Beijing´s Hutong
Hutong’s means literally ‘alleyways’ and these little alleys form the heart and soul of Beijing. Tiny charming and unique shops, restaurants with peaceful courtyards, food stalls, post office, anything you imagine.… all scrammed next to each other in even narrower alleys let you feel the true pulse of this city.
Phoebe and Nick decided to bring me to their favourite Hutong on my first ever trip in their hometown and it was the right decision. I was immediately landed in the cosy heart of this huge city. What i didn’t realise at first was the fact that this trip will also end in a culinary discovery trip where i had the opportunity to taste lots of specialities chosen/recommended by locals – so without failure i think i liked everything!
Chinese cheese (tastes like the vanilla creme my Mum makes), spicy lamb skewers, dumplings, followed by lunch which was all new to me.. and on the way back to the car even the famous stinky tofu which to my surprise tastes really good – if you ignore the smell 🙂
If not with a local.. i think it would have again been a case for my compass to find a way out of it. These Hutongs are a criss-cross of tiny alleys which makes it almost impossible to remember where you came from / trying to figure out where you want to go to.
Hutong’s don’t miss it if you are in Beijing!
suebluesky 