Munch in Beijing

We arrive in Beijing. we have the option of paying to dine at the hotel buffet or eat out at a local restaurant. Our room isn’t the grandest; we have a view of a construction site and in the distance amongst the skyscrapers is the National Chinese TV Headquarters. We’re quite a way out from the city centre and we’re not confident enough to hail a taxi on our own. After a quick walk around the block, we arrive at a restaurant that our guide recommends, and most of our group are scattered around there as well. We order dinner and some beer and our waiter asks if we want it cold. ‘Yes’ we say. Half an hour later, our drinks still haven’t been brought to us yet, so we enquire and suddenly we’re remembered. Then a dish of beef arrives followed by some rice, and nothing after that. We share the beef then we enquire about the chicken, which seems to have been forgotten about. Our waiter tells us that they don’t have that ready, so we cancel and head out to pay the bill. They try to charge us for it anyway. In the end we pay it but we don’t leave a tip. Ironically, our guide who recommended this restaurant isn’t present tonight.