Donghuamen Night Market

Donghuamen Night Market is off the north end of the Wangfujing pedestrian street. All evening the outdoor stalls sell food that is delectable, interesting and sometimes scary.

Its is a free-for-all bazaar set up for the entertainment of foreign and Chinese tourists alike. It's not the type of place that Beijing residents themselves would choose for a meal and much of the food is less than authentic, but for some reason we find ourselves heading back at least once every visit to Beijing.

The market is made up of dozens of stalls all lined up on the north side of the street. Employees of the market, all dressed in the same red and white outfits, will start yelling for you to sample their wears as soon as you are in earshot. Walking from Wangfujing, the first couple stores sell fruit dipped in sugar syrup. Its a Beijing version of a candied apple. You can try crabapples, strawberries, kiwi, and pineapple all arranged on sticks in appetizing displays. These fruity snacks are a great dessert and range from ¥5 to ¥15 per stick.

The more adventuresome can head farther down to try some other snacks. Among our favorites are minced pork and spice in a small pita like bun, fried banana balls in sugar, and crepes that wrap a variety of veggies and sprouts. Kebobs are one of the most common items. From lamb, chicken, shrimp and beef to more delicacy like varieties including fried sparrow, hearts, kidneys, livers, and what we guess is intestine or stomach meat. If you aren't afraid by the sparrow and innards, try the scorpion kebobs or the silk worm pupa kebobs instead. There are a variety of creepy crawly kebobs to choose from.

On one trip where we were feeling particularly adventuresome we tried both the scorpion and the silk pod. The scorpion gets high marks as it was crunchy and salty like popcorn. They told us that it would give more Yang (Yin-Yang = female-male) and up our energy level. I doubt it works as well as Viagra but whether psychological or real it felt like a shot of espresso and we were ready to try more. The silk pod was soft and gooey. It had one of the foulest tastes we have ever encountered. The texture was really gross and although we are willing to explore many different tastes, we doubt we will go for it again. Still it is fun to try these exotic foods and that is the charm of the market. You and several hundred other tourists are all lined up eating, laughing, occasionally gagging and enjoying the snack feast.

It's important to remember that this is tourist food. Its made to wow tourists - both Chinese and foreign with its strangeness. You won't find many of the exotic dishes on Chinese dinner plates in their homes, but they come to the market to take part in the adventure as well.

Try to bargain hard when purchasing the goods if you can't read Chinese. The prices fluctuate if they spot a sucker (and if you can't read the Chinese signs guess what...), so try pointing to the sign and saying - no, 5 Yuan. But don't worry too much about price, being ripped off a bit is also part of the adventure. So grab a stick, try something new and enjoy!