qingdao, china... again!

my hotel, hanyuan hotel in the chengyang area of qingdao, isn't 5-star by any means, but they have wired internet, working phones, AC/heat, and hot water.  and every hotel i've ever stayed at in china offers a breakfast buffet.  this one isn't that tasty (the days inn in jiaozuo city has an AMAZING breakfast buffet), but a girls gotta eat.  they always have (and i always eat) dumplings, congee, tofu skin and some sauteed veggies.  beggars can't be choosers.  that said, there's a market across the street, and i stock up on water, bread and yogurt.  for a country of lactose-intolerant folk, the yogurt is mad good. 

breakfast buffet

 market across from my hotel

yummy yogurt!

if we have some downtime during the day, my factory agent suggests going for a massage.  we tried a new place the other day that looked as though it would fit in perfectly in singapore's geylang (red-light) district.  the masseuse manhandled me pretty intensely, and i'm confident that i left feeling worse than when i went in.  30min = 38rmb (today=US$5.57), which i think is somewhat expensive by china standards, considering my go-to massage place in SHANGHAI (a real city) is 50rmb (US$7.32) for an hour, it's antiseptically clean and they have a "buy 10" card which gives you a discount.

ghetto massage place

the best part of these trips is dinner - we eat and drink well every night.  not great for my "diet" but certainly the highlight of my trip.  so far we've dined out on korean kalbi, hot pot (communal style with a spicy and non-spicy soup), lamb grill and tuna head sashimi.  tuna head sashimi was the coolest - a sushi chef tears apart that tuna head right at your table and slices up the cheek, nose, neck, etc - but also the most repulsive.  i'm still nauseated thinking about him chopping up the RAW eye goo and the eyeball and serving it up.  i'm quite adventurous when it comes to food, plus last night i drank an entire bottle of baijiu myself, but even i couldn't go there.

meat for our hot pot

the hot pot 1/2 & 1/2

mmm lamb grill

sashimi platter

sushi chef + tuna head

sushi chef + tuna eye goo

now that my factory agent GC has hired an ayi (basically the most comprehensive houskeeper/cook/nanny available on earth), we also eat at the office sometimes.  i think living away from home, GC likes some home cooked food; he even likes to get in the kitchen himself.  one night GC and his buddies bought a mountain chicken (from a chicken herder(?) at the mountain nearby), and they made chicken soup with ginseng; last night we visited the market (intense!) and got 3 live fish, sea cucumbers, super fresh sesame leaves and the most delicious fresh tofu ever, and they sliced up a sashimi feast.

seafood market

not sure what's on deck for tonight, but it's my last night here... i'm sure it'll be another doozy!

when mcdonald's hits the spot

i rarely eat fast-food. the nyc restaurant scene is amazing; i'd be a fool to waste any possible meal with the likes of a big mac. but i really dig the mcdonald's vanilla cone or the caramel sundae. i don't eat either often, but i like them.

i've never eaten mcdonald's in china. i only spend a few weeks per year here, and the local food is delicious. however, on our way to the factory, our driver had to make a mcdonald's pitstop to feed a british customer.

strangely, in this small town of xuchang, there are 2 mcdonald's in the main areas of downtown, not far from each other. and i understand why: this one was overflowing and utter chaos: kids running around unsupervised; employees trying to sweep the floors and clear the tables; ordering "lines" were a shouting match. and while trying to position myself in the most out-of-the-way spot, i eyed the delicious vanilla cone.

although the weather is frigid, the tasty treat looked quite mouth-watering. i decided to request the sundae when the driver had maneuvered his way to the head of the line. it came out immediately.

i've never had the strawberry sundae (i didn't specify which kind, so this is what i got), and i won't have it again. mcdonald's china's strawberry sauce is more like gelatin - gross. and although the dessert hit the spot (i haven't had dessert since before i arrived in china), the vanilla ice cream was oddly-flavored. it had a strange coffee undertone and a not-creamy texture.

just another reason not to eat mcdonald's while in china.