Friday, August 01, 2008

Catering in Beijing

Does it seem odd that I can make this statement:
"I'm looking forward to having breakfast at the IBC."
How about this quote:
"This is one of the best pancakes I've ever eaten in my entire life."
(Spoken in true reverence, with syrup dripping from my chin.)

Lord knows, I've bitched enough about the food here in Beijing, and I believe I've sent a Tweet or two about some menu items, but there is one specific point I have to make...
Some of the best pancakes I've had in years were made in Beijing China by a Scotsman.

Catering for all the NBC venues in Beijing is being handled by a company called Behind the Scenes. I'm met several of their staff and all of them are pretty cool people... I 've met the front-of-house guy at the Field Shop- Frasier- from Canada and the Chef from Athletics- Jodi from Sydney Australia. Awesome people, all of them.
The one that really stands out so far is Marc- the Griddle Master.
In contrast, the food from the Media Village, which is, in the timeless words of Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack, "...This is low-grade dogfood."
(Really, don't waste your time at the restaurants in the MV.)

My man Marc the Scot starts making his pancake mix the night before...
As I get a cup of coffee in the evening at the NoBucks (Free Starbucks) I see Marc working back in the kitchen area. I stop by before heading back to the office to see what he's whipping up...

"Hey man. We' havin' pancakes in the mornin'."

He's setting a vat of batter to rest before going back to the Media Village for the night.
The next morning I head back to the griddle Where A Miracle Is Occurring.

Mmmm. Pancakes.
They're light and thin. Just a hint of crispness on the edges.
And tasty? Oh. My. God.
Marc -is- King of the Griddle...

The only thing that would make this a Perfect Breakfast would be to be able to create the Famous Texas One-Eyed Stack:
3 thin pancakes, topped with a fried egg sunny-side up, 3 slices of crisp bacon and drown the entire structure in maple syrup...
But I'll just take the pancakes for right now. I'm not pushing my luck.

TBG - Looking forward to breakfast.

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