The blog has been a little bit quiet since I’ve been in Beijing.  I’ve seen all there is to see and I’ve done all there is to do.  On my last day here before leaving for Guangzhou, I tried Malatang.  Malatang is just three different ways of saying spicy: hot, numbing, burning.  Don’t worry though, you can get malatang to a manageable level of spiciness.  

Imagine this. 

You enter a restaurant.  One wall is completely covered with raw vegetables and meat.  Fresh greens.  Copious amounts of meat and dozens of different types of noodles.  You pick whatever you want.  Stick it all in a big metal bowl. Weigh the bowl at the cash register. (Usually cost about $2 USD). Wait for the chef to cook all your hand picked ingredients and viola! Personalized soup!

It’s absolutely delicious, served quick, and cheap!  It’s definitely something I will look for in Chinatowns when I return back home!