Days have turned into weeks, and each week goes by it gets harder and harder to be so far away from home. I know that a lot has to do with my job, and that I spend SO much time at work, it is finally starting to take it's toll on me. I am physically exhausted, not to mention I am at my wits end. For the first time since I started my job, I left without feeling 100% confident in what I was walking into in the morning. Let me give you a little insight as to what it is that I do every day...
2:00 am- I wake up and get ready for work.
2:30 am- I step into the cab outside of my apartment and make the half an hour trek to Media Village 1.
3:00 am- I get to work, change into my uniform, and head to the kitchen to fetch my packet of paperwork that has been prepared for me the night before. This packet includes advance withdrawals for proteins, recipes, pick lists, bulk prep lists, etc. I then have to sort through each recipe (now I know how Terita feels), and organize them by breakfast, lunch, dinner, and overnight.
3:15 am- I begin setting my students up with job duties. I like to fabricate all the meat for the day in the morning, so I can organize my carts, and then work on vegetables and sauces, etc. In a given day, I have over thirty recipes that have to be weighed or measured out exactly according to the recipe. Each recipe feeds up to 900 people. So when I have my students dice chicken breasts, they are not doing a couple breasts, more like 200 kg (which is about 400 pounds). And that is for one recipe!!! Imagine having to do this over and over thirty times a days, with ingredients ranging from lamb shoulder to calamari steaks. This takes most of my day.
12:30 pm- Chef's meeting: we discuss tomorrow's menu, and make any changes, and also prepare for the menu two days out.
1:30 pm- Continue preparations, and meet with my Chinese chef to go over the night's duties and responsibilities.
3:30 pm- Finish all of my things, and attempt to change out of my uniform.
4:00 pm- Still at work answering questions.
5:00 pm- Finally get home from work.
6:00 pm- Usually bedtime.
Did you notice I didn't put down any times for breaks, lunch, relaxation, etc.? Ya, that's because I don't get those things. Which is probably why I had so much fun the other night. I finally felt relaxed.
This sounds like a tough job to do day in and day out, right? Well take into consideration the language barrier, the fact that we only get 60% of the produce that we order any given day, that things change ALL the time, and that the stress level is at a constant high, and then you could empathize with me.
This is, by far, the hardest thing I have ever done. It is taking all of the strength that I have to go to work with a smile on my face, do my job well, and leave with my head held high. I knew this was going to be tough, but never imagined that it would be as hard as it is. I will become a better person for it, I know, but what's keeping me going right now?
I guess it will all come together soon...
But in the meantime I will do my best, keep my mouth shut, and know that I will be home in just a few weeks.
29 July 2008
Duck, Duck, Goo.... Duck
Well, my friends, my third day off has come around which means I have an opportunity to write a little bit more, considering I don't have to come home straight from work and go to bed. As I sit in my dining room, enjoying a bag of blueberry potato chips,
First of all, when we pulled up to the front entrance of the hotel, my outlook on Beijing shifted just a little bit. "This place is beautiful," I thought to myself as I stepped out. It is a completely different Beijing than the one that I am staying in, a place full of five star hotels. I felt like Burt Reynolds, or something.
The restaurant was gorgeous, the service was outstanding, and we got to meet the chef. He gave us his business card, and we are all going to take him out to dinner one night. It should be interesting to share ideas with a world-class chef!
Anyway, we ordered the duck as soon as we got there. It takes an hour and fifteen minutes to prepare before it gets to our table. So in the meantime we ordered a bottle of wine, and a couple appetizers to tide us over until the main course arrived. The appetizers were as follows; lamb pancakes (which was more like a quesadilla filled with lamb. Taco Bell eat your heart out!), poached cuttlefish with cilantro and smoked bamboo, smoked and chilled duck breast with kimchi, geoduck clam with glass noodles, beef knuckle salad, pork dumplings (which were made right in front of us in one of three open kitchens), and duck gizzards in a spicy peanut sauce. Each dish was good as the next but I must admit that I was quite fond of the duck gizzards and the geoduck clam. Both items that I have never had before, and both items that would eat again, and again, and again for the rest of my life!
