The Travelling Nutmeg: Street food and Sidewalk Factories

With only a short period in transit and a tummy to feed, my visit in Beijing became sort of a hunt. I needed something tasty, hygienic and I was hoping at least 20% healthy. I came across an alley of street vendors in Sanlitun 三里屯 that offered quite an array of foods. There were 15 RMB Mojitos, fruit bowls of pineapples, watermelons and cantaloupes, home made fries and these...





all ready to be grilled to my 'delight'. I have yet to come across extremes such as larvae and oysters in Chongqing so it being 2014 and all, I got excited. Then I remembered my trip in a couple hours and thought of how an upset stomach would reek of embarrassment. In other words, I punked out. Yup, I know ... shame on me. Now I'm left to wonder what could have been.

However, I did find something tasty, hygienic and 100% healthy. Freshly squeezed and bottled fruit juice.

This particular vendor offered Orange, Pomegranate or a mixture of both. No added water or sugar. For my blend, he squeezed 5 of each fruit and after straining, capped my bottle with tight, factory precision. This meant that this juice could last at least a week unopened.  Give me this over a sidewalk Mojito anyday! And did I mention how smooth and sweet it was? Better than any drink on the shelf. Although I did miss grilled frog and its accompanying belly ache, this was definitely a worthy drink for a worthy cause. Check out the juice making process below!


Which would you have chosen, grilled delicacies or 100% pure juice on the sidewalks of Beijing? Let me know below!