Brunch, Hazy Tian'anmen & Zoo

On Friday, we got out of the hotel a bit later than usual and started hunting for a restaurant where we could have a dim sum brunch. We didn't really find one but we found a compromise where we had this meal.

Not sure what veggies these are but they were cooked in a delicious fish sauce
Egg tarts for Alex since I don't like them. At the speed he gobbled them up, I think they were fairly delicious
Fujian rice with shrimps
Buns for me, Alex had only one. They were a bit dry and not quite as savoury as I had hoped
And these fairly bland steamed dumplings were pretty good once they were dipped in hot sauce.
After our meal, we made a small detour through Wangfujing road to do a bit of shopping. It was fairly quiet this early in the day but we still managed to spend more than we should have.
We saw this funny store "Beijing special product tourist goods supermarket"
And finally reach Tian'anmen square. It's different being here for real as compared to seeing it on TV. The place is HUGE!
Obligatory photo with Mao!
It was really hazy so we decided to skip the in depth visit and come back on a less hazy day if there is one.
Our next stop was the zoo where for only 15 Yuan (less than $3) you can get access to the grounds and the panda house. Pandas are a big draw at the Beijing zoo!
All they seem to do is sleep and eat. Reminds me of a cat I know :)
And if you need souvenirs, there's plenty of shops selling them for surprisingly reasonable prices (no negotiations though)
There's instructional exhibits as well to learn more about the pandas
And this "olympic panda house" where you can see them up close!
The zoo that is over 100 years old also features plenty of other animals. These ones made me miss the little furry creature that lives in my house.
Alex said this one looked a little bit like me.
And these looks like they were up to no good!
There's also scenic grounds to walk on.
The only part I didn't appreciate was the tiger house
I felt that the cages were way too small for these animals
And the ones that howled the loudest got to go outside for a stroll. Lucky them!
Also caged were elephants
Rhinos
And Hippos
The Giraffe had a bit more ground to run on
After the zoo, we headed back to Wangfujing road. Quite a different sight at night
We found this little food alley where exotic snacks are on offer
Looks at all the variety of meats on a stick! (yes, some of them are bugs!)
And they even had Chinese shawarma!
I totally wanted to eat a scorpion until I saw them wriggling on the stick, still alive!
I'm not sure what they do with the scorpions and I didn't see any locals get them so my courage dissipated. Maybe we will go again for another visit where I will have the guts to try it! It would help if I could ask questions like how are they cooked and are there any bits I'm not meant to eat :)