But these dishes couldn't even compare to what I was about to experience. The dish that made made my meal. The dish that forced me to put my night at Made in China in my top ten food experiences of all-time. the dish that I took one bite of, threw down my chopsticks, sat back in my chair, closed my eyes, and enjoyed every bite. All I can say is.... if Heaven has a roast duck restaurant, that's most likely where you'll find me in the afterlife.
The duck is carved tableside, and is put on the table in three courses. The chef was gracious enough to come back to our table and explain to us the method of eating each course. The first course that came out was the skin. It came out hotter than Haiti, and we all took a piece of the crispy skin and we were to dunk it into the little bowl of sugar they had layed out in front of us. You put the skin in your mouth and you immediately get the sensation of sweet and savory, but it only lasts a short moment, before the skin melts in your mouth. It was a flavor sensation, one that I could not re-create even if I tried. The second course was the breast meat. Tender, and moist, we dipped the breast meat in sugar and hoisin sauce, and rolled it in a thin pancake with cucumber batons,and a julienne of leeks. Next came the thigh meat. We did the same with this meat as we did with breast, except added a little chopped garlic to the pancake before we rolled it up. Freakin' AWESOME!!
Oh ya, I created my own fourth course of duck for the evening... duck head. Yes, I did eat the brain. And it was delicious! Plus, I feel smarter now.
We finished our meal, finished our third bottle of wine, and uttered our praises for the meal, as we waited for our check (which came out to just about $42.00 per person). I was completely content. I didn't want to leave. But we had to.
On our way out of the hotel we decided to sit in the lobby lounge and have an after dinner drink. We were sipping our port, I was still smiling like a kid on Christmas, and there was a band serenading us with the musical stylings of Tom Jones and Air Supply. It was the most relaxed I have been in the past three weeks. I needed a night like last, and look forward to taking in even more of this place in the next month.
I just hope that I was able to convey just how special last night was. I know that typing really doesn't do it justice, but it was, by far, the best night that I have had since landing in Beijing. I just hope that each and every one of you are able to experience a night similar to this at least one time in your life. You need it!
I can't help but look back at the meal that I had last night, and smile. There was one dish that I told myself that I had to eat before making my way back to the states, and that dish was Peking duck. Peking Duck, or Beijing Duck, is a long process, that begins with blowing air into the bird to separate the skin from the meat, then roasting it in a wood-burning oven, all the while basting the outside of the bird with a sugar solution to ensure the skin is deliciously crispy on the outside and the meat is mouth wateringly (is that a word?) tender on the inside. There is a small duck place right around the corner from my apartment, and I have gone there a few times, but I wanted to experience the real deal Holyfield. There are said to be two restaurants in Beijing that serve the best duck; DaDong Reastaurant and Made In China in the Grand Hyatt Hotel. We chose Made In China.
First of all, when we pulled up to the front entrance of the hotel, my outlook on Beijing shifted just a little bit. "This place is beautiful," I thought to myself as I stepped out. It is a completely different Beijing than the one that I am staying in, a place full of five star hotels. I felt like Burt Reynolds, or something.
The restaurant was gorgeous, the service was outstanding, and we got to meet the chef. He gave us his business card, and we are all going to take him out to dinner one night. It should be interesting to share ideas with a world-class chef!
Anyway, we ordered the duck as soon as we got there. It takes an hour and fifteen minutes to prepare before it gets to our table. So in the meantime we ordered a bottle of wine, and a couple appetizers to tide us over until the main course arrived. The appetizers were as follows; lamb pancakes (which was more like a quesadilla filled with lamb. Taco Bell eat your heart out!), poached cuttlefish with cilantro and smoked bamboo, smoked and chilled duck breast with kimchi, geoduck clam with glass noodles, beef knuckle salad, pork dumplings (which were made right in front of us in one of three open kitchens), and duck gizzards in a spicy peanut sauce. Each dish was good as the next but I must admit that I was quite fond of the duck gizzards and the geoduck clam. Both items that I have never had before, and both items that would eat again, and again, and again for the rest of my life!
