  After all of the classes had marched in and assembled, they raised the Chinese flag, sang the national anthem, and did a set of exercises in unison.
Finally it was time for the games to begin.  The first event was a hundred meter dash.  The fifth and sixth graders were mixed in every heat, so I was very proud when some of my fifth graders placed in the top three and won prizes.  After the 100, each grade split off to play games together.  The other American teacher and I went around to each grade and played games such as tug-of-war, a three legged race, and various relay-type races.  
And now, because I am entirely at the mercy of the Chinese internet, I will post this without pictures.