Chaoyang is the name of the section of Beijing The Astronomer and I are residing in during our week long stay in the city. It’s a fairly modern business and residential neighborhood located around East Third Ring Road. With so much traffic and new developments in this part of town, its been a bit tough searching for delicious and cheap local-style eats. After a bit of sleuthing about (back alleys are definitely where it’s at), we’ve found three go-to places to fuel up in between catching sporting events and site seeing.

This nameless counter is located smack on Third Ring Road. The menu is completely in Chinese, but the goods are laid out front so it’s difficult to go wrong.

The specialty here is bread products sold plain or stuffed with vegetables, meat or eggs. Products are made in house several times a day to keep the inventory fresh. The triangular bread on the far left tasted similar to foccacia, while the cabbage-stuffed round ones were just savory enough to hit the spot.

The bread counter also sells jianbing (4 RMB)—a thin crepe topped with egg, brushed with hoisin sauce and filled with scallions and fried wonton crisps. Each crepe is made to order on a large circular hot plate and served neatly folded up in a plastic bag.

Check out all the lovely crepe layers! I asked for two eggs (since that’s what the locals who were served before me got) and I was stuffed to the gills when finished. If you’re down with carbohydrates like I am, jianbing is a must-try Beijing favorite.

This one is sort of like an Egg McMuffin, but way better (3 RMB). The bread is a touch salty, while the texture is a cross between a buttery biscuit and a flaky croissant. The “meat” slices are nowhere near as delicious as a good ol’ American sausage patty, so I’ve been ordering my McMuffin without these days for just 2 RMB.

The Astronomer picked up this sticky doughnut filled with sweet red bean paste and coated in sugar (1 RMB). Admittedly a bit oily and heavy, but the fabulous tapioca texture made up for it.

Nothing washes down a bread-intensive breakfast quite like fresh soy milk (1 RMB). Hot or cold, I find it so refreshing.

Our second favorite Chaoyang eatery is this nameless window dishing up noodles morning, noon and night. Patrons place their order at the window, and a few minutes later the food is delivered from the same window. Magic! Since The Astronomer and I aren’t fluent in Mandarin yet, we’ve been pointing at other diners’ food and smiling to indicate what we’d like to eat. Not the classiest move, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.

Flat and wide rice noodles served cold with cucumbers, cubes of bread and a sauce of chili, garlic and vinegar (3.5 RMB). The cubes of bread soak up the tart dressing without getting mushy.

A similar cold noodle dish using round egg noodles and without bread cubes (3.5 RMB). The dressing here is similar in composition but a lot less spicy.

In addition to cold noodles, the chefs also make chow mein. Of all the foods I’ve eaten in China, this dish is the most reminiscent of Chinese food in America. It totally looks just like the stuff at Panda Express!

At night, the chefs whip up meat and veggies on a stick in addition to noodles. The Astronomer thought he was getting fish balls, but this turned out to be some sort of mystery meat that collapsed a bit too easily in our mouths.

And last but certainly not least, the Chinese flat bread (bing) dealer. We were enjoying some cold noodles from our favorite window the other day when we saw some locals noshing on flat bread. We tried to order some at the window, but they directed us to go around a nearby corner for the goods.

Bing is cross between Indian roti and Mexican tortillas. However, while roti and tortillas require some sort of filling, bing has the slightest hint of salt that makes it pleasurable to eat plain. A single portion, which is humongous, by the way, costs 3 RMB. Served hot, it’s impossible to eat just one slice.

Who knew Chinese food was so bread intensive?

We woke up to sunny skies on our first full day in Beijing. The visibility here is much better than in Xi’an, but we both woke up with sore throats, which meant that the air quality is probably worse. Here’s a view of the Tonghui River, where The Astronomer and I are getting in some Olympic-inspired mileage. I run so much faster after watching an intense track race on television.

Whereas our time in Kunming and Xi’an was mostly spent eating, our days in Beijing revolve around athletic competition, so exploring new eats is taking a backseat for a couple of days. Today, we had tickets for the first session of group B men’s preliminary basketball.

Before making our way to Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium, we stopped by Wangfujing Snack Street, the city’s only pedestrian thoroughfare. We’d heard from a number of trusty sources that this was the place to check out for classic Chinese snacks. Vendors were selling the usual meat on a stick, but we were looking for something more substantial so we ducked into a restaurant.

We picked this restaurant because it was kinda dark, a little dingy and filled with Chinese people.

I got a bowl of noodles in a spicy broth (10 RMB)—been there, done that. Prices along Wangfujing are twice as much as what we’ve been paying elsewhere, and the amount of love put into each dish is dramatically less.

The Astronomer chose a plate of fried rice with bits of Chinese sausage, ham and cabbage (15 RMB). It was edible, but we weren’t the least bit impressed.

Lastly, we shared some fried dumplings (15 RMB). The filling was mostly cabbage, and the wrappers’ texture was too chewy. Man, we totally got duped by Wangfujing Snack Street. Don’t make the same mistake—it’s a high price, low quality tourist trap.

For dessert, The Astronomer and I shared some candy coated fruit to wash away the taste and memory of our dangerously mediocre lunch. We’d seen similar preparations in Xi’an, but never got a chance to give it a go. The vendor offered candy coated grapes, plums, crab apples and pineapples.

We went for a stick of plums (5 RMB). We were both surprised that they were so juicy—the candying process adds a crunchy coating of sugar around the fruit but doesn’t diminish its natural goodness. The tart plums paired with the sugary candy were very delicious. Not a bad way to get in a couple servings of fruit!

After lunch, we headed to the Wukesong Culture and Sports Center to catch some basketball action. Beijing is a sprawling metropolis, so it takes a good hour to get from our hotel to any of the venues. According to the Official Spectator Guide, the “outer facade [of the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium] is decked by a line of saw-toothed aluminum foil flashing brilliantly in the sun.” Couldn’t have said it any better myself.

For the first match—China vs. Greece—we sat in Nosebleed City.

The Greeks were so good that even Yao Ming (#13) couldn’t keep Team China afloat.

For the second match up of the afternoon—Angola vs. Spain—we moved court side. Woot!

Angola was definitely in the game for the first 17 minutes, but by half-time, it was clear that things weren’t going to be pretty. Spain’s Pau Gasol was a dominating force.

And lastly, some eye candy—the Beijing Spirit Dancers. No, I have know idea what they’re doing, but at least they look good doing it. Mao probably turned in his mausoleum after this scandalous performance.

After leaving the arena, we tried to trade our two sets of table tennis tickets for a pair of seats at the USA vs. Germany basketball game later that evening.  The Chinese love ping pong; however, they were all trying to cash in on the Olympic fervor, so we were unsuccessful.  One woman quoted us a price of 6,000 RMB. Crazy lady, we don’t like Kobe that much.