But these dishes couldn't even compare to what I was about to experience. The dish that made made my meal. The dish that forced me to put my night at Made in China in my top ten food experiences of all-time. the dish that I took one bite of, threw down my chopsticks, sat back in my chair, closed my eyes, and enjoyed every bite. All I can say is.... if Heaven has a roast duck restaurant, that's most likely where you'll find me in the afterlife.
The duck is carved tableside, and is put on the table in three courses. The chef was gracious enough to come back to our table and explain to us the method of eating each course. The first course that came out was the skin. It came out hotter than Haiti, and we all took a piece of the crispy skin and we were to dunk it into the little bowl of sugar they had layed out in front of us. You put the skin in your mouth and you immediately get the sensation of sweet and savory, but it only lasts a short moment, before the skin melts in your mouth. It was a flavor sensation, one that I could not re-create even if I tried. The second course was the breast meat. Tender, and moist, we dipped the breast meat in sugar and hoisin sauce, and rolled it in a thin pancake with cucumber batons,and a julienne of leeks. Next came the thigh meat. We did the same with this meat as we did with breast, except added a little chopped garlic to the pancake before we rolled it up. Freakin' AWESOME!!
Oh ya, I created my own fourth course of duck for the evening... duck head. Yes, I did eat the brain. And it was delicious! Plus, I feel smarter now.
We finished our meal, finished our third bottle of wine, and uttered our praises for the meal, as we waited for our check (which came out to just about $42.00 per person). I was completely content. I didn't want to leave. But we had to.
On our way out of the hotel we decided to sit in the lobby lounge and have an after dinner drink. We were sipping our port, I was still smiling like a kid on Christmas, and there was a band serenading us with the musical stylings of Tom Jones and Air Supply. It was the most relaxed I have been in the past three weeks. I needed a night like last, and look forward to taking in even more of this place in the next month.
I just hope that I was able to convey just how special last night was. I know that typing really doesn't do it justice, but it was, by far, the best night that I have had since landing in Beijing. I just hope that each and every one of you are able to experience a night similar to this at least one time in your life. You need it!
23 July 2008
"Mister, We Have Your Buddha Size"
Well, my second day off has finally come around, an I wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity. So Dave, Arin, and myself decided to take the subway to a place called the Silk Market, which is four stories of booth after booth selling really inexpensive items from watches to "underwears". First of all, I was a little apprehensive about taking the subway. I have been taking taxis everywhere in the city, not knowing what to expect from the subway system. The train was surprisingly clean, air conditioned, and very good shape! And best of all, I can ride the subway for free with my Olympic accreditation badge. So I'm thinking this is the way to go. It was a little crowded at times, but nothing different than New York City during rush hour.
We arrived at the Market and began winding through the seemingly endless rows of clothes, hats, ipods, Nintendo Wii's, you name it, you can get it there. I ended up buying three Tommy Bahama Hawaiian shirts, two authentic Chinese shirts (which are freakin' cool), and two pair of brand new Nike Air Max tennis shoes all for $150 U.S. it was a steal...
The craziest thing about this market was that as you pass every booth, the lady working there would call to you, grab you bag, pull your arm hair, anything to get you to step inside. It was a little overwhelming at times, especially when you have three or four Chinese ladies pulling in all different directions. Dad, you would gone crazy.... guaranteed
Here are the kicks....
Arin got this North Face coat for $42 U.S.
Tonight I am taking another shot at finding the Noodle Loft. We got lost last time, but the second time is always a charm, right? Or is that the third time is always a charm?!?! I don't know.
