Houhai

This Saturday we explored Houhai, a beautiful neighborhood around a lake and surrounded by mazes of hutongs. We had the wonderful company of our friend Katherine, her boyfriend and her boyfriend's sister. We spent the day wandering in and out of shops, stopping every now and then to admire the beauty of the lake and watch people enjoying boat rides on the lake. For dinner we hoped to find "Hutong Pizza" a restaurant our guide book awarded "the best pizza in Beijing." We got lost a few times looking for it but finally happened upon a small sign for it in a hutong off the main walkway. We were skeptical when the sign led us to a small alleyway that looked more like someone's house than a restaurant. But we opened a small curtain and found a beautiful and quiet restaurant. We helped ourselves to some delicious pizza and milkshakes! The pizza definitely beat Chinese "Pizza Hut" pizza (although Katherine disagreed)! On the way out I spotted what looked like steaming iced tea...curious we asked the vendor what made it steam and he said mint! Hmm...I had to try it, see picture below!

With Katherine's boyfriend and his sister. 

Exploring the hutong.

The entrance to the restaurant.

Steaming pear iced tea!

Cotton candy!