Brunch and Macarons at Comptoirs de France in Beijing

A great way to save money and time and not cheat yourself out of a good meal when travelling is to have a nice brunch. You combine 2 meals into one and pack in a morning and afternoon of sightseeing with only one break.

I was running around Beijing like a madwoman, trying to check off my list of things to do and places to see. When I was writing out my itinerary in Shenyang, I researched and found the perfect place for a nice Sunday brunch-Comptoirs de France in the Lido Plaza expat community.

Before you judge me on eating like a foreigner and not experiencing local foods, know that I've been living in Shenyang, where Western food is hard to come by. What compelled me to add Comptoirs to my itinerary is their Sichuan peppercorn hot chocolate, Sichuan peppercorn, green tea, and rose macarons. See. I did have good reasons for venturing into the expat community.

Sunday Brunch at Comptoirs de France

I ordered the petit dejeuner americain that came with a fried egg, REAL HAM (when I say "real", I mean perishable...China likes to use nasty fake ham and hot dogs that don't need to be refridgerated and can last a decade), mixed greens salad, tomatoes, 2 hash browns, an assortment of freshly baked bread, orange juice, and Sichuan peppercorn hot chocolate. All this was 58 RMB = $8.50. I told you brunch is a great way to save money!

Sichuan Peppercorn Hot Chocolate; Freshly Baked Bread

Everything on my plate was just perfect. This breakfast surpassed the American breakfast at the American International School in Dalian because the ham is REAL. In Dalian, they still used the psychedelic non-perishable red ham for the breakfast burrito, but it was certainly the best in Northeast China.

le petit dejeuner americain

After brunch, I splurged on macarons, knowing very well that I can't get stuff like this in Austin or Shenyang.

Rose, Green Tea, Sichuan Peppercorn Chocolate, Hazlenut, and Apricot Macarons

How Do I Afford to Eat Out?

A good friend of mine asked me that question about a month ago. Well, I appear to afford to eat out as much as this blog shows because I post about food from a long span and condense it into 2008 and 2009. For example, all my posts about food abroad were from a collection of experiences from 2006. I actually started this blog in 2009 but dated some, but not all, 2008 stuff as 2008.

I also pinch and save some money for my eating expenditures and keep to eating lunches instead of dinners when I go out.

When traveling, I eat canned food, ramen noodles, and pizza in the hotel room for dinner. The coffee maker in the hotel room is my friend. I always bring packets of Quaker cereal, chamomile tea, and Cup o' Noodles so that I can get hot breakfast and some dinners covered at the minimum fixed cost. I also carve out time grocery shopping at local markets for local products or region-specific imports, park my car in a state park, and picnic in my rental car. That way, you can do better than $40 a day when you average out your vacation days.

So note: The coffeemaker can be used to heat up food, and the free ice and ice bucket can be used as a small fridge.

Pizza from Pizza Hut; $2 canned yummy seafood imported from Spain makes a great side dish for a bowl of ramen in the hotel room

2 Jumbo Stone Crab Claws (as big as they get) for $21.89 total from the grocery store vs. at a restaurant for"market price" + 15-20% tip

crab claw + box of sushi = an affordable seafood meal (considering how the claw is really a luxury item)

Sharing a to-go Cuban Sandwich and a whole fried red snapper from La Carreta (12 Crandon Blvd, Key Biscayne, FL 33149) at a scenic highway rest area in Key Biscayne.

Drinking mango juice imported from Guatemala and coconut water from I forget where both at 3 boxes for $0.99. Hell yeah.