Goodbye Beijing Pt. 1

Beijing has been pretty kind to us the past 21 nights and I think it truly is a great city to be introduced to China in. You can still find people who speak even a tiny bit of English, the food isn't that scary, and we have found a few Western delights that spark familiarity such as Haagan Daas and Dairy Queen.

•  Dr. Milk Tea: The BEST bubble tea I have ever tried in my life is about 5 minutes away from our hostel. Dr. Milk Tea was a random shop we happened to stumble upon after being disappointed by the raved about Happy Lemon bubble tea franchise praised in China. The chains we have learned, even CoCo tea(highly recommended) are absolute crap in comparison. Dr. Milk Tea makes the perfect bubble milk tea with big chewy pearls and maple and brown sugar flavouring! I cannot wait to come back and have some.

• Biscuits with cream and chocolate: We found these from a local bakery after sampling all of the goodies inside. They are so filling and the cream is so soft! Probably one of our favourite snack foods in the local Hutongs.

Dr. Milk Tea and biscuits

They look like mini eclairs

• Veggie Burgers @ 365 Days Inn: I ordered these with Zach out of curiosity and discovered the best tasting comfort veggie burgers ever. They appear to be made of potatoes, cheese(we assume), carrots and some green onions and other veg, all served on a bun with mayo and ketchup and some fries. I cannot thank 365 Days Inn enough for such good food and cheap prices!

DUMPLINGS: We have tried a few and ran into the best kinds early in the morning where dumplings appear to be served as a breakfast with reduced prices and less than 10 in a bunch. There are a few different types worth noting, including ones that look like little volcanoes and have a lot of filling, some similar to Japanese gyoza with minimal filling and noodle like casing, and dumplings with exteriors resembling chicken balls! The last two are my favourite and can be found for 10-20 yuan across the street from our hostel.