Genitalia restaurant in China

by Abha Malpani on

If you think that eating water-buffalo penis, a yaks knob with a hunk of foreskin, a dog’s penis, bull’s penis tip, bull’s perineum, or deer-penis juice is gross (excuse me one minute while I go to throw up), think again. Apparently they’re delicious delicacies, with energetic and virility benefits that rich Chinese people (mainly male members of the Communist Party) pay up to £250 for.

Guo-li-Zuang restaurant in Beijing specializes in serving such dishes of animal penises and testicles. China has a history of poverty and famine, which is why they are used to eating any animal and every morsel of it, so eating penises and testicles is nothing out of the ordinary. The stuff is mainly boiled, roasted or steamed, and served with a variety of items like lemon, soy, chili, honey and sesame-seed paste.

According to the author of the article on this restaurant: “All the knobs have intriguing, delicate and bizarre textures, although the flavor is mainly of pork braised in hot stock.” The restaurant is sexist though as it doesn’t serve female genitalia — but oh what the heck.

Now that I think about it a bit more, it doesn’t seem all that gross. They are really just body parts like anything else. I would have to say though, I’d probably enjoy it more if I didn’t know what I was eating.

Big in Japan: Japan will send 66-yo Olympian to Beijing

by Matthew Firestone on

With the 2008 Beijing Summer Games right around the corner, I think I can safely say that Olympic fever is in the air…

Then again, with China hosting the event for the first time in the history of the games, maybe it’s safe to say that this year’s Olympic fever may be of the viral kind.

Indeed, it’s hard to turn on the news today without hearing about the impending implications of China’s economic and political coming out party.

But then again, it’s not hard to see why, considering that the Chinese government’s efforts to modernize Beijing haven’t exactly been, um, ethical.

Of course, if you consider massive relocation of the poor, strict media censorship and forced labor to be acceptable practices in the Olympic rulebook, then I guess it’s alright!

(There I said it – looks like Gadling will now be banned in China!)

Anyway, with the increased politicization of this year’s Olympic Games, it’s fairly likely that more and more news stories will slip past the Chinese filters.

Even Steven Spielberg jumped on the bandwagon this week, saying that he was boycotting the games in response to the Chinese government’s alliance with Sudan in light of the genocide in Darfur.

Of course, as this is Gadling and not Human Rights Watch, today I will bring you a decidedly happier news story about one of the world’s oldest Olympians.

This week in Tokyo, news agencies announced that Hiroshi Hoketsu, a 66-year-old equestrian rider, will be Japan’s oldest ever Olympic athlete.

Hoketsu, who will actually be turning the young and sprightly age of 67 next month, and will be competing in the team dressage event after a 44-year break from the Games.

(In case you were wondering, dressage, a French term meaning ‘training,’ is a form of equestrian competition that is centered on standardized progressive training methods to develop a horse’s natural athletic ability.)

Back to the story at hand…

Hoketsu was actually a member of Japan’s equestrian team at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, where he finished 40th in show jumping.

(As you’d imagine, dressage is slightly less potentially damaging to the body than show jumping, especially when you’re in your late 60s).

According to Hideki Yamauchi, an official with the Japan Equestrian Federation, “We are very happy he has been named to the team. It’s quite an accomplishment to return to the Olympics after 44 years.”

Prior to Hoketsu, the previous age record for Japan was set by 63 year-old Miss Kikuko Inoue, who also participated in an equestrian event at the 1988 Seoul Games.

Surprisingly however, Japan doesn’t hold the Olympic age record as the oldest ever competitive athlete was Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn, who won a gold medal at the age of 64 in the 1912 Stockholm Games, and then returned eight years later, aged 72, to win a silver in Antwerp, Belgium.

I guess that at 27, there is still time for me to win the gold!

(On a side note, today was my 100th posting for Big in Japan, so thanks to everyone out there for checking out my little column here at Gadling!)

** All images are trademarked by the 2008 Beijing Olympic Committee. Illegal use or infringement of these images will result in horrific violations of your human rights that are so depraved and immoral that I’m not permitted by common decency to mention them here **

Should you bring your own food when visiting China?

by Jerry Guo on

There was a big New York Times story this weekend about the US Olympics delegation’s plan to ship in 25,000 pounds of their own food to Beijing this summer.

Here’s what one caterer for the delegation had to say about an innocent looking piece of chicken he found at an everyday supermarket. “We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.” And more:

In recent years, some foods in China have been found to be tainted with insecticides and illegal veterinary drugs, and the standards applied to meat there are lower than those in the United States, raising fears of food-borne illnesses.

If Chinese food isn’t good enough for US athletes, is it good enough for you? I think the surprising answer is no–if you have a sensitive stomach. My girlfriend got deathly sick for a week this past summer from eating a cantaloupe from a street vendor. I had similar problems a couple years back buying octopus from a street vendor. I think it goes to show: stick to actual restaurants.

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Inside the Olympics stadium in Beijing

by Iva Skoch on

It is no secret that the Olympics in China this year are designed to make a splash and let the world know that China is “back in the game.”

The Guardian writer, Jonathan Clancey, has been inside the main building and declares it “quite simply stunning.” The Chinese have named it Bird’s Nest when its creators–Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, working with Arup and the China Architectural Design and Research Group–unveiled their design five years ago. “Its mesmeric steel frame, 41,875 tonnes in all, loops, swoops and swirls over and around the great, red, concrete 91,000-seat arena. What had seemed to be a solid structure from a distance proves to be a filigree Chinese puzzle close up.”

The structure is almost complete, while the fit-out, with its shops, restaurants, cafes, bars and meeting places, is racing ahead. At times, there have been as many as 7,000 construction workers on site.

Say what you will about the Olympic-size megalomania, but there is no denying this is a gorgeous building..

Living and working in Beijing

by Jerry Guo on

I spent a chunk last year living and working in Beijing, something that I’ve always wanted to do. I grew up in Tianjin, which is an hour’s train-ride outside the capital, and so I have fond memories of the place.

There’s been so much press–and no doubt it’ll consume us completely by this summer–on Beijjing’s rampant growth and construction, leading up to the Summer Olympics this August.

But what tourists this summer will be drastically different than what goes on the other 50 weeks of the year. Here’s a gallery of life for ordinary Beijing-ers, as well as shots from Beijing’s famous snack street (there are actually two near the Wangfujing subway stop) and general nightlife.

Hope I’ll see you in Beijing come August.

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