End of Days

On my third night, I decided to venture across the square to have some real local food. The night before, I had recce around and in the square I saw neon lights saying Hao Ji Claypot. Yippee! No more Chinese-style Japanese ramen!

I should have taken a closer look! But no I did not and because I wanted so badly a claypot rice, I braved through the doors of the restaurant without a second thought. Oh oh! This is not a claypot rice restaurant. This is a claypot steamboat restaurant. And I have sat down, it was too late/maloo (lose face)  to bolt.

What to do? So I ordered a soup base of pork bone, one of their specialities, that was meant for two, . Since it is a steamboat, I had to order some dishes as well. I specifically told the waiter the serving should be one person. Well, they must have heard wrong becuase they serve mw one big plate of slice mutton meant for three, one big plate of mushroom and 2 big bunch of watercress. I was staring at them like a goldfish, silently laughing at myself.
What to do? It is against my principle to waste food that I ordered. So I engaged my steamboat gear, and slowly tuck in. Mind you, the soup actually still  have some stuff inside, bone meat, bamboo shoots, rice cake and tofu.

I got occasional glances from the other customers and probably the waiter and waitress were betting whether I could finished. My advice is never eat steamboat alone. It makes you even more lonely because in my family culture,steamboat must be eaten with a happy family or friends to make it enjoyable. But seriously speaking, I was too much of a pig not to enjoy the food. Probably because this was the best meal I ever eaten since I arrived in China. Hotel food sucks.

The soup was marvellous, though a bit oily, and coupled with shabu-shabu-ed mutton, it kept me warm in the cold night of China. The mutton and vegetables were very, very fresh. I love the watercress, so green and crunch and it blend just right with the soup.

For those who bet me not, too bad you lose. After an hour, I swept clean the mutton and mushroom, cleared whatever was inside the claypot and drank almost the whole claypot of soup. (A portion of the soup had evaporated and the left behind essence of the soup make the remaining soup even tastier.) They even asked me whether I wanted to top up which I sincerely declined. I simply could not add more to my already bulging stomach. All that was left after the carnage was the big knuckle bones. I would probably sucked the marrow in the bones if I did not want to dirty my hand at that time.

All in all, it was very satisfactory and I left the restaurant a happy man. A very happy man!

Chen Kee.. To be continued….

PS. For those who wondered how much I had spent for this meal. The answer is 69RMB. Go convert it yourself. Current rate is 1:5.

Nope! I cannot reveal anything about my work in Fujian, not even the company I was working at. The only thing I can say would be I started working right after I arrived till I flown off 2 weeks later. I really did not have a chance to see Xiamen.

On the Sunday however, I managed to climb some hills opposite the factory at the end of our work for that day. The sun finally came out after a week of non-stop drizzle and the fog/smog finally dispersed.

There was a pagoda on the hill that I saw distinctively everytime I journeyed to the factory and I really wanted to have a look there. And with our work finished, the group of us, which comprised of the project engineer, 3 from the factory and me, decided it was really a good day for a nice walk.

It took us a good 45 minute to reach one of the summit and another 45 minute to each the pagoda at the other side. On the way up, we went past lot of temples. Many people in Fujian are Buddhist and Taoists resulting in a lot of temples. In the hills I climbed alone, I counted at least three of them.

Near the summit, we could see almost the entire industrial area. On the other side of the hill was a dam and reservoir. From a spot we could actually see Xiamen. Along the way to the pagoda, we went past various tombs and we wondered who do they belong to and why the tombs were in the shape of the turtle. (Can someone tell me why?)

The pagoda belonged to Zi Zhu Si (Purple Bamboo Temple). I could not remember which buddha or deity it was suppose to house. There was also no opening to go up the pagoda. It was a peaceful and quiet place. Though the wind had pick up and was getting cold, I felt at ease there. I prayed for a smooth trip and actually everything came well though there were lots of hits and bumps. Actually the temple was still under construction, we could see beautifully carved pillars of dragons, erected magnificantly.

As it was winter, night set in pretty early and since we had accomplished our objective we started our descend back to the factory and I was invited for dinner at the hostel with the people from the factory.

Ohh! We had a feast. Nothing beats a hot bowl of soup in the cold winter night after a long walk. Actually I was starting to have sore foot and could feel my muscle tightened almost to a cramp. (The results of not exercising regularly.) They have cooked 2 big pot of delicious pork ribs with radish soup. I drank more than 6 bowls of soup. Yummy! Yummy! Yummy! And when there was a gathering of friends gathered, how can we forget drinks. Each of us had a big glass of brandy to go with the food. We chatted, toasted one another, eat and drink till almost 11pm. I reached back hotel almost 12am. Time really flies with good company.

Chen Kee.. To be continued….

I arrived at Xiamen at 1.30pm (no time difference between Xiamen and Singapore), and had only breakfast on the plane. I am feeling a bit hungry but very reluctant to eat at the airport. I actually thought of eating at the hotel.

However the decision was to proceed to the factory first to take a look at the situation, I had really no say in this since I am not the only one they pick that day. Besides I was actually interested to see the progress. Lunch became a second option. Besides I had enough of fats to last till dinner.

Finally by the time I arrived back at the hotel. it is already 7pm. Really famished by now! I quickly settled down, switched to my sandals, grabbed my jacket and out I went to venture the streets of Jinjiang city. Brrrgh! Wasn’t it cold. It is about 15 degree C.

Actually I just walked one round outside of the hotel and I could not find any roadside stalls. Hmm.. At end of a 20 minutes walk, I finally decided to have Macdonald’s. I still cannot believe I make that decision! I wanted local food!

Initially, I expected Macdonald’s to be deserted but on the contrary, it was very crowded. There were constant stream of people in and out of the doors. From what I heard, they are actually gaining popularity there, especially among the younger geneation.

I took away a fillet-o-fish meal and an additional strawberry milkshake. (Yes, you cannot change your drink there.) Wa! I felt so good to be eating fries and burger and slurpping my milkshake on the sofa after my bath. It was heaven!

Before I slept, I promised myself never to have that again in China! So wasted! Go China and eat Macdonald’s!

Chen Kee…

PS. I kept that promise! Tempted, I ordered a strawberry milkshake on another occassion but they had run out. Still scratching my head about that!