22 July 2008
Happy Birthday To Me
I am not proud to say that my latest excursion led me to a place that I despise in the States. Said to have the best wings in the city, however, and the fact that I have been wanting some decent American food for a while now, was the impetus for my decision. It was Saturday night, we had just gotten out of work, and Matt, Dave, and I wanted to get some food, and maybe a drink or two. We all had to be back to work the next morning at 4:00 so it wasn't going to be a late night. We got directions to this noodle restaurant that is said to be very good, and we got in a cab and headed on our way. Little did we now that the address the receptionist at the desk wrote down was not the correct restaurant. So we got out of the cab anyway, walked down a very shady area, saw some things I would rather not discuss, (this guy was cutting chicken)
was solicited for you know what by more than a few young ladies, and then decided to get into another cab and off to a neighborhood called Sunlitun. This is where all of the Westerners hang out. It's just a neighborhood, near the American embassy, that is full of restaurants like Outback that cater to homesick Americans. And that's what we were! So we walked around for a little while, after buying a Corona from a street vendor, and took in the sights as we drank our warm, skunky, beer. Finally we saw Hooters, and it seems like he sky had opened up, and the Angels of heaven began singing their enchanting tune, and almost beckoned us to enter. So we took the bait.
Upon arrival, it was nothing different than any other Hooters I have been to in the States; cold beer, chicken wings, a lot dudes sitting at the bar, and a lot of girls prancing around in the patented tight, orange shorts, and white tanks. The only difference is, I had never seen a Chinese girls working at Hooters, and everyone working there was from China. We were greeted at our table by Cookie, a college student, born in Beijing, who was very cute, was an Aquarius, liked to read Nicholas Sparks, enjoyed long walks on the beach, liked to eat dog, and was very prompt in her service. We ate dinner and were enjoying an after dinner drink, when I noticed that every waitress in the place was coming toward our table. As they all gathered around, they made an announcement; "Ladies and Gentlemen, we would like to announce that it is this man's birthday!!!!! (pointing at me). And then they all broke out in song....
I looked over at my buddies and they were busting out laughing. It turns out, while Dave told us he was going to the bathroom, he actually went to tell out waitress that it was my birthday, and that I wanted nothing more than for them to sing to me. So, after about five minutes of pure embarrassment, and three songs later, the group had dispersed.
just an FYI..... my birthday is in December.
was solicited for you know what by more than a few young ladies, and then decided to get into another cab and off to a neighborhood called Sunlitun. This is where all of the Westerners hang out. It's just a neighborhood, near the American embassy, that is full of restaurants like Outback that cater to homesick Americans. And that's what we were! So we walked around for a little while, after buying a Corona from a street vendor, and took in the sights as we drank our warm, skunky, beer. Finally we saw Hooters, and it seems like he sky had opened up, and the Angels of heaven began singing their enchanting tune, and almost beckoned us to enter. So we took the bait.
Upon arrival, it was nothing different than any other Hooters I have been to in the States; cold beer, chicken wings, a lot dudes sitting at the bar, and a lot of girls prancing around in the patented tight, orange shorts, and white tanks. The only difference is, I had never seen a Chinese girls working at Hooters, and everyone working there was from China. We were greeted at our table by Cookie, a college student, born in Beijing, who was very cute, was an Aquarius, liked to read Nicholas Sparks, enjoyed long walks on the beach, liked to eat dog, and was very prompt in her service. We ate dinner and were enjoying an after dinner drink, when I noticed that every waitress in the place was coming toward our table. As they all gathered around, they made an announcement; "Ladies and Gentlemen, we would like to announce that it is this man's birthday!!!!! (pointing at me). And then they all broke out in song....
I looked over at my buddies and they were busting out laughing. It turns out, while Dave told us he was going to the bathroom, he actually went to tell out waitress that it was my birthday, and that I wanted nothing more than for them to sing to me. So, after about five minutes of pure embarrassment, and three songs later, the group had dispersed.
just an FYI..... my birthday is in December.
17 July 2008
Me No Speaky Chinee
One thing that I was looking forward to heading to China more than most was eating traditional Chinese style dumplings. I haven't had much of an opportunity, but tonight a couple of us decided to go. I bought a few travel books before I got here, and one of them named Xian'r Lao Man the best dumping house in all of China. This HAD to be the place to go, so we asked the receptionest at the desk of the hotel to talk to the taxi driver, and explain to him the directions on how to get there (if you haven't gotten it already, it is almost impossible to communicate with the taxi drivers in Beijing).
