Not too long ago, my three cousins and I planned an international vacation. My cousin Brittany had her nose so deep in graduate books she couldn’t see clearly, Alicia was speaking in law terms instead of complete sentences, and I was itching to experience a surrounding other than Los Angeles. That left one last cousin: Monique. She was an English teacher in China and her Instagram photos of her travels and adventures were making all of us jealous. With that, we unanimously decided to take a much needed cousin vacation and the destination would be a place that none of us have been to, yet could afford. The location of choice: Phuket, Thailand.

This review, as you can tell by the title, isn’t about eating in Thailand. Instead, it’s about what I got during my layover in Beijing, China. The game plan for the flight was I would meet Alicia and Brittany in Beijing. I was flying from LA and the two of them were flying from New York. Monique on the other hand, was running around somewhere in the East and she would meet us in Thailand. During my 13-hour flight, I found myself drinking ginger ale, eating mystery meat, and laughing until my stomach hurt while watching “What We Do in the Shadows”. When I got off the plane I was beyond starving. Once I met up with Alicia and Brittany in our connecting airport we all decided to eat, immediately. The only thing that looked fast and U.S. Dollar friendly was The Lucky Shamrock.

We easily relaxed into the dining table that sat across from the window facing the international airport. The menu at the restaurant/bar/cafe had a good number of meal choices so we were hopeful that there would be something for each of us. We took a look over the menu and after a few clicks in a currency converter app, we ordered. I got a Sprite (19 yuan, $3) and the Mediterranean Rice (48 yuan, $7). Yeah you read that right, $7 for rice, but I was hungry so I didn’t care. I got it because I needed something easy that wouldn’t upset my stomach on the flight connecting to Phuket. Overall, the rice was extremely simple. The fried rice stirred in mixed vegetables and shrimp and that was about it. It had very little seasoning and was somewhat under-cooked, but it got the job done.

Brittany on the other hand ordered the Chicken Leg with Black Pepper (75 yuan, $12) and a side of Fried Shrimp Spring Rolls (35 yuan, $6). The chicken was covered in a thin black pepper sauce and served with white rice and the soup of the day. The chicken as a whole was pretty dry in my opinion which is why I think there was so much sauce on top of it. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much to “moisturize” the meat. Her egg rolls however, weren’t too shabby! It seems that egg rolls in the states are pretty similar to those overseas as there was little variation between them. Crispy fried exterior encapsulating shredded lettuce and shrimp. Yeah, they were good.

The last dish was Alicia’s: a margarita pizza (55 yuan, $9). The no frills, no luxe, straightforward pizza was made of tomato sauce, cheese, and oregano. I’m pretty sure this was sitting in a fridge and they just popped it into the oven when Alicia requested it. Reason being, the cheese seemed melted and the crust was a little tough as if it was in the oven too long. Let’s just say, I didn’t eat much of this one and Alicia only took a few more bites out of pure hunger.

With a few more bites of each dish, excluding Alicia’s, I ate enough food to hold me over through the next flight. It would take just under 6 hours, but the moment I stepped on land I would be in beautiful Thailand and the exploration would begin!

Follow Them.
Address: Beijing Capital International Airport – 2F, North Side of International Waiting Area, T3E
Phone: N/A
Hours: 24 hours, Daily
Social: Website