In recent months, I have found myself gravitating towards exotic Beijing food - pizza, Caesar salad and hamburgers. It is not as if I do not like Chinese food. Some dishes in Beijing rank with the best in the world. It is just that after a year in China, an American simply begins to feel nostalgic for his native cuisine.
But comfortable places to settle down with a couple of beers and a hamburger are few and far between in the capital. There's the Hidden Tree, a favourite of journalists. A Belgian bar featuring an array of heart-stopping European beers, it has some of the best pizza in town, along with a shady garden and cosy inside bar.
Next door is Durty Nellie's, which is more of a classic British bar. It features a dartboard, a local Chinese rock 'n' roll band, with members sporting sunglasses and dark T-shirts who have watched far too much MTV, and pints of Carlsberg.
On Friday nights, a visitor can sit at one of the outdoor tables and watch the tiny street become packed with an odd mix of expat students, tourists and local residents - with livestock destined for dinner carried on their bicycles.
Near Chaoyang Park, on the edge of downtown, is a popular bar among established (read: older) expats called the Goose and Duck. There is the ever-present dartboard, a pool table, a garden and a newly renovated upstairs that few use. Expat men frequently take their girlfriends there.
I found it enjoyable until one Sunday afternoon recently when a very noisy American, who had clearly devoted his afternoon to drinking, kept making hasty phone calls threatening to 'walk' if his money was not paid immediately. I left before the deal was concluded.
