Life in the city

Old China Hands lunch 7 October

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Full house

The Old China Hands lunch 7 October came at the very end of the “Golden Week” of National Day (1 October). We were a bit worried about attendance but we had 34 happy Beijingers.
With all the restrictions and worries with the zero-COVID paranoia, many people in Beijing decided not to leave the city so Morel’s Restaurant had very busy days.

While we always loose members we also welcome new faces, some visiting Morel’s for the first time.
Food was as always great. See a few pics of the dishes.

Our Hutong Man

Yes, Terry Crossman again.

Another “Terry in the news” (19 May 2018)

See previous post about Terry.
He was also in Old China Hands stars.
I found one more video on CCTV-4:
CCTV-4中文国际频道
外国人在中国(停播)
《外国人在中国》 20180422 西城“洋大妈”
Translated:
CCTV-4 Chinese International Channel
“Foreigners in China” 20180422 “Foreign Aunt” in Xicheng
Watch it here.

Next lunch

Next one is on Friday 4 November. Attendance is not open, advance registration with me is mandatory. All nationalities and backgrounds are welcome but only for “foreigners” (non-Chinese ID) with ten years of China experience. Next spring it will be our 10th anniversary!

Belgium Day in Beijing

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Ambassador’s residence

Very often Belgium Day in Beijing on 21 July is not celebrated as it is in the middle of summer and many people are away. Mostly 15 November, Kings Day, replaces the real national day.

Our Ambassador Jan Hoogmartens this year opened his residence for a very nice celebration, well attended by the hardcore Belgians in Beijing, on 21 July.

It was a wonderful and relaxed evening.
The residence is behind the construction of the new embassy, design by our Belgian architect Nicolas Godelet (NG-Lab).

Buffet by Morel’s

To the satisfaction of all Renaat Morel spoiled us all with his buffet. I was happy to lend a hand, fully dressed in my chef’s attire with Belgian colors. I think it’s fun to help! Big success for the lasagna, Belgian fries and all the other goodies. People also tried the Belgian Natural Artisan Ice Cream.
The ambassador kindly sponsored the whole evening, the food and the drinks. Thank you!

Best Belgian food in Beijing (3)

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Afternoon tea

Best Belgian food in Beijing (3) focuses on afternoon tea, a typical Dutch sandwich and flowers. Of course in Morel’s Restaurant.

The restaurant is open in the afternoon and is popular for its sumptuous afternoon tea.

What is a “smos sandwich”?

Friends who are regulars are sometimes treated to unusual specials, like the Martino and also the broodje smos, or smos or smoske.

A smos sandwich, sometimes called smos or smoske, is the Flemish name for a sandwich or piece of baguette often topped with cheese, ham, vegetables and egg slices. The name comes from the Flemish word ‘smossen’ which means to spill. So much topping is put in between the sandwich that it often spills while eating. In Wallonia the name “dagobert” is used, and in Brussels “sandwich club”.

The bun is first spread with mayonnaise or another sauce and then topped with vegetables and slices of hard-boiled egg. Vegetables that are used include lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Usually cheese and/or ham or, for example, crab salad is also added. There are also variants where deep-frying products such as a frikandel or meat croquette are placed between the sandwich.

In the province of Antwerp and in Sint-Niklaas, they use the word smos for a sandwich without cheese and ham with only vegetables on it. In that case, you order a smos and say the topping that goes on after it (for example a smos cheese or smos ham). If you order a smos in West Flanders, Sint-Niklaas or in Antwerp, you can receive different sandwiches.
The sandwich has similarities with the Dutch sandwich “gezond”.

A flower paradise

Susan Morel and her team also takes care of the wonderful flower arrangements, and some flower gifts for the ladies. As mentioned earlier Susan has become a real master florist.

I admit many of the flowers I have no idea about. She sources them from all over China.

7Fresh in Beijing Yizhuang

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Exploring new places

I admit I am pretty lazy and mostly don’t go far away from Sanlitun. A friend recommended 7Fresh in Beijing Yizhuang, so Renaat and Susan took me along to explore the 7Fresh Food Market that is next to the JD 7 Fresh Supermarket. That was in February 2019 before the COVID mess hit us all.
Covering 4000 sqm, the store is at the Dazu Plaza Shopping Center, near the e-commerce company’s headquarters in Yizhuang district. Closest subway station is Rongjingdongjie of the Yizhuang Line (Line 5).

We tried many of the dishes, all of excellent quality. Great experience!

More about the supermarket

Fresh goods and unmanned delivery service at JD 7Fresh Supermarket.
On February 18, 2022, 62 Chinese and foreign journalists visited JD Group’s 7Fresh Supermarket in Yizhuang District of Beijing. Founded in 2017, 7Fresh is a gourmet fresh supermarket providing consumers with instant and fast quality retail services through online and offline channels, and dedicated to creating a better quality life for customers. Journalists visited the fruit and vegetable, bakery, wine, Chinese food , meat, seafood, and catering sections in the store, to learn about the business and operation mode of 7Fresh, its supply chain, commodity power and innovation power advantages, and experience the convenient shopping experience first-hand.

Greek food or hotpot in Beijing

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Athena

Greek food or hotpot in Beijing. Greek is an obvious choice: Athena Greek restaurant.
I finally made it back there after a long time, with all the COVID mess. Both Renaat and myself enjoyed it. We had Greek Salad, lemon chicken soup, other dishes and some deserts.

The beer I had: Russell Brewing Company, British Columbia, Canada. Pretty nice (but not Greek!).
Moussaka was very good, it’s a potato-based dish with ground meat. The best-known version in Europe and the Americas is the Greek variant created in the 1920s by Nikolaos Tselementes.
The “lamb” chops could be better – basically mutton and not lamb. Deserts, such as rice pudding, were very good.
Nice sitting outside (and inside too). The restaurant is famous for its good lunch buffet.
Located close to the Spanish embassy.

Favorite hotpot

I admit I like hotpot and my favorite is Haidilao Hotpot in Beijing Sanlitun 3.3. Rather cheap and very attentful service. Always ordering too much so I took home some doggy bag with left over vegetables. Their beer is quite OK. We had the noodle-making mini show too.
The cows? Going there we saw the cows in 3.3, they looked pretty real…

Haidilao Expects $600 Million Loss in 2021
Haidilao, a Chinese hot pot chain, announced Monday that it foresees a net loss of about 3.8 billion yuan to 4.5 billion yuan as of Dec. 31, 2021. The revenue in 2021 is expected to exceed 40 billion yuan, an increase of more than 40 percent, compared to 2020 revenue of about 28.6 billion yuan. (
Haidilao estimates losses mainly due to the following factors: First, in 2021, Haidilao closed more than 300 restaurants and dropped restaurant business performance and other factors resulting in losses totaling around 3.3 billion yuan to 3.9 billion yuan. In addition, the restaurant chain’s operations were impacted by the continuing changes in the global landscape and repeated outbreaks.