Dealing with this gluten-intolerance thing has made me a less adventurous eater while traveling. Without the language skills needed to make sure food is safe, I get scared when I’m fending for myself.
This was the situation I found myself in yesterday — the hubs was off making vital connections, and I was hoping some people would meet me at one of the cafes for a little yarn play. Lunchtime rolled around (nobody showed) and I decided to walk to one of the foreign megastores to look for a couple of imported necessities. I left the cafe (which offered the safe option of a cheese omelette) with the full intention of stopping at a noodle joint or something along the way. The further I got from the area where foreigners tend to congregate, the less sure I was of finding safe food. Eventually, I recognized where I was, looked to the right, and saw Wal-mart. I cringed, since this was not the foreign megastore I was intending to visit, but where there is Wal-mart, there is surely KFC. Where there is KFC, there are…french fries.
So my very first meal without my lovely husband’s help was a large order of fries and a strawberry sundae. It was also 3x the cost of a far more filling meal at any of the restaurants I passed on my way there.
I continued my walk toward the central square where I was told a Carrefour loomed large. It’s a beautiful area with lots of landscaping and some welcome shade, mostly provided by the triangular New Era hotel. I got my shoes shined for 5 kuai, but passed up the blind masseurs since I can never remember how to ask “how much?” and my usual gesturing wouldn’t have worked. I don’t know why, but I never found the Carrefour. While speaking to the hubs on the phone, I told him where I was and he told me to turn around. Perhaps I should start giving massages in the square…
That night, we ventured to a restaurant near the apartment and ordered a dish called Grandma’s potatoes. It’s been said that there are as many varieties of this dish as there are grandmothers, but we were thrilled with the version we got: fried, half-mashed potatoes with ample spice. Add steamed eggs and a cold rice noodle dish (yes, I know…pictures. Sorry) and we were both stuffed. The hubs declared it the best meal he had had so far this trip, and the restaurant delivers!
Note to my mum-in-law: They had a waving cat.
I’m glad that you found a place to being learning Chinese, and the right dialect too. It was probably nice to get the potatoes instead of pork fat cubes
It seems like you guys are off to lots of good adventures. I’m in a really bad mood due to my roommates girlfriend being here and little things seeming to annoy me. She’s undertaken a massive amount of Adam’s laundry, but hasn’t brought anything upstairs, so today when I went to throw in my stuff, I had to fold one load and switch another. This folded load I had to put on top of the load that I folded last time I went to do laundry. It must be karma, as I used to be a huge offender in the coop and previous living arrangements of this. It was super fun when pulling out her lacy little pairs of underwear. Somehow that bugs me much more than folding the roomies boxers. And then I was about to head out to Sam’s and the gym, and she jumped into the shower, so now I’m stuck on the couch waiting for her to get out so I can get my shampoo and stuff. And the sex is kind of annoying too, when I’m 10 feet away in the living room, but really I can’t complain, as this might also be karma 
Well, at least I’ll be with the boy tonight, giving them and myself some space. Hope you are doing well. Take care. Sorry this is not really a response to your writing.
So this story confirms it, Sam Walton is taking over the WORLD!!! Damn it!!! I thought he would leave a few countries alone, but it looks like he’s not… ***sigh*** I hate that place. I would probably go in there too if I was in a foreign country though, and it looked like it was the only place that was remotely familiar. Damn you Sam Walton!!!
I hate WalMart, if you couldn’t guess…
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Sweet- the waving cat!!!
I am definitely not fond of Walmart either but when you are far away from home, it is definitely a relief to find a place that has what you are looking for. Before I moved to Indonesia, my female boss here (who had lived there) gave me one piece of advice, “Bring underwear.” It was impossible to find grundies to fit the American female butt. I remember taking a visa trip to Singapore and visiting an “exotic” K-Mart. American undies galore! I was in heaven. So funny to think of it now.