Day 9 - China. In the embassy district in Beijing, I stopped in for lunch at a restaurant that lacked a certain something that was easy to find in town: people. So empty was it that I had four waiters exclusively at my service and the chef himself came by to practice his English and offer suggestions that would suit my spicier palate. He was from Guangdong which is why the restaurant, even though it was in a posh location on Ritan Lu, was not not faring well. The meal strted with a delightful appetizer and two main courses that played off of each other. One was a green vegetable cai, with a lovely texture and a delicate sauce, the other a hearty but tender spicy beef with an aroma to die for. It was quite overwhelming to experience such a warm-weather delight on a -8 degree Celsius day. I had a miserable camera phone otherwise a pic of the feast would be included but I'll let your sensory imagination run wild. The meal was that good.