We arrived at our destination a short time later, and we hadn't written the name of the restaurant down before we left. We were dropped off in front of a building with about ten different storefronts, all serving dumplings. We had no idea which one to go to! Luckily, I had the directions to the restaurant in my pocket, so we started asking random Chinese people where the place was. After talking with four or five people, we were able to understand which one it was. It was a huge restaurant, and we were definately the ONLY Americans in the whole joint. In fact, I'm willing to bet we were the ONLY people from outside of China! Of course, they didn't have any English on the menu, so we asked the waitress to just keep bringing plates of dumplings out to us (Mind you, this wasn't an easy request. It took five people hovering around around our table to piece together what little English they knew to understand what we had asked. One word I learned the first day was pijiu. We ordered a round of pijiu (beer), and anxiously awaited the arrival of the caravan of dumplings that was sure to arrive shortly. Then the dumplings began to arrive, ten to a plate. Plate after plate of delicious dumplings with fillings such as pork and scallion, seafood, egg and greens, etc. Some were fried, some were steamed, others were wrapped in a delicious pancake and grilled on a flattop. And they just kept coming. In all we polished of eight plates of dumplings, and a couple beers each (always 22 oz. beers at this joint). As we slowly finished off the last plate of dumplings the bill arrived. But before I get into that, let me just say that this was an EXCELLENT dining experience, and was everything that I had hoped for in Chinese dumplings. We will be back there.... soon. You know how I said that I had a fantastic meal the other night, and only paid about $14? Well, tonight I had an even better meal, in a better atmosphere, with better company, and guess what we paid? Remember, this was a dinner for four people....
We arrived at our destination a short time later, and we hadn't written the name of the restaurant down before we left. We were dropped off in front of a building with about ten different storefronts, all serving dumplings. We had no idea which one to go to! Luckily, I had the directions to the restaurant in my pocket, so we started asking random Chinese people where the place was. After talking with four or five people, we were able to understand which one it was. It was a huge restaurant, and we were definately the ONLY Americans in the whole joint. In fact, I'm willing to bet we were the ONLY people from outside of China! Of course, they didn't have any English on the menu, so we asked the waitress to just keep bringing plates of dumplings out to us (Mind you, this wasn't an easy request. It took five people hovering around around our table to piece together what little English they knew to understand what we had asked. One word I learned the first day was pijiu. We ordered a round of pijiu (beer), and anxiously awaited the arrival of the caravan of dumplings that was sure to arrive shortly. Then the dumplings began to arrive, ten to a plate. Plate after plate of delicious dumplings with fillings such as pork and scallion, seafood, egg and greens, etc. Some were fried, some were steamed, others were wrapped in a delicious pancake and grilled on a flattop. And they just kept coming. In all we polished of eight plates of dumplings, and a couple beers each (always 22 oz. beers at this joint). As we slowly finished off the last plate of dumplings the bill arrived. But before I get into that, let me just say that this was an EXCELLENT dining experience, and was everything that I had hoped for in Chinese dumplings. We will be back there.... soon. You know how I said that I had a fantastic meal the other night, and only paid about $14? Well, tonight I had an even better meal, in a better atmosphere, with better company, and guess what we paid? Remember, this was a dinner for four people....
15 July 2008
Foie Gras and Ketchup
So far, the "foodie" side of me has been pretty disappointed with the food in China. I was so anxious to get over here and try all of the crazy dishes, and eat a bunch of things that I have never had before. shortly after my arrival in Beijing I was warned that eating those sort of things can get someone extremely sick. There are only certain places that you should eat at, and any other place is a risk. I am willing to take risks, don't get me wrong. I have eaten plenty of unfamiliar items (including the the cold poached pig ear with daikon and green papaya at the Taiwanese restaurant last week), but nothing has stood out to me as being AWESOME!! There was the Korean BBQ restaurant (the one that served dog) that had some very tasty food, the roast duck pizza on Sunday, and that Big Mac that Adam brought me home on Saturday night. Those were all really good, but I was waiting for that WOW factor to kick in. And tonight was the night....
