China Hutongs- Mysterious, Mystique & Mesmerizing..!!!

It’s a bright sunny morning, I love it when the sunshine greets me the minute I draw the curtains of my living room out here. The day looks bright and sunny, until I open my Bing Weather App and read the Beijing Temperature as -2 degrees. Yes, the day looks warm and nice from the window of my heated apartment, reality bites when I open that window and feel the harsh chilly wind laughing at me.This is my daily morning routine before I get down to talk to you lovely people. Every day in Beijing has been a new experience and adventure for me. A simple visit to the grocery store, to a local Chinese restaurant or the Chinese flea markets, each place has been an experience of its own. Today I will share about my short exploring visit to the Hutongs in Beijing.

A visit to China Hutongs, gave me fresh insight into Beijing’s local life. A Hutong is nothing but an ancient city alley or a lane typical in Beijing. A number of traditional courtyard residences in a lane form a Hutong, and the word is used while referring to such neighborhoods.

My husband was at work, and I decided to put my day to some productive use. So with the help of a friend who lives in the same apartment building I decided to venture out in the mystique Hutongs. We had also booked a cooking class at one of the traditional Hutong Kitchen to get acquainted with the delectable Chinese cuisine (which is very different from what we eat in India, lol).The Chinese are passionate about their food and it’s pretty evident with the way they choose the perfect spices and sauces to add different flavors to their food.

So there was a five course meal planned for us to cook, and our teacher was very kind and patient to answer all our queries about the Chinese food and culture. We made Tiger skin Pepper (veg), Gung Bao Chicken, Steamed Fish (Cantonese Style), Beer Duck, and dessert with steamed milk and egg with Ginger Juice (they didn’t have a proper English name for this Dessert).

The key to get the perfect flavors in their food is a lot of marinating (prepping the meats in sauces) and Wok Frying, they use metal Woks for stir frying the meats and vegetables. A perfect marriage of the Chinese spices and the sauces leads to the most delectable and delicious food. Something as plain and bland as a steamed fish can be converted into a delicacy with a pinch of sauce and flavor of ginger. I’m not a fish person, but that day I ate the complete piece of fish that I prepared following the teacher’s method and I totally loved it.

I have tried cooking with wine earlier, but cooking with beer was very new to me. I loved the way, beer was used to enhance the flavor of duck along with the spices used. I don’t enjoy duck as much as Chicken but this was one delicacy learned.

After an amazing class and the sumptuous lunch, my friend and I decided to walk around and explore the other Hutongs. And that’s when I got to see the real local life in China. Every door looks similar with the traditional Chinese lanterns hanging at the door.

It was a chilly afternoon so I didn’t see too many people on the road, but this cute little guy got my attention and he didn’t shy away from posing and dancing for me…ha ha ha

In all the Hutongs, I saw a very peculiar similarity of these chairs being kept at the street corners or outside the houses. My friend who’s been in China for a while told me that these chairs are usually kept for all the old people who hang out in the neighborhood at afternoons and evenings. It’s more of a community thing and very similar to our Indian culture, where people like socializing.

We also went to the local farmer’s market nearby, which is a one stop shop for all to buy the vegetables and fruits.

I loved this child seat on the cycle…!!!

Men playing Chinese checkers on the street…a lazy afternoon in Beijing…!!!

This little expedition gave me an insight to the real China, which believes in community, retaining tradition and culture and of course a simple living.

Have a great Sunday…!!!