N was invited to a Chinese wedding which was held on Sunday. We got our ayi (housekeeper/babysitter) to come and stay with the kids so that I could tag along. We were very excited, as this was our first Chinese wedding, and very likely our only Chinese wedding experience. We studied the map both on Google maps and Baidu (Chinese version of Google) and memorized 2 routes to get to the hotel where the wedding was to be held. We got a hold of a hong bao (red envelope) and stuffed it with money to give to the newlyweds. We practiced saying "Happy new marriage!" in Chinese.
To make a long story short, we got lost. We were SO close to the destination yet we just could NOT find it. Roads that were promised on Google maps disappeared and random overpass highways popped up where you couldn't turn around until 10 miles or so.
We finally got to a big mall and decided to just park and take a cab over to the wedding. But there were literally no parking spots available.
China wins again. We missed the wedding.
To salvage the situation, N took me to a very nice lunch at the brand spanking new Shangri-La hotel. The hotel is absolutely beautiful, even by Western standards and the restaurant was amazing, my favorite here so far. It is called Cafe Liao and it is a buffet. Now this ain't no Golden Corral. I'm taking fancy, upscale. There is a Chinese side with Peking duck, specials soups, a DIY noodle soup section, various meats and veggies, dumplings. They also had a sushi section, Indian section, a pasta bar, salad bar, gourmet meats, cheese, and an impressive dessert selection including homemade ice cream and popsicles, etc, etc, etc.
I wish I had 4 stomachs so that I could have eaten more.
They have a special soup of the day that is cooked in humongous urns. When the soup is ready, the chef there rings a gong and everyone rushes up to get a crock of soup. A chef also walks around wearing a tray around his neck to deliver around the dining room. The broth was absolutely delicious, but as I dug to the bottom, I saw that it had black chicken meat in it, and I could not eat it. Purely a mental thing. I mean, if you saw these babies in the meat section in the grocery stores here, would you want to eat it? It is supposed to be a delicacy and good for you, but I'm just not ready for all that yet.
Yes, an amazing lunch an and awesome date with my husband, even if we did miss the wedding. Maybe China didn't win after all.