We decided to head to the mall down the road from our apartment for dinner tonight. We went into the food court, which consisted of about 40 different stalls all serving completely different dishes. Everything from Shabu Shabu to Peking duck. We noticed a teppenyaki restaurant all the way in the back of the court. For those of you don't know, teppenyaki is a Japanese style of cooking where the chefs prepare your food on grills right at your table (similar to Nagoya in Toledo, or the Benihana chain). I am 100% confident that this food blew these restaurants out of the water!! In such an unassuming location, I didn't expect the food to be any good, but boy was I wrong. I started with a dish of diced beef, green onions, and a ton of garlic. It was fantastic! The flavors were clean and simple, but just popped with every bite. That dish led to a thinly sliced lamb steak with red onions. It reminded me of the best cheesesteak I have ever had (minus the cheese). I wanted to throw it on an Amaroso roll, smear it with Cheez Whiz, and eat it on the streets of Philadelphia. I could of eaten it all day long!!! Things continued to get better with a plate of vegetables and bean sprouts, a BBQ'd oyster with garlic, bacon, chives, and lemon juice, and the piece de resistance.... my final course consisted of seared foie gras, wrapped in an omelet, topped with a sauce of reduced ketchup, and apple slices. never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be eating foie gras in china, let alone a foie gras omelet with ketchup! But it was SOOOO good! I could of ordered ten more! But food aside, you want to know the single best part of my experience tonight? My entire meal set me back a whopping $14 U.S. I can hardly eat at Arby's for that much scratch!
All I have to say now is, BRING IT ON BEIJING! I'M READY FOR MORE!!!!!
We decided to head to the mall down the road from our apartment for dinner tonight. We went into the food court, which consisted of about 40 different stalls all serving completely different dishes. Everything from Shabu Shabu to Peking duck. We noticed a teppenyaki restaurant all the way in the back of the court. For those of you don't know, teppenyaki is a Japanese style of cooking where the chefs prepare your food on grills right at your table (similar to Nagoya in Toledo, or the Benihana chain). I am 100% confident that this food blew these restaurants out of the water!! In such an unassuming location, I didn't expect the food to be any good, but boy was I wrong. I started with a dish of diced beef, green onions, and a ton of garlic. It was fantastic! The flavors were clean and simple, but just popped with every bite. That dish led to a thinly sliced lamb steak with red onions. It reminded me of the best cheesesteak I have ever had (minus the cheese). I wanted to throw it on an Amaroso roll, smear it with Cheez Whiz, and eat it on the streets of Philadelphia. I could of eaten it all day long!!! Things continued to get better with a plate of vegetables and bean sprouts, a BBQ'd oyster with garlic, bacon, chives, and lemon juice, and the piece de resistance.... my final course consisted of seared foie gras, wrapped in an omelet, topped with a sauce of reduced ketchup, and apple slices. never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be eating foie gras in china, let alone a foie gras omelet with ketchup! But it was SOOOO good! I could of ordered ten more! But food aside, you want to know the single best part of my experience tonight? My entire meal set me back a whopping $14 U.S. I can hardly eat at Arby's for that much scratch!
All I have to say now is, BRING IT ON BEIJING! I'M READY FOR MORE!!!!!
14 July 2008
You Can Stand Under My Umbrerra
Yesterday happened to be my first day off here in Beijing, and I decided long before I got here that the time that I have off is not going to be wasted sitting in my apartment and recuperating from the countless days of work that led up to the day off. And, I have to say my first day in China was everything that I had always hoped (and more). There is so much to tell, so I will just give you a brief synopsis of how my day went...
First, we went to the forbidden City, which was the original kingdom of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
About thirty steps through the gate my sandal began to fall apart.
I found the Holy Grail, a frozen bottle of water (nothing in this city is served cold and it was 1,000,000 degrees outside.)
I kissed Mao...
