Sanlitun is perhaps the most well known expat area in Beijing. On the way back from the Chaoyang park and a visit to the nearby flower market and a local community of folks from my home country, I made my way back through Sanlitun. To my surprise, I must admit, I found it to be quite charming. Not anything like what I heard from some of my Beijing low-key expat friends.
The part I liked the most, it probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn, were not the big shopping arcades or the expat bars and clubs, but the following street hosting all sorts of outdoor street food…
Reminded me of some lovely streets and night markets in Taiwan. Mostly locals, affordable clean street food, cool atmosphere.
The biggest surprise was this following find :
An Israeli restaurant hosting a full menu of Israeli food. I went inside for a quick meal, and it was quite convincing – the Hummus, the Falafel and everything else I tasted was as good as I could expect it to from back in Israel. I wish we had something like that in Hong Kong.
But, since I’m mentioning Sanlitun, I can’t just sum things up without mentioning the bar street…
… and the very posh and luxurious shopping malls…
All in all, has a bit for everyone – poor and rich, locals and expats, and quite impressive at it.