Soo, I'm back in the capital of Tweetless land, as I like to call it. Haha. I'm also doing it here as I've become just ever so slightly paranoid after spending about 4 months here and hearing stories of censorship and the like.
Anyway. Just to ramble somewhat incoherently about being back here.
I have to admit I wasn't entirely thrilled about the prospect of coming back. There were many many other places in the world I'd rather have been jetting off to.
That said, it's not like I despise this city and wish to stick voodoo pins into everything about it.
It's just that there are a number of things about living here that just really got me down.
One of the most fundamental 'Boooo'-inducing things about life here for me is the food. Perhaps it's a sign of age, or the seeping influence of the mother, but it bothers me a lot when I'm unable to procure proper food.
A lot of the food here makes my stomach turn when I think about it, and sometimes, I'd really just go without eating rather than put that stuff into my body. Even if it tastes good, I think it's probably not doing your health any wonders, what with the oozing oil and artificial tastes and textures. I swear some of the fruit actually taste chemical.
Horror stories that really seem true about how 10% of cooking oil in this country is recycled from sewage really do nothing to bolster my confidence in eating here.
I didn't have a proper kitchen last semester, and only owned a saucepan (which I set on fire one evening. Haha) so after a while I gave up on preparing my own meals and relied on eating out and take out food.
The good thing was that I lived in 'Little Korea', and so there was this wonderful little Korean diner that dished out yummy Korean food that received the stamp of approval from the Koreans too. I ate waaaay more Korean food in those few months than I did in my whole life up to that point!!
Took the bus to my old neighbourhood last night to be reunited with my old haunt. :p
Where I got off, the 'fish man' was there!!!
No, I'm not referring to those peddlers with carts of tanks crammed full of goldfish and poor bunnies in horrifically tiny cages and other inhumanely housed pets.
It's this fish!!
A lovely snack that here, is sold with a milk chocolate or white chocolate filling. I believe they originate from Japan where they're usually filled with red bean paste.
The 'fish guy' got his equipment from Korea, which is this round implement with many molds and a gas fire.
Yesterday's fish was nice and crispy. ^-^
I tried not to think about how the oil he coats the molds with is probably the dreaded sewage oil.
Maybe I'm just over-paranoid. Or maybe the problem isn't so much with the food in Tweetless land but lies with me instead. Hmm.
Anyway, for dinner I had a wonderful bowl of pollack soup, which was bean paste based and spicy (surprise surprise. Haha) Good stuff!
Right. Time to put an end to my whining about food here.
PS: Typing 'Tweetless land" is probably useless, given my tags. Dorh.
hahaha. I enjoyed this post (not because you can't eat good food! That is sad!) but because of the cute fish filled with chocolate. YUM.
ReplyDeleteI was actually under the impression that you could get really good food in China and cheap too. Are you here to tell me it's all artificial, fried crap! :( Oh no. That makes me sad, good chinese food is amazing.
The story about the sewage is very scary. As is you choosing not to eat at all over eating! Is it really that bad? ooh errr......
Mmm, there is pretty good food that can be comparatively cheaper than it is in other parts of the world, but it's not everyday food, you know?
ReplyDeleteI had yummy Tibetan-style herbal hot pot once, and really rather good dim sum. But both in rather swish places.
Street food is dirt cheap. There's this thing called jian bing, which is like a crepe with a crispy deep-fried something (haha, probably beancurd skin? Or just batter?), some lettuce and sauce wrapped up in it. It's yummy in a salty and spicy way, and comes in handy as a hand-warmer in winter too. But then I heard the deep-fried something is fried in the most foul of reused oil, so that put me off that. >_<
It seems I get hung up about food quite easily, so maybe it's just me. Hmm. Home-cooked food is still the best!
Yeah, you haven't advocated Chinese food for me yet. I am now going to be grossed out when I'm in China and not eat anything either. Hong Kong had great food- but that's not really China China.
ReplyDeleteKenyan food is pretty bland and crappy :(
Ahaha! Sorry for ruining Chinese food for you!!
ReplyDeleteAh yes, I want to go to Hong Kong again for the food!!!! Cantonese food is one of the 4 great cuisines of China, so yeah, I suppose it might be considered Chinese? But then, does this concept of 'Chinese' and 'China' really exist? Is it just a construct? /limp attempt at anthropological thinking. Haha!
Ahh, bland and crappy food isn't good is it? Not sure which is the greater evil. That or rich and artificial. Haha.
At least it seems like you're able to cook a lot! ^-^