Greeks alive!

TODAY in Shanghai I took a Greek cooking class!

There is a new gourmet shop in town that offers Greek fare. And tonight they had a special class so people can learn more about what they sell and how to use it!

What fun!

Update

Today in Shanghai it is 4:00 pm and I have finally reached my destination. The plane actually ended up being delayed and when it came time to make a choice on the food I looked over the shoulder of the guy in front of me and decided that I would get whatever the other choice was. When came to me there was no choice- only the same slop as what the guy in front of me was getting!

Actually, it wasn't too bad. I could taste a lot Sichuan peppercorn, which numbs the tongue. So it is possible that my tongue was just too numb to taste it.
So it was NOT the best decision to do the whole Shenzhen instead of Hong Kong thing. But I am glad I am here.

Coming into Shanghai the sky was blue with dark clouds. The sun was streaming through the holes between the clouds, making not bright rays of light but actually dark rays streaming out like Thor on the warpath. Below the clouds the sky was armagedon orange- smoky and sultry, with the city below reaching up into this bizarre color.

I see new developments and the landscape changing again before my very eyes. The new Mori building, soon to be the tallest building in the world (for about 10 minutes) already dwarfs the old giant - the Jin Mao tower.

I feel like a tourist and new to Shanghai. It is great to feel fresh and impressed anew, but still know where I am going, what I am doing, and how to get around.

This is China

Today in Shenzhen I remembered why saving a little bit of money is not always the best way to go. I am finally in the waiting area of the airport waiting for my flight to Shanghai. Flying from Shenzhen rather than Hong Kong can be a lot cheaper. This flight is about $84. That's before the $20 taxes that they add on after you get fired up on that price. And that is one way. Flying out of Shanghai is more expensive. All told it will be $239 - about 50 bucks cheaper than going from Hong Kong. Getting to the Shenzhen airport couldn't be easier- there are buses that leave from Central!
Well, I spent an hour on the Internet trying to figure out the schedule but never found it. Not even for buses from Wan Chai, which is where they start.
Well, once upon a time I had taken a picture of the schedule on the kiosk and I could just make out that it leaves every hour and I will have to get the 8:15! Ugh.
Iam given a green sticker for my lapel and board with several others, none of whom has a green sticker. Orange, blue, purple, but no green.
The bus goes to the border and then people board other buses to go to various places.
At the border you go through Hong Kong immigration, reboard the bus on the other side, drive to Chinese immigration, and get off with all of your luggage to go through customs. I've done this part before so I know what to expect. In fact, last time I think I had to bring my stuff with me through HK immigration and board a different bus between borders. That was a different company. Once through customs, the place is crazy and crowded and there doesn't seem to be any order. On that's right, I am now in China. The crowd joins more people outside where you can get a taxi or a city bus or get picked up. There are several busses to the right that look like they are going elsewhere. I search for my company's bus and find one. Going to the airport? No.
Where is it?
Over there (vague wave of the hand).
It's a CTS bus? I ask.
Pretty much, he says. I cannot see any busses that say CTS on them but I do find a CTS kiosk and they tell me to wait there. Soon a driver with some people in tow comes along and we dutifully follow him to a small bus. This is why I couldn't see it before, it was hidden by the big busses.
It is another half hour to the airport. So totally it took an hour and a half, versus 40 minutes on the airport express.
It really is at the airport where the confusion, and frustration, starts.
I am let out at the domestic terminal, but have to ask and find out I need to walk to the other terminal for my airline. I guess they are both domestic terminals. The board says I am to go to window 95 for my flight. I don't see a 95 so I double check. It says 95, but the windows only go to 36.
I go ask at the Air China Premium Customer Service desk. The guy has no idea where 95 is. Great. Premium service.
I walk down toward the international section and see behind the glass walls a 95 and 96. I figure my flight must be going internationally via Shanghai. I start to go through the gate and am stopped by the girl manning the help desk. I tell her where I am going and she says I have to go back to the domestic section. I trudge back to look at the board again. This is the thing- people often arrive early to make sure they don't miss their flight so I have to wait for the board to cycle through all the flights till 5:30 this evening before it shows the upcoming flights.
Meanwhile, they have 3 other boards showing all the flights that have departed in the last two hours. Sure enough, it is a flight to Tokyo via Shanghai. I head back to the international section and the ever so efficient help desk. Again they stop me. I tell them that even though the plane goes to Tokyo I will get off in Shanghai when it stops and picks up more people.
No. I must check in in the domestic section. Where? She gives me a range of windows I can use.
Back in the domestic section it is fast to get through, except I had to remind the guy at check-in that I had a bag to check. I think it will be ok.
Now I am on board and it is leaving on time and it is a full flight.
Not all of these people are headed to Tokyo!

So, I left HK at 8:15 for an 11:25 flight and saved 50 bucks. The bus costs the same as the airport express, but is am much bigger hassle and the Chinese airlines are not as good as Dragon Air.

Will I ever live and learn?!

Shopaholic

Today in Hong Kong, for a Thanksgiving party, I made the sweet potatoes! Actually the recipe I wanted to make called for canned sweet potatoes and since I was going for a hike today too, I didn't try to substitute with real yams.

At one super market (for westerners), I found ONE can of sweet potatoes, enough for half a recipe. I said ok but when I looked at it I knew that I would need to get another. After dinner with my boyfriend's family for his mom's birthday I ran to another upscale grocery store and prayed they were still open. They were, another 15 minutes left.

I found that they had 2 cans of already pureed stuff. Great! so I used the one can of chunks and one can of this purreed stuff.

