nomadnorrie From Sydney to the formula 1 grand prix in Shanghai, Beijing, South Korea, Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine and Europe. Final destination by train is London. Hopping on a flight to Finland, then on to Japan and finally back to Sydney.

I've been eating out at Beijing restaurants for the last few nights(as opposed to street-side market stall food). Some restaurants have English menus which you would think makes life a lot easier, that's not been true for me.

Typically what happens is I arrive at a restaurant and then ask the nearest waitress(usually a woman) in Mandarin if they have an English menu. If they do then I eat there. If they don't then what happens depends on how hungry I am. If I am starving then I always order Beef noodle soup (I know how to ask for it in Mandarin and I know what I will get). I desperately need to learn how to ask for something else because I've had this several times now. Luckily most restaurants serve it.

When I find a restaurant with an English menu I tend to go for something that sounds different. Twice now that means that I have been served with a single bowl of meat in brown sauce. I thought I was at least getting rice too. Instead I had a lonely bowl of meat in a thick liquid sauce. The other time I had a Lambs leg in soy sauce on the bone. Thinking I probably ought to eat some vegetables I quickly ordered a couple of dishes. A short while later the vegetables appeared and I then had three large plates of food sitting in front of me, something like fried onion with chilies, Fried Egg and Capsicum or Cabbage as well as the meat. My dad frequently says "I've paid for it so I might as well eat it", so with that in mind I had a go at scoffing the lot. I made a good dent in these meals-for-4 both times but I didn't quite manage to get to the bottom of any of the plates. The next time I have a personalised buffet I'll take a photo.

It doesn't seem to matter where I decide to eat the same problem applies to all restaurants I've been in, practically everyone smokes before, during and after eating. My clothes are starting to reek of cigarette smoke for the first time in ages.