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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Travelscene American Express Facebook Fan Trip 3 - Beijing. Help Vote For Me

I have been seriously thinking about going to China this year for a holiday, especially Beijing. My previous trips to China have been only in the Southern regions, and I have wanted to visit the capital Beijing for a long time. So when I saw that the Travelscene American Express Facebook Fan Trip 3 was to Beijing, I just have to enter. 10 semi finalists will be chosen from all entries and then fans will vote in the three winners. I am calling out to all of you, my readers, to help get me into the semi finals and then ultimately a winning spot on the trip.

For now, please help show your support by leaving a comment in this post, and hopefully Travelscene will see the support and pick me as one of the 3 winners.


Here are some reasons why I want to visit Beijing, starting of course with all the food I want to eat.

FOOD

Peiking Duck
How can anyone visit Beijing and not try authentic Peking Duck. The duck takes the name of the city even. I've tried lots of Peking Duck in restaurants around Melbourne, with the top 3 being from Simon's Peiking Duck, Flower Drum and Quan Jude, but nothing would compare to tasting the best Peking Duck in Beijing.


Hot Pot
The next iconic thing to try in Beijing is definitely Hot Pot. I eat hot pot at home all the time, even at the snow in Hotham, at restaurants like Hot Pot House and Little Lamb, but surely the variety of food items for hot pot in Beijing will blow my mind.


Xiao Long Bao
I know it's not Shanghai, but I refuse to believe that Beijing doesn't do some of the best found Xiao Long Baos in all of China. I can't wait to test out my theory. Even though the dumplings in restaurants such as HuTong and HuTong Prahran are good, it must be even better in Beijing.


Imperial Court Food
Imperial court food is something that I haven't had the privilege of trying at any restaurant in Melbourne. The closest I've come is the occasional abalone at home during special occasion. I would love to try all the fabulous feasts of the Imperial Courts, especially during the gluttonous Ming and Qing dynasties. I've watched many Chinese dramas all about the Imperial Court banquets and can't wait to try one for myself.


ATTRACTIONS

Forbidden City
My first must see place is the Forbidden City. Again, from watching so many Chinese dramas about what happened in the Forbidden City, I can't wait to immerse myself in the city and feel the grandeur, traditions, luxury and drama that occurred there hundreds of years ago.


Great Wall of China
No trip to Beijing would be complete without putting foot on the only man made structure seen from space. One can only imagine all the hordes of men working on this wall for years and years to keep out the rabbits from Emperor Nasi Goreng, of course.


Tiananmen Square
For historical reverence, I can't go past visiting Tiananmen Square. While many celebrations have been held at Tiananmen Square, we cannot forget the horrors that also occurred there, and must remind ourselves that freedoms need to be fought for and we should cherish our freedom greatly.


Beijing Opera
One of the oldest forms of entertainment is Chinese Opera. It may not be the coolest thing but it definitely has character and is an art form worth seeing first hand.


Beijing Olympic Park
My last place that I must visit is the Beijing Olympic Park. I'm such a huge sports fan and was glued to my TV watching every possible second of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and admiring all the amazing stadiums. I can't wait to see the Birds Nest and the Aquatic Centre for myself.


That wraps up my itinerary wish list of things to eat and do in Beijing. Hopefully you can all support me and leave a comment of support. I hope I will get to live out this dream and make it a reality. Of course I'd blog about every single moment and hopefully you can enjoy the adventure as well.

31 comments:

  1. If you win, you need to bring me back a present,

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  2. Can I only support you on the proviso that you take me? ;) Only kidding - I hope you win!

    Dear Travelscene American Express, please pick Thanh as one of the semi-finalists and then as a winner so he can go on the trip, put on 10kgs in Beijing, and blog extensively about his entire experience.

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  3. If you win.. Would you take me with you hihihi

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  4. Dear Travelscene American Express,

    Please pick Thanh as the winner because I am very sure that Thanh will take me with him in Beijing because surely I am the only person in the whole wide world who can out eat him. But I am trying to lose baby weight... oh dear.

    Ah well, pick him anyway.

    Kat.

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  5. Send this guy to China, we've had enough of him here!

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  6. Dear Travelscene American Express,

    You should definitely send Thanh to Beijing... we need a break from him! Nah, just kidding; he's alright. :P

    He will not only capture the true essence of Beijing with his fantastic photography; but he's love of chilli and food will not stop him from trying anything and everything. And then he came come back and teach the rest of us a thing or two about new foods and cultures.