Then I couldn't find any pecans! I could only find candied walnuts or candied pecans (actually I am not sure which it was). This was going to be one sweet pie!
But I asked and a guy went to a section I had already looked at, which I told him so he stopped looking but then I saw a bag of walnuts so decided to get that. Then right next to the walnuts, way back because there was only 1 bag left, I found non-candied pecans!! Yay!

The whole thing cost about $20 to make but it was really good and everyone liked them and I got to cook in my kitchen!!
I had to mix the stuff in three cereal bowls!

Hong Kong has stores that cater to the expat community. There is a newish store called 360 that is like Whole Foods with all organic stuff and grains and brown rice, etc.
There is a store called Oliver's that carries a lot of American stuff! It is very upscale but has things like Doritos Cool Ranch corn chips!!
City Super seems to have an aisle for each community- one for Japanese, one for French (uh, the dairy aisle!), one for Americans, etc. It is also just for any gourmet thing you might need (like canned pureed sweet potatoes). I think most people go here to do their shopping.
But I did notice that a small bag of shallots is HK$25 while at the wet market near my house the same thing is HK$4.
A place called Great has good granola and a good cheese and prepared foods area as well as most things we need.
The local stores, like Park n Shop and Wellcome are very Chinese for the most part, but those that are in heavily expat-populated areas have different things than a regular one, catering to the population around them.

We have a small local Park n Shop and the wet market by us. It is perfect except for those times when we need something special. And down the street is a Costco-like place that sells Tuna and Campbell's in bulk! and they deliver!

Looky Looky

Today in Hong Kong I took my Indonesian friend to a place famous for its huge selection of margaritas. It is a laid-back Tex-Mex style place catering to expats and is situated between two "model dancer" bars.

These "bars" are all up and down Lockhart Rd in Wanchai. Wanchai, famous among US Navy sailors stopping for a short R&R. The interiors are impossible to glimpse as the doors are covered with heavy black curtains. Outside the bars the touts are middle-aged women who go after any white man that isn't already being "escorted" by a young lady (who could be a colleague or girlfriend or whatever). They also seem to leave the guys with a cell phone glued to their ears alone.

I find it very incongruous that the touts are dowdy, frumpy, older women who look like they could be selling their own daughters. They are sexy girls inviting guys in; they aren't sharp slick guys with gold in their teeth; they are just your frumpy landlady in flats and baggy pants and a jacket, no make-up, hair in no particular style. They are not the ideal image of a sex tout!

The ladies at the bar next to us did have a helper comeout somtimes. A buxom Philipina in a skin tight red camisol and matching strech mini-skirt that was carefully arranged so as to show the top of her g-string and the rolls of back fat that most low-slung clothes show off so well.

Lovely!

Christmas Already?

Today in Hong Kong they are already playing Christmas songs in the coffee shop. Isn't there a law against doing that before Thanksgiving?
Well, actually, today IS Thanksgiving!

Not that anyone here cares.

It is possible to get a Thanksgiving meal at some of the American
themed restaurants. I went last year.
The sports bar/pub had reconfigured their tables in order to fit as
many people as possible.
At the long table behind us were seated several kids with one or two nannies. There were some parents too but it was obvious that some had gotten out of it.
The set meal was about 40 bucks for a slice of turkey breast, some overcooked veggies, iceberg salad, and gravy that didn't seem to have any turkey in it.

I miss my mom's gravy!!!!!

Batman comes to Hong Kong

Today in Hong Kong the next installment of "The Dark Knight" started shooting in my neighborhood.

Due to Hong Kong's unique environment, eg terrible pollution, they had to postpone shots of the famous skyline because visibility was too poor!
Worse than that, they had to delete a whole scene! Batman was supposed to jump out of a plane into the harbor. But it is way too polluted so they scrapped the whole scene because the didn't want the Caped Crusader to get an infection.
The Joker has nothing on HK's pollution!
Evidently there were high levels of salmonella and tuberculosis!!
I didn't even know you could get that from water!!

What's cookin' good lookin'?

Today in Hong Kong I made my first real meal in my pantry, I mean kitchen.

This kitchen really is not conducive to preparing anything but rice. Here is a photo of the stove and it is obvious how difficult it is to make a pot of pasta AND something else.

In fact it is NOT possible.

I first had to cook the pasta, then set it aside.

While I was cooking the pasta I was able to wash and prepare some chicken breasts for Chicken Picatta, my signature dish. There is about 1 square foot of counter space next to the sink and I can leave the breasts in the sink and dredge them on a plate next to the sink. I have to use the same plate to put the finished pieces because there really isn't room for another plate! But, all I have to do is turn around and then I am facing the stove.

Then while that is cooking I can drain the pasta (except I don't have a collander) but once I put the pot down then there is no space for anything else so how do I serve myself? I can bring the chicken over to the pasta, but there is no where to put a plate so I can't scoop the pasta onto a plate. I can bring a plate of pasta over to the chicken on the stove, but, again there is no where to put the plate so that I can scoop the chicken and sauce onto the pasta!!

Hmm it is a dilemma. Basically I just made a big mess and ate cold mushy pasta.

And a side dish? forget about it!!

Ho Chi Minh City

Today in HCMC I did my favorite thing, which is eat Pho at Pho 24. It is not the best Pho in Vietnam, but it is pretty good and can be found all over the city.

Ho Chi Minh is a big and BUSY city. There is a lot of modernization going on and each time I visit there is something new to be seen. For example, the new Louis Vuitton superstore on the main shopping street. Or the new boutique hotel just off it that offers affordable rooms with real antiques.