Not a bad place to be

Pouring rain outside. Grilled BBQ chicken and English tea inside. Laptop open to the front. Jazz/funk band practicing behind.

Not a bad place to be.

Kowloon, Hong Kong

Want: drinkable tea calendar

From FoodBeast:

This tea calendar was designed by Hälssen & Lyon, a German based tea manufacturer, and distributed exclusively to select business partners of the company, which naturally makes us all want it more.

Made up of 365 days of brewable deliciousness, each day on the calendar is made up of “finely flavored tea leaves and pressed until wafer-thin”.

So encouraging to discover it exists and yet so disappointing it may not be easily available for consumer purchase (hopefully I'm reading the quote wrong and it is available for purchase by the general public). 

Is Christmas here yet?

Uniqlo, I was prepared to hand over money to you today

And you decided to stay closed on a Monday. So I spent it instead on Starbucks. No hard feelings, okay?

Coco Park Mall, Futian, Shenzhen.

Perhaps the most terrifying children's song ever produced

"Give Me An Ax"

I was very close to ordering the 'numb old woman'...

... but decided instead to stick with eggs and tofu.

Jingdi Meilongzhen, Shenzhen.

Eating frog is like eating little cooked Smurfs

Eating really really tasty cooked Smurfs.

Nanshan, Shenzhen.

Now that the hard work is over...

... time to sleep, eat (a lot) less, exercise, visit the cats... and keep working hard.

Welcoming Party

"Welcome back home Matthew! I'm so glad to see you."

At least that's what I imagine he's thinking. In actuality, it's probably more like, "Food??!!"

That's one use for chopsticks

A man in Zhengzhou was caught stealing an iPhone from a woman bicyclist. He used only chopsticks to pull off this feat. He later turned himself in. Claimed he was doing this in order to support his 12 year-old child. Sad. 

My water came with pH test strips

This is a first. I'm interested to see the pH level of my water. Water brand: Nongfu Spring.

14 year-old Tianlang Guan about to become youngest ever to play at The Masters

ESPN has a great piece about Tianlang Guan, the 14 year-old Chinese boy who is the youngest ever to quality for The Masters and will take part in golf's most famous tournament starting today. I thoroughly recommend reading the entire piece. There is also a nice video accompanying the text. One of my favorite passages from the article is the following:

The dinner group includes Tianlang, his father, a media relations consultant from Hong Kong, our ESPN crew of five and a "fixer" (part interpreter, part problem-solver). There is probably someone else at the table, but I can't remember after the drink toasts.

I've never done shots of jet fuel, but if I did, I think it would taste like Chinese vodka. Mr. Guan keeps standing up and offering toasts. Our interpreter says it would be impolite and a loss of face for Mr. Guan if we don't take part.

So three or four shots later, I'm cracking wise, yukking it up to the Guans. That's when the interpreter leans over and says discreetly, "Mr. Guan does not understand your particular sense of humor."

Smoking is allowed in the restaurant. So, apparently, is pulling your golf shirt up to your neck and scratching your belly. Not me -- the guy at the table behind us -- the same table where a bucket of ice and a huge bottle of Johnnie Walker sit as centerpieces.

I like China.

I wish Tianlang good luck and hope he does well. 

KFC's newest masterpiece - '2 peppers, 2 floors'

Hot off the heals of McDonalds' double sausage, double hamburger hamburger (which I did see an advertisement for in Chengdu) comes KFC's"双椒双层", a double-decker crispy chicken sandwich with two different types of Chinese jalapeño sauces. Considering I love spicy/jalapeños and I love chicken sandwiches, this could be my most perfect fast food menu item ever to come to fruition. Now I just have to wait for a day when I'm really depressed and don't care about doing what ever this sandwich is going to do to my body. 

Chengdu Day 2: Pandas and Peppers

Panda Research Base, Wuhou Temple, and spicy Sichuan hotpot. Chengdu, Sichuan.

Chengdu Day 1: "Wide Alley"

Renovated ancient streets and strange menu items. Kuanzhai Xiangzi, Chengdu, Sichuan.

Where is this McDonalds Sausage Burger everyone's writing about?

There has been a seeming explosion of articles in Western blogs about this new McDonalds hamburger that features two sausages and two hamburger patties. It must exist because there are photos of the ads but I certainly haven't seen any at the local McDonalds here in Shenzhen. Maybe it's only being offered in a certain region? Or are the testing it in certain locations before expanding the offering? It's not around yet, but I'll keep my eyes open.