I saw Tieneman Square...
We went to a neighborhood called Houhai (or Old City). It is a collection of restaurants and bars surrounding a huge lake in the middle of the city.
(he is sweeping the street)
First, we went to the forbidden City, which was the original kingdom of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
About thirty steps through the gate my sandal began to fall apart.
We saw some amazing sites...
My shoe completely came apart...
I found the Holy Grail, a frozen bottle of water (nothing in this city is served cold and it was 1,000,000 degrees outside.)
I took a picture of a random Chinaman...
I kissed Mao...
I saw Tieneman Square...
We went to a neighborhood called Houhai (or Old City). It is a collection of restaurants and bars surrounding a huge lake in the middle of the city.
I saw Chef at a Tea House...
We sat back and had a few beers...
And a few laughs...
(he is sweeping the street)
And some roast duck pizza...
A bird s*it on Dave's head...
And we ended the night enjoying a beautiful China sunset...
This Stuff Is BANANAS
I know you have all been patiently waiting for my first installment of pictures, so I figured I would start with a few from work, considering that is where I spend 75% of my time. I hope you like them, and I will be sure to post more as the days go by.
10 July 2008
No Rules, Just (Not) Right
I have noticed that there are absolutely no rules in the city of Beijing...
1.) People will drive, sleep, and go to the bathroom ANYWHERE. Half of the city smells like urine, we have found makeshift beds in our kitchen when we got there in the morning, and we also found a nice surprise in the dry storeroom one day. Let's just say that someone needed to drop off a load, and it wasn't Raman noodles. DISGUSTING!
2.) I was examined by the Beijing Hygiene Bureau, which could of been the most interesting physicals I have had. There was a line of about three hundred people, in a huge room, and they did every body's business right in front of everyone else! Physicals, blood work, you name it. It was all done in front of the whole building. The most bizarre of them all was, we had to take a stool sample in with us (to make sure we were healthy enough to handle food, etc,). That was not fun in and of itself, but if you were not able to produce a sample to them on that morning, they would make you drop your drawers, and they would get that sample one way or another. It was sick...
3.) I was walking down the street, just after the physical, and started to smell something off. As it got stronger, I notice that there was a van parked on the side of the street, with the sliding door wide open. I looked in the van, and it was piled up to the top with plastic grocery bags of butchered chicken meat. Just sitting on top of one another, no refrigeration, ice, nothing! Then I saw a guy guy jump out of the van with a box full of meat, and he was delivering it to the restaurant across the sidewalk!!! I was blown away!
4.) I have already been to a restaurant that had dog on the menu (pictures to follow). No, Jen I didn't eat it!
1.) People will drive, sleep, and go to the bathroom ANYWHERE. Half of the city smells like urine, we have found makeshift beds in our kitchen when we got there in the morning, and we also found a nice surprise in the dry storeroom one day. Let's just say that someone needed to drop off a load, and it wasn't Raman noodles. DISGUSTING!
2.) I was examined by the Beijing Hygiene Bureau, which could of been the most interesting physicals I have had. There was a line of about three hundred people, in a huge room, and they did every body's business right in front of everyone else! Physicals, blood work, you name it. It was all done in front of the whole building. The most bizarre of them all was, we had to take a stool sample in with us (to make sure we were healthy enough to handle food, etc,). That was not fun in and of itself, but if you were not able to produce a sample to them on that morning, they would make you drop your drawers, and they would get that sample one way or another. It was sick...
3.) I was walking down the street, just after the physical, and started to smell something off. As it got stronger, I notice that there was a van parked on the side of the street, with the sliding door wide open. I looked in the van, and it was piled up to the top with plastic grocery bags of butchered chicken meat. Just sitting on top of one another, no refrigeration, ice, nothing! Then I saw a guy guy jump out of the van with a box full of meat, and he was delivering it to the restaurant across the sidewalk!!! I was blown away!
4.) I have already been to a restaurant that had dog on the menu (pictures to follow). No, Jen I didn't eat it!
