Friday 3rd October 11:09AM on the Expensive fast train to Shanghai
Yesterday we had a rest at home for most of the day, Shushu was tired and slept in for a long time, Miao and I copied what had happened the night before when the Cantonese people showed us how to make tea in the traditional method. We wen’t to a local Chinese chain restaurant that Shushu thinks is ok and cheap. Shushu and I had a rice dish each and Miao had Shanghai dumplings for the second time this trip. He saw that I ate faster than even him. Returning home I uploaded some more pictures to picasa webalbums on Shushu’s laptop and prepared the laptop to speak to my Grandfather on skype when the time difference allowed. They were of course pleased to speak to me. And related some news of a friend of theirs that had driven through Dalian and considered it very nice, and seemed not like China at all. One of Shushu’s associates or friends, came and brought withhim a computer that had seen life at a net cafe. Shushu had purchased if from him for 1150RMB (< £100) for use in the new Market place when he moves there soon. To me it seemed quite a good price, as it came with LCD monitor, reasonably powerful and keyboard mouse powerleads etc. After Shushu's colleague, old school friend, and house mate returned home from work at Shushu's stall at market, we went out for a meal at a very expensive restaurant a short taxi drive away. The restaurant had the usual thing of showing the complete array of dishes complete and made up wrapped in clingfilm for you to choose what to eat before you sit down. The environment was very very clean and decadant. Red and Gold were plentiful, old artifacts on pedastals and hung on the wall, attendants everywhere. You get an attendant to take you up in the lift, and give you to another attendant who shows you the food, answers your questions and takes your order, who then takes you to your table, and passes you over to the attendant who looks after the eating part of the meal. This person opens your beer bottles, clears extra places from the table, and gives you tea. Young male waitors bring food to her, so that she can put it on the table. After you are finished, you settle the bill or “Mai dan” and get handed off to another attendant to take you down in the lift and out the door. At which point, if you have a car, the attendant outside opens and closes your door, and helps you get out the parking space, which is by no means an easy task here in China, as many of the parking spaces are on the pavement, in a fashion as to maximise the number of parking spaces, but severly limit the ability to get in and out easily.
At this particular restaurant, on this particular day, there was a wedding reception going on in the restaurant, while the normal restaurant operations continued. This provided a bit of interesting sites, as we saw the bride come in, the compare introduce various things and saw Chinese wedding cake. At various points in the evening “Gam bei” (empty glass) would be called and the guests would all empty their glasses. I’m thankful for the fact that Chinese drink out of small glasses, and not pint glasses like those back in the UK. Personally I’m not sure how I’d fare if I had to empty more than one per evening.
Shushu thought that the food wasn’t upto the same standard as it was when he came their last. Shushu chose to drink some small bottle of Chinese spirits that was made with spices and not the usual rice spirit that is available. It tasted quite sweet, and I enjoyed it, but I doubt i could have finished a whole 300ml bottle of it like Shushu and still be able to enjoy the trip to shanghai today.
End of section: 11:38am.
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