Talkin' 'bout the night food....

Okay.....let’s start at the top. One of the "warnings" I heard about China was that to ensure no stomach problems during short stays, avoid eating food off the street. The first meal I had in China? Straight off the street! :) In Beijing, there is a popular shopping district/street called Wangfujing. We stayed in a hotel right off this main drag on what is known as the "night food" street, Dong Hua Men. These street vendors prepare perfectly safe to eat foods. When we walked out the front of our hotel we were right at the end of the long avenue of vendors. It was a perfect location. We could also easily walk to Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City.
Upon arriving in Beijing, we were met by folks from Hope Medical Foster Home (we delivered 2 suitcases full of medical supplies donated by a Nashville pediatrician and also some socks and underwear donated by the good people of Knoxville). They drove us to their facilities for a quick tour (about an hour outside Bejing). After having a wonderful time playing with the kids at Hope (www.hopefosterhome.com), their driver graciously drove us to our hotel in Beijing. By now it was near 9:00 p.m. and we had forgotten to exchange any currency. Then.....Liyin remembered that a student had given her 100 RMB ($12.50) to mail a package for him from within China. We headed straight for the night food vendors! We tried different foods and ate to our heart’s content for only 50 RMB! I didn’t try anything westerners might consider "gross", although if someone had "double dog dared" me (and thrown in a little cash), I probably would have. :) You can get octopus legs, bugs, inards such as hearts, brains, stomach, feet (chicken, pig), scorpions, crickets, silkworms, snake, lower frog bodies (half the torso and the back legs), etc. (you get the picture). I stuck with beef and pork stuffed breads and delicious treats such as wonderful banana dumplings covered in sweet sauce! :) My very favorite thing, however, was the strawberries on a stick, dipped in a warm sugary liquid substance which hardens to a thin delectable crispiness as you bite into the wonderful fruit! One stick of strawberries cost 60 cents. A bargain, especially considering how much I loved them! :)
Before our journey in China would end, we would eat on the night food street three more times.