The 26 Hour Shift From Hell
I am still working on posting pictures and such, so please bear with me for the next few days...
I am now three days into my working experience, and with each day I encounter more and more challenges. I have been posted at the Green Homeland Media Village. This is where all of the worldwide media stays throughout their time in Beijing. There are two production kitchens in the compound, and six dining rooms (including one 24 hour operation and a bar). Each kitchen will produce 6,000 meals for each meal period, plus the late night crowd. So we could, hypothetically, serve 25,000 people per day!! For those of you who are not in the restaurant business, that is a s*itload! I have all the confidence in the world in my team, and believe that we will be very successful. We have our soft opening tonight for dinner, and then tomorrow breakfast and lunch. We will be serving Chinese officials, Beijing Olympic Committee, etc. It is going to be a long couple of days though. Today I work until 1:00 am, and then I have to be back at 6:00 tomorrow morning! With the hour long commute there and back, it's almost not worth going home. There are a group of us who may just end up working straight through until 4:00 tomorrow afternoon. Sometimes it's easier just to continue working, as opposed to coming home and having to do it all over again, you know? I have Sunday off as of right now, so I will have that day to recover (hopefully).
I have been given the job of receiver/hot food prep. My main responsibility is receiving orders, gathering, organizing, and preparing mise en place (prep ingredients) for the hot food kitchen (both the Asian side and the International side).
I am now three days into my working experience, and with each day I encounter more and more challenges. I have been posted at the Green Homeland Media Village. This is where all of the worldwide media stays throughout their time in Beijing. There are two production kitchens in the compound, and six dining rooms (including one 24 hour operation and a bar). Each kitchen will produce 6,000 meals for each meal period, plus the late night crowd. So we could, hypothetically, serve 25,000 people per day!! For those of you who are not in the restaurant business, that is a s*itload! I have all the confidence in the world in my team, and believe that we will be very successful. We have our soft opening tonight for dinner, and then tomorrow breakfast and lunch. We will be serving Chinese officials, Beijing Olympic Committee, etc. It is going to be a long couple of days though. Today I work until 1:00 am, and then I have to be back at 6:00 tomorrow morning! With the hour long commute there and back, it's almost not worth going home. There are a group of us who may just end up working straight through until 4:00 tomorrow afternoon. Sometimes it's easier just to continue working, as opposed to coming home and having to do it all over again, you know? I have Sunday off as of right now, so I will have that day to recover (hopefully).
I have been given the job of receiver/hot food prep. My main responsibility is receiving orders, gathering, organizing, and preparing mise en place (prep ingredients) for the hot food kitchen (both the Asian side and the International side).
07 July 2008
7,000 Miles From Nowhere
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I finally made it to China! After a grueling 14 flight, about two hours in the Beijing Airport, and an hour long bus ride into the city, I have arrived at the Somerset Extended Stay Hotel in the heart of the Haidian District. It didn't take long to meet a host of other people from ARAMARK. It seems as though the entire hotel is filled with them. I have two roommates, one of them is Adam and he is from Greenville, South Carolina, and the other is Thomas from Dublin, Ireland. I drew the short knife (for all you Top Chef fans out there), and I have the luxury of sleeping in the makeshift office, turned bedroom. It's not bad, though. I don't mind sleeping on what feels like a wooden board cushioned by Brawny paper towels. I slept well, I guess that's all that matters.
Today begins my first day of work. All that I know is that I am working at the Media Village. Which means I will be cooking for all the worldwide media. I am sure that I will find out a lot more in the next hour or so, and when I get back I will try to update with some pictures or something.
Peace and hair grease, I'm out!!
Oh ya, I've only been here for about twelve hours, and I've already determined this is going to be a CRAZY trip...
Today begins my first day of work. All that I know is that I am working at the Media Village. Which means I will be cooking for all the worldwide media. I am sure that I will find out a lot more in the next hour or so, and when I get back I will try to update with some pictures or something.
Peace and hair grease, I'm out!!
Oh ya, I've only been here for about twelve hours, and I've already determined this is going to be a CRAZY trip...
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