Sunny Friday - Splenda Success!!

Thursday night:
I have to start with last night actually as that is where I got the idea for my adventure today. I was going to stay in & have some pasta & veggies & go to the health club, BUT Jim called me about 6pm (not sure if I talked about Jim. He is staying with us & works for Cadmus, just started. His job is to coordinate international operations & he's spent a lot of time here, so knows the city well AND he likes good restaurants) to invite me to go to dinner with 2 Chinese women who will be starting at Cadmus next week & Elizabeth (from Charlotte office). He said they had a reservation at a Spanish restaurant in Kowloon (across the harbor). I just COULDN'T refuse. I met them at the office & we took the MTR (subway) over to Kowloon. Kowloon is more the upscale shopping area, so lots of bright lights and beautiful people. We walked along a main street, then took a turn up a smaller street & then another turn up a dark dirty alleyway. Jim assured us he wasn't lost. At the top of the alley we came upon a pedestrian walk filled with wonderful restaurants (at least they looked wonderful). Very busy with people & smells of food & a cacophony of languages (not sure that makes sense, but I couldn't resist using the word). We were going to El Cid, Spanish cuisine. Ruby & her husband, Dante & Sophia were already there. They had ordered for the table (that is very common here). We had tappas, which for those who don't know are appetizers. Lots & lots of appetizers. It is my kind of meal because you get to taste a bunch of different things & it doesn't really feel like you eaten a big meal. Nothing really strange or unusual, just delicious. My favorite was the beef with veggies in a spicy tomato sauce. I have to say the sangria was most delightful as well!! Our Chinese guests spoke excellent English, so it was a very informative meal. I learned that there is a very large upscale grocery store at the end of the escalator (I think I talked about that before) that is known for having western foods. I had a new destination to explore in my search for Splenda, etc.....

Friday morning: (I'll be loading photos of today this weekend, so check the webshots page)
I actually saw the sun rise today (I've been waking up around 5:45), so now I know where East is. By the way, I slept great under my new THIN quilt! I headed out with my camera around 9 to take advantage of the sun, while it lasts. I took photos of the neighborhood & my ride down the escalator. Just out of curiosity I counted how many escalators there are from our road (15). I think there are one or 2 more above our road & then when you get to the end of the "official" escalator you have to take at least one more to get to ground level. It's a fun journey.
My destination was City Super, the grocery store that Sophia had told me about. It is in a mall - not like US malls - very upscale. They even have a people dressed in suits who stand by the map of the mall & answer you questions & give directions. They don't even wait for you to ask them, they offer assistance if you look confused or lost. It is very nice. So he pointed me in the direction of City Super, but said it doesn't open until 10:30 (they just get a late start here). It was 9:45, so I just wandered around the mall. Found a McDonald's - of course. I didn't buy anything, but here is what was on their menu (besides the regular stuff) mango frappe, citron honey frappe, strawberry & banana juice, chicken pineapple sandwich, smoked salmon sandwich, crayfish and egg mayo sandwich. I'll never be critical of MickyD's food again!! I did stop by a bakery & get some treats for the folks at the office. Sesame cookies, ginger cookies & these peanut ball cookies (the inside tastes like a Mary Jane candy).
City Super opened it's doors at exactly 10:30 (they are just amazingly punctual, the guy opening the doors actually ran to the 2nd door to make sure it was opened before the clock struck 10:31 - you got to love it). This store was amazing - if you've ever been to Harris Teeter by Southpark in Charlotte, well this has them beat hands down. Besides having a bakery, meat counter, deli, they also have a tea counter where you can sample & buy bulk teas. There was too much to even describe. Some of the prepared foods you could buy included baked pumpkin with skin, black olive & rosemary; there were lots of lamb dishes, and even tuna pasta baked (tuna noodle casserole - who would have guessed - I'm going to need to give that a try one of these times).
Well City Super lived up to it's reputation. They had Splenda - the large bag even, this was almost as exciting as when I found the camera for John during our trip in April. They had Hershey's syrup AND Fluff. I can't even buy Fluff in Charlotte, BUT they have it in Hong Kong! It isn't the large container, but they have it. This is going to be a destination for those homesick days that I know will be coming. Why does food make you feel so good & comforted?
I heard a woman asked the clerk where the dark chocolate peanut butter is. I asked her what that was & she said "dark chocolate mixed with peanut butter in a jar." Oh my goodness, I'm NEVER going to lose any weight! Fortunately they were out of it. The bakery was amazing. They even had to household items I was not able to get at Ikea - toothbrush holders, soap dishes, plastic drinking cup, and a metal dish for a double boiler. I'm all set now & if not, I know where I can go without having to deal with Ikea. I'm a happy camper.
I went to the bottom of the mall to get the MTR. This is one of the stations where the airport express train leaves from. There is a long line of airline check in counters where you can check your luggage right there at the train station. What a great concept. I got to work just about noon & of course just in time for lunch. Dave is going back to Charlotte tomorrow, so some of the staff (Chinese) took him out for dim sum for lunch. I couldn't turn down dim sum being ordered by locals, so I forced myself to eat yet another meal out. I thought my new wardrobe was going to be a few sizes smaller, but I'm beginning to think it's going to go the other way. Just have to enjoy this stuff as a newcomer, I know I'll get over it & start my getting in shape phase, but right now I'm thoroughly enjoying the try everything, especially food phase.
Of course the dim sum was great. Nothing strange. Beef, pork, shrimp, squid, rice with shaved abalone on top (dad you will appreciate that). It was interesting that when we sat down they filled up 2 tea pots, one with tea & the other with hot water. Ming (she works with us) poured the hot water into her tea cup, then opened her chop sticks & put them in her soup bowl. She then poured the hot water from the tea cup into the soup bowl & over the spoon & chopsticks, washing all of the utensils before using them. I followed her lead. I spilled most of my water on the table, but I think got my utensils sufficiently clean. Then you pour the water into a large bowl on the lazy susan in the middle of the table & they take it away.
The highlight of the meal was dessert. Usually we haven't had dessert at the meals so far. Dave kept saying he was waiting for dessert & it was worth waiting for. There were 2 things. One was a sort of cold soup (I think it was evaporated milk maybe, just slightly sweet) with mangos, citrus shavings & large tapioca - very good. The other was more like a custard with big chunks of wonderfully sweet fresh mango all through it. This was amazing, it might be almost as good as mango & sticky rice that I had in Bangkok.
So now I'm back at the office & they don't really have anything for me to do right now which is fine so that I can do this. I don't really want to go home because we are all (the Americans) supposed to go see the city light show at 8pm from right near the office. I'm sure that will be the topic of my next entry, then there is always dinner.....
Cheers & hope you are enjoying this. It's fun to know I'm getting to share my adventures with everyone without having to send out a million emails & wonder what I told whom. I guess I'll search the internet & see how we get to the Great Wall. It was funny last night because I asked Ruby about going to the Great Wall & she said she's never been, but she could tell me about Disney World Orlando, she's been there 4 times. Isn't that always the way......