Its Tuesday, which is basically Sunday of my weekend. Nothing super exciting to report, just still getting everything put together here. Today I bought a new comforter and some rugs for my apartment. Exciting huh?? It is actually pretty fun to get things to decorate and make the place my own. Now if I can only keep everything from getting coated with Cooper hair. I swear he is shedding more here than he ever has! I might be the stress from traveling so much over the past few months.
Sunday a bunch of us went out for dinner in celebration of one of the Chinese teachers birthday. We went to a "hot pot" restaurant and it was nothing like I've ever experienced. We get taken to our table, which is in its own room with its own private server and bathroom (with a western toilet). Once we get situated we go back downstairs to a room with all sorts of plates set up with meal choices and also about 18 live tanks with everything from fish, oysters, and crabs to squid octopus, minnows, and other stuff that I couldn't even recognize. I am open for anything so I trust whomever is doing the picking. I get asked for my input and pretty much say yes to everything. Hey Matt...... eel? Sounds good, go for it. Frog??? Sure why not? Mystery fish? Lay it on me! We also go for some safe items like: ribs, beef, shrimp, and lamb shank. We go back to our table/room and chat for a bit when the first of our items arrive. In China they bring out the food as soon as its ready, they don't wait for all of the dishes to be done and then bring them out. So one by one all the dishes come and are sat on the table that has a rotating glass disc in the center so we can all easily share. Now keep in mind this is Szechuan style so everything has a pretty spicy kick to it..... Which I absolutely love. All off the food was fantastic, especially the eel. I've always loved eel, its so tender and delicate. It has a great flavor of its own and it also takes the flavor of whatever sauce you put it is and just literally melts in your mouth. We all eat until we just can't go anymore and with 8 people stuffed and a few beers our total comes to 400 Yuan, roughly 60 USD. Yea that's right I said 60.
That was a great meal and it was in a large restaurant, the beautiful thing is, the next day I was taken to another place for dinner. It was down a dark ally and through a small unlabeled door. No way in hell would I ever think to walk in that door for anything let alone something good to eat. We walk through a tiny room that looked like someones living room into the dining room that had 6 small tables in it. It too was an amazing meal. It was a spot that specialized in putting all the items to be cooked on a red hot iron plate and setting it in front of you, covered with holes for ventilation. You just sit there in the vapor of your cooking food which acts as Pavlov's bell; there is no stopping your mouth from salivating. We had potatoes in a spicy citrus sauce, beef with onions and hot peppers, and pork with onions, green peppers and garlic. Three large plates of food, 2 large beers, less than 15 USD. Its the contrast that I love so much (the dirt cheap prices are a given). One place gives you your own personal servant and another serves you out of their own personal kitchen. Its a beautiful and eye opening experience.
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