- Beijing.
Over 20 million people call this home.
When you arrive, you're bombarded with smells
and overwhelmed by the density.
I came here for one reason, to eat.
With at least eight major cuisines, this is no easy task.
This time around, my third trip,
I'm gonna get a little deeper, see a little more,
and more importantly, eat the food.
It would take a lifetime to see China in its entirety.
So all I can do is just enjoy the ride,
taste the flavors, and see what happens.
Today, I'm meeting with a friend and local food lover,
who takes me for a culinary tour
of the morning markets and hutongs of Beijing.
(woman speaking in foreign language)
the jianbing is a popular morning snack for Beijingers.
This traditional snack is made from a batter
of wheat and grain flour, topped with an egg,
a bit of cilantro, some crispy fried cracker, scallions,
a few sauces, and of course, don't forget the spice.
Fold it a few times, serve it steaming hot,
mmh, and it's ready.
It's totally worth a try.
To be honest, I'm more of a dumples kind of guy myself,
but this hit the spot on route to the morning dumple stop.
This jianbing combined with some steamed beef buns
was a great warm up for the dumplings
and incredibly spicy tofu soup known as do foon young
mmh, so good.
oh, look at that.
Oh man.
Some good dumplings, it's all I need.
I'm a happy man.
Oh, look at that, look at that tofu.
Mmh, that is hot.
(Trevor coughs)
that's really hot.
After cooling down from that incredibly spicy tofu soup,
I was taken for an afternoon stroll through the hutongs
of Beijing, en route to a popular Beijing style restaurant.
That flavor, a little sweet.
Real nice.
Oh yeah, this one right here, this pork,
with a little bit of skin on it,
is really good.
It's a little fatty,
but it's sweet I love that flavor.
We got some fish here, and some bamboo shoots
although I gotta say this fish right here,
It's cold, and bony, not my favorite,
but, the pork balls right here,
really good, kinda deep fried,
you've got this five spice blend here you dip it in.
Really nice, really delicious.
It's not too spicy it's just a really nice addition to this.
And then this over here, this is the killer.
This is, what they say ma la tang.
Like ma la, so it's got that Sichuan sorta spice to it.
Really, really nice not overwhelming.
It does make your mouth a bit numb though.
I think this pork is the best
because it's just, mmh.
That flavor, so sweet, real nice.