China Trip II - TEDA

After the weekend in Beijing, we returned to work in TEDA (south of Tianjin city). We had some excellent food while we were there and it's all relatively cheap.


This popular dish is called Hot Pot. A small chaffing dish with soup/broth is placed on top of a small fire with some dumplings, quail eggs and other veggies boiling in there. You get to choose the meat you'd like: beef, mutton or seafood. You put the meat in the pot and after say 10 minutes, take it out and dip it in the sauce and have it with rice. I loved Hot Pot. We ordered the spicy Kimchee version.


Hot Pot. Excellent meal for only $6.


Another excellent Belgian beer, Duvel. 8.5% alcohol by volume.


Korean Barbeque. We're actually sitting on the floor with our legs hanging in a dug out. Meat will be cooked on the grey frying pan and it's to be had with all the various sauces and dips spread out on the table.


Our waitress starting with some mushrooms and beef.


Mmmm, tasty...


We usually ended up at our favorite pub, Datura. This is Helen, Shen (our taxi driver's) sister, a bartender.


Dancing bargirls. Not quite like Coyote Ugly, but getting there.


Shen, Wenny (one of the Filipino performers, good friend) and Brian


A1 Band on stage at Datura. Note that they're playing the next person's fret. They usually put on a good show.


Sweet Child O' Mine with Mike on the lead. Note that Kathy's got a little Axel going on.


Dinner at another Chinese restaurant, where you pick your food live and they cook it right then and there. Ted, not looking so happy.


Talk about fresh seafood. Thanx, but I'll pass.


"I'll take the third one from the left"


Brian, pointing to his second course.


Our cheerful waitress pouring us some Hapin Beer, from Harbin in northern China, where there's good skiing.


Intewesting...


Dumplings that Tianjin is famous for, filled with beef and veggies.


Tsingtao Beer (most common in China) and herbal tea


I noticed at the bars that patrons could buy a whole bottle of liqour for not that much more than store prices and name tag it, so that they could have the bottle over a few days or even weeks, instead of buying single shots.


The view from our breakfast lounge on the 12th floor.


A little fortune telling machine at one of our lunch tables. You put in a coin and according to your zodiac sign, a small ball appears with this piece of paper neatly folded up inside. We couldn't understand it, but we managed to find out it was good news. Phew.