Mainly about food

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You will have gathered that David did not think much of Russian food. It was not all bad. I enjoyed my fish cakes stuffed with chopped eggs and fresh herbs served with potatoes in a light paprika sauce. My chicken with strawberry sauce was decidedly odd. Eat your heart out Hector Blumenthal. All food was strictly a la carte down to individula slices of bread. My "pee garnish - 5 Roubles" was cold tinned peas and not at all salty.
China is a lot more exciting. I think they have just discovered chili. Every dish is laced with the stuff to the point where you cannot taste what your eating. Then there are the "hotpot" restaurents. In the centre of the table there is gas hob. You chose your spice and herb combination and this is kept boiling by the hob. Then you chose the meat and vegetables and cook them yourself. Very tasty but somehow not very Chinese. It would never happen in the UK because some idiot would scald himself and then sue the restaurent for not warning him that boiling water is hot.
It is the small things I have enjoyed most. Delicious breakfasts of beancurd and steamed dumplings filled with pork and herbs, quenching my thirst with freshly shelled lychees and eating strange fruit I had never seen before, ice lollies that taste of milk and cost 10p, cooking at home with garlic that is still soft and milky.
Below the flat in the basement is an amazing market. It is full of fresh fruit and vegetables that cost next to nothing and contains one of the biggest temporary aquariums I have seen. It is temporary in that the life expectancy of the inhabitants is very short indeed. The range is vast, octopus, scallops, squid, terrapins, shrimps, fish of all varieties and things of the deep I did not recognise. You chose your sea food and take it to one of several kitchens that surround a large food court area. Back it comes as freshly cooked as can be, to stare reproachfully at you from the table. Fish eyes and brains are a great delicacy. Lots of beer is drunk. It is noisy boistrous place to be.
Sue and I tramped around the Beijing Ikea. It is much liked by the fashionista of Beijing. Most of the stuff has been shipped just down the road from the factory instead of half way round the world to Croyden. The traffic is not all one way. Coming the other way are Swedish meatballs. I tucked into 10 meatballs with gravy and rice for £1.80 after collecting my knife and fork from the cutlery area. How does Ikea, Beijing differ from Ikea, Croyden? Hardly at all. There's not much cutlery in kitchen area and the customers' average bra-cup size is probably lower by a factor of ten.

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