The chinese word for 'yeah' like 'yeah, yeah, yeah' in agreement is 'nega' so everyone here says 'nega nega nega' a lot...sounds really funny in a way that would get one quickly beat up in oakland.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
bye bye bejing
It has been a long 10 days and I am finally heading home.
I can honestly say the have the best (and worst) duck feet I will likely ever try. Last night we had the best meal yet, partially because no one handed me a menu and made me choose the least weird-sounding thing. We had the famous and delicious "Peking Duck" (Beijing is the town formerly known as Peking) served in a formal, multi-course process. They are famous enough that they issue certificates for each duck. We ate #944579 and 80, though I am not sure if and how that is an audited since they opened in the late 1800's. We can just assume nearly a million ducks served. Maybe they should find the millionth duck and set it free.
I'm blogging on my blackberry on the way to the airport so I can't see the pictures that I put in below but they should be shots of the tourist highlights that we saw over the weekend.
In there you will see the Emporer's Summer Palace which is a beautiful spot on a lake that couldn't help but include JetSkis in the US. There is also the Great Wall that sufficiently lived up to its name and included a mile long slide to get down.
I can honestly say the have the best (and worst) duck feet I will likely ever try. Last night we had the best meal yet, partially because no one handed me a menu and made me choose the least weird-sounding thing. We had the famous and delicious "Peking Duck" (Beijing is the town formerly known as Peking) served in a formal, multi-course process. They are famous enough that they issue certificates for each duck. We ate #944579 and 80, though I am not sure if and how that is an audited since they opened in the late 1800's. We can just assume nearly a million ducks served. Maybe they should find the millionth duck and set it free.
I'm blogging on my blackberry on the way to the airport so I can't see the pictures that I put in below but they should be shots of the tourist highlights that we saw over the weekend.
In there you will see the Emporer's Summer Palace which is a beautiful spot on a lake that couldn't help but include JetSkis in the US. There is also the Great Wall that sufficiently lived up to its name and included a mile long slide to get down.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Remember pull tabs?
I remember them from my parents' beer circa 1978 (not drinking of course, but I was trained to get them from the fridge and open them). After breaking off the tab on this can, I watched our waitress try to pry out the remaining part with her finger. Fortunately our frantic arm waves stopped her before she sliced the finger and caused the other thing I remember from the 70's....stitches.
Monday, October 27, 2008
The birds and the bees
When she was a little girl and first learned of the birds and the bees, my wife probably said "Eeew!" or something to that effect. I'm sure that was nothing compared to the reaction she gave when I told her about some of the restaurants our hosts have shown us in Beijing. At home, the dish in the first picture would have launched 1000 lawsuits in a KFC, here in China it's what's for dinner...with a side order of baby bees.
When we went on one of our excursions last weekend, our friends passed the time by explaining how the people in the Guangdong Province eat really weird stuff. Stuff that would make baby bees look like popcorn (and taste like chicken). Fortunately that place is 1200 miles away...
People here loooove to take us to "fancy" Chinese restaurants so I spend time with a lot of menus full of scary pictures and strangely worded descriptions. As far as I can tell, there does not seem to be anything called "Sweet and Sour Pork" in China and "Kung Pao" is not a type of chicken familiar to any waiter I have met. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a little adventure in my food and the likelihood of me ending up vegetarian for even one meal is completely trumped by the same denial powers that allow me to enjoy hotdogs at home. Eyes, beaks and heads (either in whole or in half), however, are Kryptonite to these powers and I really don't need to see what my meal was thinking when it crossed the road for the final time.
When we went on one of our excursions last weekend, our friends passed the time by explaining how the people in the Guangdong Province eat really weird stuff. Stuff that would make baby bees look like popcorn (and taste like chicken). Fortunately that place is 1200 miles away...
People here loooove to take us to "fancy" Chinese restaurants so I spend time with a lot of menus full of scary pictures and strangely worded descriptions. As far as I can tell, there does not seem to be anything called "Sweet and Sour Pork" in China and "Kung Pao" is not a type of chicken familiar to any waiter I have met. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a little adventure in my food and the likelihood of me ending up vegetarian for even one meal is completely trumped by the same denial powers that allow me to enjoy hotdogs at home. Eyes, beaks and heads (either in whole or in half), however, are Kryptonite to these powers and I really don't need to see what my meal was thinking when it crossed the road for the final time.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Welcome (me) to China
I'm in Beijing for business until next week. It's big, kind of grey and I don't understand what anyone is saying. Dining involves a lot of pointing, smiling and hope. For instance, I hope that was calamari last night.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
First Post - Who is Frank?
The title of this post is the first lie of this blog. It is obviously not my first post here. The first one was a nod to my wonderful wife. Just as she often "suggests" what I wear when I venture outside of the house (because one apparently shouldn't wear horizontal and vertical stripes together), she desperately wants this place to look presentable. We will keep working on that.
The title of the blog is a nod to my entire family that collectively have said this particular phrase countless times. The whole phrase is actually "T, as in Tom...O...P, as in Paul...L...I...F, as in Frank, F, as in Frank. No, not 'S'. Two F's. Frank...Frank". Passed down from generations of Topliffs, I have now subjected my wife to it and we will begin teaching the phrase on Grace as soon as she learns how to order things from the Pottery Barn catalog. Unlike her mother, Grace has the chance at parole if she can manage to marry someone with simpler name, but that is many years of frustration (on all of our parts) away.
The purpose of this place is to give me a spot to write about things that do not belong in Grace's baby book. Many people that have enjoyed reading about Grace have asked for more from me, this is my attempt at making them eat their words.
Enjoy!
-Brad
The title of the blog is a nod to my entire family that collectively have said this particular phrase countless times. The whole phrase is actually "T, as in Tom...O...P, as in Paul...L...I...F, as in Frank, F, as in Frank. No, not 'S'. Two F's. Frank...Frank". Passed down from generations of Topliffs, I have now subjected my wife to it and we will begin teaching the phrase on Grace as soon as she learns how to order things from the Pottery Barn catalog. Unlike her mother, Grace has the chance at parole if she can manage to marry someone with simpler name, but that is many years of frustration (on all of our parts) away.
The purpose of this place is to give me a spot to write about things that do not belong in Grace's baby book. Many people that have enjoyed reading about Grace have asked for more from me, this is my attempt at making them eat their words.
Enjoy!
-Brad
Good intentions, little time and same old wrong me.
So I am starting this new blog and I wanted to get my posts up while I am traveling. Before I left for China I got into several minor battles with my beautiful designer wife over the look of the site. She even suggested that I just create one like I had with Grace's blog and switch it over later. NONSENSE! I can figure this out and make it look great!
Well, time ran out, the buzzer rang and I had to get on a plane bound for Beijing having totally failed to make a nice looking blog. Furthermore, I am jet-lagged enough that Jenn's idea now sounds like sheer genius. I can make a blog here and change it over to another place when I have more time to figure it out. The words will be just as poorly thought out in either place. Sorry honey...you were...what's the word..."right"
Well, time ran out, the buzzer rang and I had to get on a plane bound for Beijing having totally failed to make a nice looking blog. Furthermore, I am jet-lagged enough that Jenn's idea now sounds like sheer genius. I can make a blog here and change it over to another place when I have more time to figure it out. The words will be just as poorly thought out in either place. Sorry honey...you were...what's the word..."right"
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