Brave Rachael

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Should've taken my camera last night, but hadn't realised the restaurant would offer such a wealth of photo opportunities.

We met up with the Russian family (parents, teenage girl and wee boy) and they suggested a favourite restaurant of theirs over the other side of the river. It's near a korean place we've been to, and on one of my running routes, but is quite expensive so not somewhere we've been before. It was very posh inside with a whole wall lined with fish tanks. I'd say 98% of the restaurants here have fish tanks, but you can tell the quality of a place by how clean they keep them, and these were immaculate. There were crabs of all sizes along with all the usual fishy creatures.

The restaurant was a hot pot restaurant, which was really bad time for me as all the food gets chucked into a pot of boiling water which is in a hole in the centre of the table. Some restaurants do half oil, half water, but this was all water so healthier at least. So the fish, the mushed up meat, the pork - everything got thrown into the pot, at which stage I realised I couldn't eat anything that had been cooked in that water so Benny asked the kitchen to cook me some separate vegetables. They were confused at first and insisted that they couldn't cook anything in the kitchen and it must all be boiled at the table, but luckily he managed to persuade them and they appeared with a plate of brocolli and shredded potato for me, which was delicious, by the way.

The best thing about the restaurant is that they left the ingredients out for you to make your own dipping sauce, and for us it was chilli chilli all the way! I was creeped out by the live shrimp that the brought to the table. I've been to these restaurants before and know that they bring as much as they can out still alive to assure you of it's freshness, but this is the first time the shrimps had skewers shoved up the length of them, and they were still alive! It was so weird to see these little creatures, arms and legs (or whatever it is they have) flailing like mad, and a stick of wood coming out each end of them. I was glad they were behind me for the most part, so I didn't have to look at them.

So, while I tucked into my little dish of veggies, Rachael was a lot braver (and probably more polite) and tried everything. She didn't want to know what was in them, but enjoyed most things I think, except the fish eggs which were wrapped in a little dumpling like parcel. She was sick twice in the night though, so I think she might be regretting some choices a little this morning...

Yesterday was a great day actually. I woke up early, did some Chinese homework and some exercise (arms are sore today!) then went to the park at midday. I got some funny looks from people because I had bare legs (the locals were still wrapped up in jeans and jackets) but I was perfectly warm enough just in shorts and a vest top. It was so sunny, and there was only a hint of a breeze. I went to the Square, buying an ice cream on the way, and just sat for three hours. I was reading Gone Baby Gone, which is a fantastic book, by the way, and watching the kite fliers. I really ,really want to buy a kite but as yesterday was a National Holiday the sky was already chokka with a tangle of strings so I decided to wait until a quieter day when I'm less likely to piss someone off by tangling them up!

I finished the afternoon witha facial. A proper facial, not that vibrating one I need for my spots, but a lovely relaxing, pampering 2 hour one. I think, when I leave China, the three things I'll miss most are: cheap pampering, sunny days and our housekeeper.

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