On the bus ride back from the Summer Palace we stopped for dinner. It was honestly rather good; the food was still flavorful and satiating. The dish consisted of a rice noodle base. They were rolled out more, so they had a higher starch content. This made them chewier. There was some sort of protein, but it was not super memorable. I might not have tried it. This main dish came with cucumbers, thick cubes pickled green garlic, and some purple root veggie, with a salty oyster sauce. The garlic gave the dish good umami, but it needed more of an acidic or sweet element to balance out the saltiness of oyster sauce. There were also three side dishes with steamed broccoli, scallion pancake, thin glass noodles with chopped up fried up egg. I do not recall the latter of the side dish, but it tasted like something I had a Chinese restaurant back at home.

On the way back from the restaurant Tony continued to provide some commentary. On the bus that was driving on the highway had he pointed out the Olympic stadiums in the distance. The National Aquatics Center and the Bird’s Nest stadium were impressive structures. The Aquatics Center was repurposed for some winter events and looked like an ice cube from afar for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The Bird’s Nest, like the name suggests, looks like it had metal twigs that make up the exterior. Tony had discussed Beijing hosting both the Summer and Winter games and he had lots of pride in talking about it. The Chinese lucky number is eight, and it was extremely symbolic that the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony occurred on 8/8/08 at 8PM. This added to my curiosity about that area, and I wanted to see them up close. Though that is a story for another time