another week goes on and more adventures arise. this work week was full of early mornings and late nights until wednesday when our presentations were, for the most part, over. good news is, the spring line looks amazing and whenever a big season like this 'ends' i like to 'celebrate' and by 'celebrate' i mean, spend $8 at starbucks each morning and then go out to drinks/dinner every night. i also seem to have this rationale when a season begins...hmmm, interesting. this is allowed because i, a. dont have online banking or any budget tracking system besides a chinese text message telling me i spent something so technically it doesnt count; b. some of my lunches cost less than your subway ride.
one night, a group of us went to mr and mrs bund for their late night menu, sim to their business lunch. despite my desire to nap at the table with such a late start, we had our full three course meal and took part in the buy one, get one wine promo, naturally. by the time we finished it was +1am and my eyes were closing before we got the maidan. hopes of partying the night away vanished and i fell asleep in the cab home. highlights of the night were my pink theme lips and matching outfits with gf bernice. my most important recommendation still holds: get the teriyaki short rib for two! why would one deny such succulence? the table had a hard time trusting me with sight of other alluring choices but in the end all agreed, the short rib was the crowd fave. also hao created a new delicacy - the french fry dipped in butter mash. he thinks he's genius. needless to say, this is why we are together.
wednesday was a sad day, though meetings were mostly over, sarah lee, one of the cool chicks here in shang was leaving to start her time at harvard. smart chick probs... so for one of her last nights, we hit up the one and only gubei for a night of japanese and korean fun. first, we stopped at this rando, really really rando, japanese speakeasy. like a real speakeasy. like can only enter if the light is red outside, expertly created cocktails, secret doorways (or what might have been the restroom) and a lot of dim lit whispering. either way it was a cool and thirst-quenching way to start the night
after drinks, we made our way further into the gub to a tucked away korean place, where we grubbed on all kinds of bbq, bibimbap, soon dubu soups, pancakes, soju, etc etc. think we closed down the place with our obnoxious story telling and name calling.
the next day, though thankfully not hungover, i was in for a treat when coworker vanessa brought us all fan tuan. this picture only discloses my awfully novice way of eating said treat...but the sticky purple rice encases some salty pork, youtiao bits and last but certainly not least a hard boiled egg. omg. how do they do it. how do they stay so skinny?! seriously. this mofo weighs about 1 kg all of which went straight to my ass. so worth it.
so after the crazy week's end, my goal for this weekend was to sleep. and sleep. and not have plans and do nothing but sleep. successful i was! of course in between i arose for meals. first stop was tsui wah, recently described as the denny's of hk, hence a new staple in my weekend go-tos. anywhere with english menus AND crowds of chinese people makes my short (read: long) list. we ordered...chashao pork, roasted duck, this deceiving looking thing one (me) might call chicken pot pie which was really pastry crust over weird lobster soup, alongside a few other dishes we ate before remembering to picture (actually, im lazy, but theyre probs on hao's blog). all washed down with a tangy tangerine limeade. tasty as usual...
on saturday afternoon (promptly after above lunch), midst a nap in the middle of men's olympic badminton tournaments, i muttered to hao "i think im going to go on a diet" to which he laughed and rolled his eyes. that evening, we went to mr. willis where we had fresh (aka my idea of diet food) australian inspired fare.
first we started with figs, mascarpone, pomegranate and walnut bruschetta. then a sauteed sea scallop over lentils topped with a tomato chutney.
and lastly...a chocolate souffle with side of salted caramel ice cream. okay okay...the last one was against the diet but salted caramel AND hot chocolate souffles are hard to find...so if it's on the menu, i must order it (ha...sophia)
after that super fresh meal, we were on a health kick...ha! so sunday after my ayi left, headed to baker and spice for a simple sandwich and fresh squeezed juice. next time probably wont bother but their raspberry, banana, apple juice is delightful...for $6. ha. unexpected productivity came when i realized we were right next to city shop where i could load up on vanilla soy milk (the american kind)! wasn't expecting to get so much done in a matter of hours!
came home, did my nails, watched a lot of fencing and ping pong and discus and then closed my eyes for a yoga nap. proceeded to iron my clothes (ayi, no offense but your weakness is ironing) and super preemptively pack for next weekend's work/play trip to hong kong. the last two weeks back in the shang have been loaded with japanese, chinese, korean and western delights, but i was missing a bit of home aka some good ol' chaat. so this evening hao and i trekked to dagu lu for some indian cai. we hit up masala art's small counterpart, masala desi, though much less crowded and seemingly unpopular, was just what i was looking for - casual joint serving up street snacks like papri chaat and kathi rolls and some south indian faves like vada and masala dosa. nom nom nom. we feasted on aloo tikki chaat, onion bhajiyas, simple dal with naan and a masala dosa with coconut chutney. oh how i missed thee coconut chutney. of course, mom, yours is the best...but after a few months of missing it, this came close. we tried the ras malai but ended up just being some of the ras gulas (sp?) dunked in a thick, yogurt like sauce. alas, we finished it, but not a recommend. overall it was a much needed trip to remind me of home and it was a great find for quick indian snacks and a little hindi refresher. also got hao practicing his one handed eating technique. almost there boo!
needless to say the diet thing didnt happen. but the sleep tally was in the high twenties so i'm pretty pleased with myself. this thursday im heading to hk to do some competitive pricing analyses, see our new hk store open and then spend the weekend on a junk boat with some friends! hope the typhoons steer clear.
after hk, i have three weeks of anticipation before my dear parents come to see all china has to offer - aka xiao long bao, shou zhua bing, terra cotta warriors, silk rugs, artistic interpretations of LV and xiao long bao...oh yeaaahh. mom says to send a list of things to bring from meiguo. so far i have: pepto bismol and floss picks...more to come.
i might have coerced sophia to order the duck confit salad - mixed greens, onions, caramel pecans, apples, etc etc etc with a beet sherry vinagrette. but i think eventually she was into it :)
finally after complimentary pours of our glass o vino, our miso black cod arrived. it tasted much different than it looked...rich, miso-y and buttery. unfortunately we wanted to die from how much we already devoured so this was a tough swallow...literally. but so delicious if i had that empty stomach. any day now...
