小月度麵 - 度小月台南擔仔麵，北京王府井新東安廣場

清末年間，民生不好過，大地東南之濟， 有一大島，每遇七至九月颱風天，島上漁民出海作業的日子少了，故稱七至九月為小月。 為謀生計，中南部一姓洪漁民，提著擔挑賣麵，小碗麵上有鮮蝦一隻，肉燥加小蔥，鮮香撲鼻 －就為世人所知的擔仔麵。 日子雖難過，但總也想法子去過。洪老先生，你這小碗麵，度過那些小月，却教人好好面對生活任何難關，寓意深遠。今天小月度麵，回歸大地，好讓十三億小口，一嘗百年前洪老先生這碗擔仔麵。

除了擔仔麵，還有鳳梨苦瓜排骨湯，鹽酥骨，南瓜泡菜，小紅茄，全都不負小月其名。

Jian Guo Road and East 3rd ring, Beijing

15 years ago, I came here pretty often.  Back then there weren't such high rise buildings as on all the below photos (except the Soho modern town - photo 2).  Wet market and furniture places were around here.  A very rapid growth.

Shin Kong shopping district, Beijing, China

Fu Li community complex and Renaissance Hotel Beijing

One day clear, then one day smoggy - Beijing

Photo 1: never seen such a clear blue sky in Beijing especially during winter time.  Photo 2: however, the next day it went back to a very smoggy scene. 

Re-visiting East 3rd ring road 東三環, Beijing

This road has meant so much to me.  Stayed in a hotel at the far south of this 3rd ring and passed by this road so many times.  It wasn't that busy and very few tall buildings were around.  It wasn't that smoggy either.  That's the cost of economy growth.  I somehow enjoyed seeing some old things still staying here - like that fruit stall trolley.  It was minus 2 and they were still making their living.

Forbidden and Empty Palace

The first time I stepped in this Forbidden City. My first impression - Big. It isn't a glamourous place to me and in fact those royal palaces shown in the HK TV dramas are much more glamourous. The answer is simple - this late Ching's palace was robbed, and in the history by the 8 united nations. Those royal treasures were robbed and now kept by various rich giants in the west. We have occasionally seen some auctions of all those treasures in places of those 8 nations. Sadly in the past 100 years, the owner country of all those treasures sent their secret agents to desperately place a bid to get them back. If the owner of those treasures was that "super-hero" country, the solution to this issue would be clear - WAR.

Open the gate. Open the gate.

Whenever I see these walls, I often recall how the last emperor Pu E run and cried for "open the gate... open the gate".

Ancient intelligence

1. It's about 1:30pm.

2. a weather observatory built in Ming dynasty.

Beijing Marriott City Wall

This hotel is about 5 minute walk from Beijing train station and another 5 minute walk to the subway station Jian Guo Men 建國門. The hotel has 4 towers comprising of around 1,000 rooms. The hotel has been maintained in a pretty good condition with some ancient Chinese decoration due to its location close to the ancient city wall observatory (built in Ming Dynasty - to be reported later). That's why it's called city wall. It has 5 restaurants - Italian (too bad the Italian restaurant closed on Sunday and Monday), Hawker (SE Asian), Pearl (Chinese), City Wall Bistro (big coffee shop), Java's (cafe serving breakfast and lunch for Marriott members or selected guests) and a lounge. Facilities include a heated swimming pool, a gym with quality euqipments and a spa. The hotel has a large no. of conference rooms. Re the swimming pool, too bad I was again forced to leave because of some people (as on the same situation on my Singapore trip about the swimming pool of hotel Park Regis). What's more, this time it's with 4D experience - the extra "D" is smell. :)