Grocery shopping
Even the most mundane tasks in our American lives can be an adventure for us here in China.
I have actually begun grocery shopping outside of our little expat enclave. I had a little bit in my previous trips here, but now I am really, pardon the expression, Gung Ho. This is no longer a vacation, but real life. And, as opposed to my previous trips to China, I understand the mechanics of it much more.
Produce is ridiculously inexpensive in a Chinese grocery store. After you have picked out what you want and bagged it, you have to take it to a central weighing station where they weigh and label your vegetables. You still have to take them to the checkout to pay for them after that. Yesterday I got the fixings for potato and leek soup, as well as some green veggies and garlic. In all I paid less than $2.00 for all the produce I bought. Incredible. And especially at Wal-Mart, the produce selection is amazing. At Giant Eagle (Gine Iggle) I might see two different kinds of cucumbers, three if one were organic. In China we have at least six or seven types. One problem I have is that, of course, few of the labels are in English, and I have to guess what I am buying. Even when the labels are in English, I still have to guess. I wanted leeks for leek soup, and I picked up what I was pretty certain were leeks. I smelled them--yup, leeks. But when they labeled it for me at the weigh station, the English said, "garlic sprouts." I stood there, in the middle of Wal-Mart, sniffing my leeks, confirming that they were leeks. I am certain this time people weren't just staring because I was a white person. Of course, by that point I would taken them home and called the soup Potato Garlic, not Potato Leek.
I've been going through recipes like crazy, trying to determine what I can cook with available ingredients and not spend a small fortune. I know that eventually the answer is also to learn how to cook Chinese food as well. For the time being, though, there are too many cheap places to eat (or better yet get delivered) that I am not terribly motivated to learn how to make Ma Po Do Fu or Gan Bien Si Ji Do on my own.
I have actually begun grocery shopping outside of our little expat enclave. I had a little bit in my previous trips here, but now I am really, pardon the expression, Gung Ho. This is no longer a vacation, but real life. And, as opposed to my previous trips to China, I understand the mechanics of it much more.
Produce is ridiculously inexpensive in a Chinese grocery store. After you have picked out what you want and bagged it, you have to take it to a central weighing station where they weigh and label your vegetables. You still have to take them to the checkout to pay for them after that. Yesterday I got the fixings for potato and leek soup, as well as some green veggies and garlic. In all I paid less than $2.00 for all the produce I bought. Incredible. And especially at Wal-Mart, the produce selection is amazing. At Giant Eagle (Gine Iggle) I might see two different kinds of cucumbers, three if one were organic. In China we have at least six or seven types. One problem I have is that, of course, few of the labels are in English, and I have to guess what I am buying. Even when the labels are in English, I still have to guess. I wanted leeks for leek soup, and I picked up what I was pretty certain were leeks. I smelled them--yup, leeks. But when they labeled it for me at the weigh station, the English said, "garlic sprouts." I stood there, in the middle of Wal-Mart, sniffing my leeks, confirming that they were leeks. I am certain this time people weren't just staring because I was a white person. Of course, by that point I would taken them home and called the soup Potato Garlic, not Potato Leek.
I've been going through recipes like crazy, trying to determine what I can cook with available ingredients and not spend a small fortune. I know that eventually the answer is also to learn how to cook Chinese food as well. For the time being, though, there are too many cheap places to eat (or better yet get delivered) that I am not terribly motivated to learn how to make Ma Po Do Fu or Gan Bien Si Ji Do on my own.
Comments
[b]adobe software student discounts, [url=http://firgonbares.net/]mobile educational software[/url]
[url=http://firgonbares.net/][/url] adobe software discounts for where to buy photoshop software
free service order software [url=http://firgonbares.net/]kaspersky virus[/url] edition software discounts
[url=http://firgonbares.net/]academic software online[/url] order form software
[url=http://firgonbares.net/]windows academic software[/url] best price software
nero burning rom [url=http://firgonbares.net/]autocad activation code[/b]