dinner - (how is it possible to eat again after bellagio?)

after walking around at this crazy new luxury mall (where i felt like i was either at bloomingdales or rodeo drive - which i never go to - because everything was gucci, prada, chanel, juicy couture, etc etc) we actually went to dinner.

since i was still in a food coma from lunch, i just asked for some simple, casual food...it really didn't matter to me where we went because i was so grateful to just be here. i asked for some "jia chang cai", which means basically home cooking - like the casual chinese dishes you eat everyday at home. mainly, i wanted my favorite potato dish - "tu dou si" - julienned potatoes stir fried with green pepper. see description from chungking post here.

edamame - according to my dad, this was soaked in cooking wine?

veggies! however, this was kind of salty and covered in msg. tasty, but my palate is adjusting to the strength in flavors.

a chicken soup - the broth was wonderfully thick and heavy and there were tiny shreds of coconut mixed in.

yet another delicious fatty dish i always eat in beijing: "mei cai kou rou," meaning preserved vegetable with meat. but the pork is soooo fatty (and delicious and great for my arteries!). i poked it with my chopstick and could see gooey fat coming out. the preserved vegetable stuff at the bottom is what i really love.

the best way to eat the pork dish is to stick a piece in these buns. mm! the golden colored ones you see are baked, while the white ones are steamed. you can dip the baked ones in this creamy condensed milk sauce - sounds weird but really satisfying.

finally, our potato dish arrived. sadly, my parents were extremely unhappy with the way the restaurant butchered this dish. i, however, had less discerning taste since i was just grateful to be eating practically ANYTHING here. but they cooked this in soy sauce (no!) and in oil that had chinese peppers in it (which numbs your mouth). i ate a few bites and thought it was edible, but my parents were vehemently against this dish, telling the server to tell the chef to taste it himself. hilarious!  

also, upon further inspection from our takeout bag, i noticed that this restaurant is translated as "golden tripod attic."  huh??

i'm off to eat "beijing kao ya" (aka peking duck) in a few hours.  but first, i must eat the leftovers from these previous meals for breakfast!