To market, to market...

So today, we decided not to head on up to Tian'anmen Square to have a bit of a squiz. Although, from what we understand, we could've, we just would have had a hard time taking photos for all the umbrella action that was happening up there...



We did get some rain today, so I guess their efforts weren't completely in vain...

Instead, we decided to go to Sanyuan Li, the fresh produce (and other stuff) markets as I needed to pick a few things up and it's always a bit of an adventure. So while we were getting ourselves ready and dodging the influx of ayis as is customary on a Thursday morning, Pers managed to get out, call the lift, get in it, go down to the first floor, get through the security doors, past a security guard, through the building, past another security guard, out of the building and off to the park in our complex.

After a few moments of sheer and absolute terror on my part, Nanma managed to find her. And lucky for Pers that Nanma got to her before I did. Just sayin'.

We went to the markets and really, it is one of my happy places here in Beijing, the other being the flower markets. I love it there, it's exciting and colourful and friendly and DIRT CHEAP. We pay maybe a third of what you would pay back home for all our fresh produce, it's astounding. I find the hanging meat a bit confronting and am never game to buy as I don't know what cut I'd be getting, but the fruit and veg are something else and for 1 kuai, I can get a big bag of freshly made noodles to bring home and make into a soup. Damn...

Anyways, here are some pics I have been meaning to take for ages and got around to today:


Stall number 91, where I always go for my veggies
This lady is lovely, she lets me practice my mandarin and is very gentle with her corrections.

I'm afraid I am not so loyal with the fruit as the stalls do vary with what they have available. Today we bought from stall number 20.

We had rather a lovely fruit salad

And then there was the noodle/dumprings/pancake-omelette thing/bread place

We got some noodles and had very yummy pork and noodle soup for dinner

I really must go to that hand-pulled noodle class so I can come home and make noodle soup and teach everybody how to make their own. Can't be that hard, huh?