I had a fantastic lunch on Saturday with Catherine Cao of the China Environmental Fund, a VC firm that invests in green tech and businesses with an environmental/social conscious, and her husband Peter, who formerly was involved in IBM’s public sector CRM in China and now runs a software company.
When they asked what my preference for food was I replied as I always do, "Take me some place where locals eat, some place that I wouldn’t otherwise go in to." They took me a popular and high end restuarant that serves Beijing style Chinese food. Fantastic food! And I have to say: the Beijing duck is world famous for good reason.
The locals dip the duck into two kinds of sauces and then wrap it in a tortilla. I did that and also ate it raw. The crust of the duck — which is suppose to be the least healthy for you — was so sweet and tender. You must try it.
Our conversation was fun too. Given the terrible pollution in China, I’m stoked someone as smart as Catherine is trying to make a difference (and take advantage of a huge opportunity) through the VC model, and both she and Peter had good insights on the current business and political scene in China.
Thanks guys for a great Beijing lunch!
Ben, Ben…it’s a Chinese pancake, not a tortilla. And yes, they are delicious. (Get Chris Yeh to take you to Ming’s when you’re back, if you can be persuaded to leave the city.) The good news is that the duck fat is very good for your skin, at least according to Nigella Lawson, whose skin is so perfect that I think I’ll believe her.