Scorpions on a stick update: Globe & Mail, LA Times, BBC, DNA India, and more
Update number three of my scorpions on a stick media monitoring project. For full details, see: On a stick? In Beijing? No way! (Note: Donkey meat and cooked penis are giving the scorpions stiff competition for the hearts and minds of the media.)
Category: You are what you eat, Garry
Candidate: Garry Linnell, Herald Sun
Clip: [Actually, this story is about penis. Oh, it also mentions scorpions.]
“No, we came here for the food, in all its bizarre, exotic glory. Take your pick. Scorpion kebab? Roast dog leg? Deep fried worm? And for the absolutely fearless, what about the ham sandwich on offer at the Olympic media centre?”
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Category: You are what you eat, II
Candidate: Staff reporter, The Sun
Clip: [This is another item about penis.]
“DOG may have been banned from menus at Beijing’s Olympic Games but Brits can still scoff a stomach churning array of food - including SEAL PENIS. Olympic chiefs will not be serving dishes containing man’s best friend at official Olympic restaurants - in a bid to make visitors feel comfortable. But they WILL offer a menu worthy of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here including deep-fried scorpions and sea urchins, cow stomach, turtle and brains in a hot pot.”
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Category: They made me write it
Candidate: Mitch Moxley, Globe & Mail
Clip:
Every evening, a mix of camera-wielding tourists and locals gather at this 2,000-square-metre bazaar, where red lanterns mark vendors hawking standard Beijing street fare such as boiled corn — as well as slightly more exotic dishes including fried scorpion and lamb penis. [Moxley adds context in the next paragraph.] Truth be told, while the unsuspecting Olympic visitor to Beijing might find a crispy duck’s head or sautéed pig’s intestine on their plate, most people I have met here certainly do not eat everything but tables and planes. [Fair play]
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Category: I don’t get out of the house much
Candidate: Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post
Clip:
Mug of Tsingtao, skewer of fried scorpion - that will be more challenging for the uninitiated, not to mention songwriters trying to find something that rhymes with it.
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Category: Unfortunately, the scorpions aren’t curried
Candidate: DNA India [The title is: "Skewered scorpion? Coming right up..."]
Clip:
These days, about the only wildness you’ll experience [in Beijing] is in the menu itself: deep fried cricket or skewered scorpion or seahorse kebab is the standard bill of fare in Wangfujing Snack Street in downtown Beijing.
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Category: Hey, I have to at least *mention* it
Candidate: Iain Marlow, The Toronto Star
Clip:
In Beijing, be adventurous. Flee the main streets and get lost in the alleyways. Try the tripe and the duck neck and maybe even the scorpions. [This comes in the last paragraph of an excellent article about Beijing street food. Fair play.]
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Category: Hey, I have to at least *mention* it, II
Candidate: Mary MacVean, Los Angeles Times
Clip:
From the contemporary offerings of the Courtyard, diners can travel, culinarily, to the street fare of Beijing, where vendors sell such things as scorpions or starfish on skewers. [Again, this is stuck in the last paragraph of an otherwise interesting piece. Fair play.]
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Category: Penned as she ate a steak from a cute furry kangaroo?
Candidate: Mary-Anne Toy, Sydney Morning Herald
Clip:
DOG may be off the menu for the Olympic Games, but adventurous gastronomes can still choose from a dazzling array of culinary delights in Beijing - from seal’s penis to deep-fried scorpions and brains in hot pot.
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Finally, thanks to the BBC, we have this completely natural, unrehearsed, unposed photo of a woman eating scorpions on a stick.
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See also:
Scorpions on a stick update: Forbes, Wall Street Journal
Scorpions on a stick update: NBC
On a stick? In Beijing? No way!: ESPN, Boston Globe
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(Photo: MH)
3 commentsHigh five: Pre-Games fun at The Saddle Cantina, Well Bar
All drinks, half price, midnight to midnight - August 5 sees the final Cinco de Drinko at The Saddle Cantina. What better way to warm up for the Olympics than with half-price ice-cold Stella - literally, the upstairs draft pours at -2 Celsius - or a couple of Margaritas?
Meanwhile, Well Bar will open in 1949: The Hidden City on this night, so if you haven’t checked out this laid-back complex yet, this is a good chance to also take a look at 1/5 bar.
2 commentsWine bar boom: Shunyi, China View, The Place, Gongti West
Wine shops continue to pop up about the city. Here are a few recent additions - and more are on the way.
The Cellar Lounge opened in Shunyi (Piazza Cafe Courtyard) on Saturday. One of the suppliers posted about the place: “Wine lovers now have a spiritual home in Shunyi. The Cellar Lounge stocks a great range of hard to find (forget Jenny lous or Carrefor) international wines at affordable prices.” Hours of operation: 11 AM to 10 PM. The focus is on wines from smaller importers, with around 300 on offer from RMB80 per bottle. As for the “spiritual home in Shunyi” part, let’s not forget Palette Vino.
Some other recent openings:
- AOZ in China View, which I covered in this post and is practically across the street from fellow wine bar Big 9.
- Enoteca in The Place - after a bumpy first few weeks, it looks like things have stabilized there.
- Sam’s on Workers Stadium West. I hope to visit here soon to grab some cheese in the retail section on the first floor and then head upstairs and try a bottle or two of wine.