    Pick him. You know you want to.

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  7. Best of luck! I hope you get to go. In fact, I just came back a few weeks ago from Beijing, Guilin and Shanghai and I had such a blast. The food was awesome and so was the culture, the history and the scenery... I would love to go back again sometime!

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  8. If you win, can you "da bao" some secret dumpling recipes from Beijing back for me!!! Also, please enrol in a cooking class there so you can come back and share the love in the kitchen. xx

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  9. Dear Travelscene American Express,

    Both Thanh's passion for life and photography alone should be enough to choose Thanh for this adventure of a life time.

    We hope you can see the talent and dedication that we can see and choose him to visit Beijing.

    @Thanh, all the best. we 'd rather you stay in Melbourne and visit us again, though that would be quite selfish, so good luck! :-)

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  10. HardworkingFriend4/28/2011 8:58 AM

    I hope you win!

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  11. Pick Thanh, pick Thanh, pick Thanh, pick Thanh, pick Thanh, pick Thanh, pick Thanh, PICK THANH!!

    And Thanh, if you do get picked, you owe us all a "Beijing" dinner here in Melbourne to help you prepare your stomach and show us all what we'll be missing! :P

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  12. Hi Expresso,
    i think Sir Thanh Do deserves to win this opportunity of a life time so he can broaden the culinary encyclopedia and further enjoy what he does best and that is food.

    Merci Beaucoup

    Nandos

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  13. Beijing is an intoxicating & amazing place, know you will be thorough in your reporting, hope you get over there and share the experience with us.

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  14. Dear Travelscene Amercian Express ppl,

    If you select Thanh to go to Beijing, i can PROMISE you that he can eat at least 30 pieces of peking duck in one go ! and I've seen him eat Xiao long Bao like there's no tomorrow.

    He will definitely get the most out of this trip.

    GOOD LUCKKKKKKK!

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  15. U will win Thanh. make sure you visit National Center for the Performing Arts. It has feel tour to explain all the fine details of the building, I found it super amazing by just looking at the building itself.

    BTW, it's Peking Duck...i think "Simon" spells Peiking wrong.....

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  16. Thank you all so much for your support. So let me get this right. If I win I shall

    1. Take you all
    2. Buy you all a present
    3. Eat heaps and put on lots of weight
    4. Blog blog blog
    5. Not be missed
    6. Try everything and then teach everyone
    7. "da bao" food back to Aus
    8. Take lots of photos, good ones hopefully
    9. Conduct a pre-trip "Beijing" dinner
    10. Convince Simon to spell Peking without the extra i

    Hope that covers it all :-)

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  17. I am voting for you to win so you can bring me back some yumminess

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  18. plus 11. come back with a beijing accent =P

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  19. Yummies and gifts will be brought back for all you lovely people.

    Indeed, come back with a Beijing accent.

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  20. Take an OSID and photograph it in front of landmarks and food dishes. Make it write its own travel blog.

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  21. Dear Travelscene Amercian Expres,

    Please pick Thanh because he is the champ and I want to read all about his adventures and food stories.

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  22. Dear Travelscene Amex,

    I believe Thanh Do to be a worthy recipient of your prize as he will undoubtedly bring back to his audience a far greater amount than he will receive. As evidenced by this blog, he displays total dedication and a true commitment to sharing his food and travel experiences. Who in their right mind would take precious annual leave from their workplace to experience first-hand the complexities of managing the kitchen of a busy, successful restaurant? No other person would be more worthy than Thanh Do.

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  23. Wow, this would be incredible!! You're so worthy & your itinerary looks great. & we'd get to come along for the ride! Love it. Good luck!
    Heidi xo

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  24. Send him back to the motherland!
    Good luck Thanh

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  25. If you don't pick him you're making a BIG mistake!

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  26. Thanks again guys for all your support.

    Justin, I will totally dedicate my stomach to the cause and try out lots and lots of food so I can blog all about it.

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  27. pls let him go he needs to taste real Peiking Duck and Hot Pot!

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  28. Congratulations Thanh! Hope you win, would love to your Beijing food posts :D

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  29. You need to try the BBQ scorpion, seahorse, when u get there. ;p

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  30. Thank you all so much for your support. Voting is now open so please go and vote if you haven't already.

    1)Become fan of the Travelscene Facebook Page http://on.fb.me/9GuZhH

    2)Vote at the poll http://svy.mk/j0ZhjQ

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